<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 08.00.0681.000">
<TITLE>RE: [kictanet] Day 7-10:-Available eCommunication Strategies for Regulators</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<!-- Converted from text/rtf format -->
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Hi John,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Thanks for the compliment and let me try to respond as far as I can.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">1. What Kind/Category of Information were the Asian</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Regulators sharing?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Ideally these were the categories of information an NRA is expected to share with all</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">of its stakeholders. (not just consumers</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">-</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> I think you might be more interested in the category No. 2</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">)</FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">1.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><U> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Factual Information:</FONT></U></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> This includes telecommunications Acts, statistical indicators, etc.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">2.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><U> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Consumer and Citizen Information</FONT></U></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">: Information of interest to end-users or prospective</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">end-users, about universal service, consumer rights (including reporting abuses) and</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">tariffs. In addition to actual legislation and formal guidelines, FAQs, or frequently asked</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">questions which are very important to consumers must be present and easily digestible to</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">an ordinary citizen,</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">3.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><U> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Business Information</FONT></U></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">: This relates to information required by current and prospective</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">operators and investors such as licensing procedures, technical requirements,</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">interconnection agreements, online forms for certification, authorization etc. Here it is</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">necessary to look for information which explains and describes the procedures and</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">requirements, rather than mere provision of access to formal documentation and</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">legislation.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Calibri">4.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><U> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Telecom regulatory news and other features to further disseminate information</FONT></U></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">:</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">This final category ensures accessibility of information, regulatory news and</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">developments to researchers and journalists who can further disseminate regulatory</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">information nationally and internationally. Often these features contextualize the site</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">information and make it more intelligible.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">There were</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> six NRA sites (Pakistan, Jordan,</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore) that</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">shar</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">ed information of ALL categories above fairly well.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Then there were four countries (Sri Lanka, India, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) in the second</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">tire. Others have shared information at various</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">degree</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">s. You will also see there is no str</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">ict pattern here. Pakistan a developing nation scored well about more developed nations. That proves the level of development has little to do with the intention to share information with public.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">2. Was there provision for two-way electronic information</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">exchange i.e. b/w the Stakeholders (the Customers) and the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Regulators?</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Yes, This was available in several sites. (I cann</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">o</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">t remember exactly which ones)</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Many</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> sites gave the email addresses of the relevant officials to be contacted depending upon the type o</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">f</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> the issue.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> However how efficient this system was not practically tested in the study. It is possible that the si</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">te give email addresses but then be silent about the queries.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">3. In areas where Internet penetration was low, was there</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">an attempt to provide same information through other means?</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Sorry, this was beyond the</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">scope of the</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">study, and I have no knowl</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">edge</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> on the other means</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> </B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Anyway, I could not see a direct co-relation between the countries that have low Internet penetration levels and have poorly done web sites.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">Some countries with low penetration levels have done fairly good web sites. (eg Bangladesh) It looks like the fair presentation of the site has more to do with the poor re</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">gulatory</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">environment</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> rather than the low Internet penetration. (Just my opinion, not proven.)</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> My guess is if an NRA has information it always puts that on the web, before using other mea</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">ns. Do you think an NRA might not present</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">relevant</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas"> information on the site just because the Internet penetration is poor?</FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">T</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">his</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><B> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Consolas">is a good point for future discussion.</FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Hope I have answers your questions.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Best Rgds,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Cw</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">-----Original Message-----</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">From: John Walubengo [<A HREF="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com">mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com</A>] </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Sent: Friday, 19 October, 2007 7:38 PM</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">To: Chanuka Wattegama</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 7-10:-Available eCommunication Strategies for Regulators</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Hi Chanuka,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">In our local Ksiwahili dialect 'Chanuka' means the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">'bright-one'! So am sure you will have some answers based</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">on your Asian Study which is quite welcome and timely.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">1. What Kind/Category of Information were the Asian</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Regulators sharing?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">2. Was there provision for two-way electronic information</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">exchange i.e. b/w the Stakeholders (the Customers) and the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Regulators?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">3. In areas where Internet penetration was low, was there</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">an attempt to provide same information through other means?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">walu.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<BR>
<BR>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">--- Chanuka Wattegama <wattegama@lirne.net> wrote:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Dear All,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Extremely sorry to barge in this later stage, but I had</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> no other option</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> because the past few days were exceptionally busy.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Let me share some of the useful findings from the study</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Benchmarking</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> National Telecom Regulatory Authority websites of</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Asia-Pacific Region For</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> those who are not familiar, This study systematically</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> benchmarked National</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Telecom Regulator websites in the Asia-Pacific region,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> evaluating their</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> usefulness to telecom operators, investors, consumers,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> researchers and even</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> the general public. Each website is awarded marks for the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> availability of</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> information and features that are useful to the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> regulator's stakeholders. A</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> total of 27 websites are evaluated from a region that</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> includes 62 economies.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> (More details:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas"><A HREF="http://www.lirneasia.net/projects/completed-projects/regulatory-web-survey">http://www.lirneasia.net/projects/completed-projects/regulatory-web-survey</A>)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> 1. For the study I have considered 62 independent</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Asia Pacific</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> economies (Hong Kong could have been the only exception,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> but that needs to</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> be taken into account because of its independent</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> regulatory environment,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> which cannot be put in the same category as China.) The</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> definition used for</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> 'Asia' was the broadest that can be thought of because it</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> included Middle</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> East and Central Asia as well. Out of that 62, only 33</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> NRAs had web sites.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> (This was in 2004, the situation is a bit better now)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Anyway the bottom line</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> is only 60-70% of the NRAs have some sort of websites.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> This raises the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> question how far the NRAs have thought about</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> communications.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> 2. If my memory serves me right I could not</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> benchmark NRA sites</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> (Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Yemen)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> because then they did</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> not have English versions. So the number has to be</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> limited to 27. (I do not</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> say ever NRA should have an English version, but this was</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> a practical</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> difficulty that we could not avoid) Even out of that 27,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> there were many</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> NRAs that had not given any information relevant to end</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> consumers. The</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> limited information gives perhaps the mandate and the top</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> officers at NRA.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> One NRA website even had a page for foreign tourists.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> 3. Then there were sites that provided consumer</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> information to levels</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> varying from basic minimum to very good. There was one</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> site that reproduced</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> every customer complaint and monitored the progress. I am</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> not sure whether</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> we expect NRAs to do to that level. There were also some</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> sites (eg.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Singapore, Malaysia) that provided a gamut of information</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> including</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> technical details many consumers might not even follow.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Anyway, I do not</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> think this is a bad practice. We do not need everybody's</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> grandmother to</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> understand this information, but the fact that they are</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> in public domain</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> implies that all consumers (including grandmothers!)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> receive a better</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> service.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> 4. Not many NRAs were worried about presenting the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> information in a</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> language understandable to the end consumers. (The six</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> countries I have</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> mentioned in No. 2 were exceptions) So even if the</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> information is available</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> it is not sure whether the consumers can take any use of</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> it. We also have to</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> take into account that some of these countries have</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> extremely low Internet</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> penetration levels. So we come to the same problems</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> again. The content is</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> there, but can the consumers realistically access that?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> These observations raise the important question how far</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> NRAs can use</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> websites as a tool to interact with the end consumers. I</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> do not try to</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> provide an answer right now. May be I can give a better</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> answer at GK3.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Then the question how NRAs can improve their</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> communications using e-tools. I</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> have some good new here. After publishing the survey</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> results some NRAs have</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> taken serious efforts to improve their websites. India</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> and Bangladesh are</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> two examples. I know both these countries have benefitted</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> from the survey</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> results at best. I do not see any reason why others could</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> not.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Think this is adequate for the moment. I hope I have</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> brought in the Asian</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> dimension to the discussion. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Best Rgds,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Chanuka Wattegama</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> LIRNEasia</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> www.lirneasia.net </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> > _______________________________________________</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> kictanet mailing list</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> <A HREF="http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet">http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet</A></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> This message was sent to: jwalu@yahoo.com</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> Unsubscribe or change your options at</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas"><A HREF="http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com">http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com</A></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<BR>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">__________________________________________________</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Do You Yahoo!?</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas">Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-sg"><FONT FACE="Consolas"><A HREF="http://mail.yahoo.com">http://mail.yahoo.com</A> </FONT></SPAN></P>
</BODY>
</HTML>