LIRNEasia

LIRNEasia (Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies Asia) is an information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation think-tank active across the Asia Pacific region. The organization is incorporated under the Sri Lankan law as a non-profit organization. It was launched in September 2004 under the leadership of Professor Rohan Samarajiva. Located in Sri Lanka, LIRNEasia functions as a regional organization with active participation from researchers located in other Asian countries.[1]

Mission

LIRNEasia declares its mission as follows: "to improve the lives of the people of the emerging Asia-Pacific by facilitating their use of ICTs and related infrastructures; by catalyzing the reform of laws, policies and regulations to enable those uses through the conduct of policy-relevant research, training and advocacy with emphasis on building in-situ expertise."[2]

Funding

Currently, the majority of LIRNEasia’s programs are funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Department for International Development of the UK (DFID). Previously, it has received funding from Telenor Research and Development Centre Sdn. Bhd, Malaysia (TRICAP), info Dev, a World Bank unit that has partnered with LIRNE.NET since 2001, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).

Partners

LIRNEasia partners with Research ICT Africa(RIA!), Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI) and several European universities within the framework of LIRNE.NET. It is a member of the International Communication Association (ICA).

Initiatives

Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) Survey Tool

Developed by LIRNEasia, the Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) Survey Tool helps to measure regulatory performance. This is a perception-based measure on how well the regulatory agency is managing the fixed, mobile, and broadband telecom sectors. It is a diagnostic instrument for assessing the performance of the laws affecting the telecom sector and the various government entities responsible for implementation. The TRE can help to identify which parts of the regulatory environment need to be improved in order to achieve better performance.[3]

The survey measures seven dimensions: market entry, allocation of scarce resources, interconnection, regulation of anti-competitive practices, universal service obligation), tariff regulation, and service quality.[4] Senior stakeholders, including operator representatives and former regulatory staff, are asked to respond to the survey questions based on a Likert scale, in order to ascertain regulatory performance.

Piloted in 2006 with six countries, the survey was used in 2008 to measure eight countries in Asia: India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. This project is funded by IDRC.[5]

The Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) survey is being merged into Sector Performance Reviews (SPR) in order to provide a broad review of the telecom sector in selected South and South East Asian economies. The SPR is a structured way to collect data that can answer the “why” questions that are not answered using the TRE methodology.

International Advisory Board

References

  1. ↑ "Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies Network (LIRNE.NET)", web page
  2. ↑ "About LIRNEasia, web page
  3. ↑ "Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) assessment", LIRNEasia
  4. ↑ Fourth protocol to the General Agreement on Trade in Services, World Trade Organization, 30 April 1996
  5. ↑ Manual of Instructions for conducting the Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) Assessment, Version 2.1, LIRNEasia, 24 March 2008

External links