Leaders TalkX: When policy meets progress: paving the way for a fit for future digital world

Summary

This discussion focused on creating regulatory frameworks for a fit-for-future digital world, examining how policy can balance investment, competition, and innovation while ensuring digital inclusion and trust. The panel featured telecommunications regulators from Greece, Portugal, Nigeria, South Africa, Georgia, Canada, and Costa Rica, each sharing their national perspectives on digital transformation challenges.

Dr. Konstantinos Masselos from Greece emphasized that digital infrastructure deployment requires capital-intensive investments, necessitating regulatory frameworks that incentivize investment while maintaining competition to ensure affordable, accessible services. He stressed the need for simplified, predictable regulatory approaches that accommodate rapid technological advances like network slicing and software-defined networks. Professor Sandra Maximiano from Portugal highlighted the regulator’s evolving role in protecting fundamental rights and consumer welfare, particularly through behavioral economics insights and coordination under the EU Digital Services Act.

Dr. Aminu Maida from Nigeria described their shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven approaches, leveraging transparency and public information disclosure to empower consumers and enhance market accountability. Mr. Mothibi Ramusi from South Africa emphasized constitutional mandates for digital inclusion, stressing that regulatory frameworks must ensure underserved communities aren’t left behind in digital transformation. Ms. Ekaterine Imedadze from Georgia outlined their evolution from oversight to enablement, focusing on transparency, data analytics, and partnerships to build resilient regulatory frameworks.

Charles Noir from Canada discussed technical operators’ crucial role in maintaining internet security and trust through infrastructure management and multi-stakeholder governance participation. Federico Chacon Loaiza from Costa Rica shared their balanced approach using the National Telecommunications Fund to promote both competition and universal access, successfully reducing digital divides through targeted connectivity programs. The discussion concluded that effective digital regulation requires bold, balanced leadership anchored in trust, inclusion, and long-term resilience.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **Balancing Investment Incentives with Competition**: The need to create regulatory frameworks that encourage capital-intensive digital infrastructure investments while maintaining competitive markets that benefit consumers through better prices, quality, and choices.

– **Data-Driven and Transparent Regulatory Approaches**: Moving from traditional “command and control” regulation toward empowering markets and consumers with transparent data, real-time insights, and public reporting mechanisms to foster accountability and informed decision-making.

– **Digital Inclusion and Universal Access**: Ensuring that digital transformation benefits all citizens, particularly those in underserved and rural areas, through universal service funds, affordable connectivity programs, and targeted initiatives to close the digital divide.

– **Trust, Security, and Consumer Protection in Digital Spaces**: The evolving role of regulators in protecting fundamental rights online, addressing algorithmic discrimination, cybersecurity threats, and ensuring that technical operators maintain secure, resilient digital infrastructure.

– **Multi-stakeholder Collaboration and International Cooperation**: The importance of partnerships between regulators, governments, private sector, civil society, and international organizations to address global digital challenges and maintain open, interoperable internet governance.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to explore how policy and regulatory frameworks can evolve to support digital transformation while addressing complex trade-offs between investment, competition, innovation, and inclusion. The panel sought to share best practices from different regions on creating “fit-for-future” digital governance that serves both economic growth and social equity.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a consistently professional, collaborative, and forward-looking tone throughout. Panelists demonstrated mutual respect and shared commitment to inclusive digital development. The tone was optimistic about technological possibilities while acknowledging serious challenges, and emphasized practical solutions based on real-world regulatory experience. There was no significant shift in tone during the conversation – it remained constructive and solution-oriented from beginning to end.

Speakers

– **Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak** – Co-founder and President of the Foundation Polistratos Institute, Session Facilitator

– **Charles Noir** – Canadian Internet Registration Authority

– **Sandra Maximiano** – President of the Board of Directors, ANACOM (Portugal’s national regulator), Digital Services Coordinator under the EU Digital Services Act

– **Konstantinos Masselos** – President of Hellenic Telecommunication and Post Commission

– **Ekaterine Imedadze** – Commissioner and Outgoing Chairperson, Georgian National Communications Commission and EAPEREC-EU Eastern Partnership

– **Aminu Maida** – Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission

– **Mothibi Ramusi** – Chairperson, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa

– **Federico Chacon Loaiza** – President, Superintendent of Telecommunications (SUTEL, Costa Rica), participated online

**Additional speakers:**

None identified beyond the provided speakers names list.

# Regulatory Frameworks for a Fit-for-Future Digital World: A Comprehensive Discussion Summary

## Introduction and Context

This panel discussion, titled “When policy meets progress, paving the way for a fit-for-future digital world,” was facilitated by Lidia Stepinska-Ustasiak, Co-founder and President of the Foundation Polistratos Institute. The session brought together telecommunications regulators and digital governance experts from across the globe to examine how policy frameworks can evolve to support digital transformation while addressing complex trade-offs between investment, competition, innovation, and inclusion.

The discussion featured representatives from Greece, Portugal, Nigeria, South Africa, Georgia, Canada, and Costa Rica, with Federico Chacon Loaiza from Costa Rica participating online while other panelists were on stage. Each speaker offered unique regional perspectives on creating regulatory frameworks fit for the digital future, maintaining a consistently professional, collaborative, and forward-looking tone throughout.

## Speaker Presentations and Key Perspectives

### Dr. Konstantinos Masselos – Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunication and Post Commission

Dr. Masselos established the foundational challenge of the discussion, emphasizing that digital infrastructure deployment requires capital-intensive investments necessitating regulatory frameworks that incentivize investment while maintaining competition. He stressed the need for simplified, predictable regulatory approaches that accommodate rapid technological advances like network slicing and software-defined networks.

Masselos argued: “we need to have a balance to strike the right balance between pro-investment and pro-competition frameworks… This combination of technology advances and difficult trade-offs, regulatory trade-offs, is a call for re-evaluation of our traditional electronic communications framework.” He emphasized the importance of sustainability across three dimensions: environmental, financial, and socio-economic.

### Dr. Aminu Maida – Nigeria’s Communications Commission

Dr. Maida described Nigeria’s shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven approaches. He explained: “We’ve had to take a shift in our approach to regulation from prescribing behaviour to empowering the market, consumers, and civil society with transparent data… So we’re now trying to leverage these data to come up with a smarter way to provide oversight and also incentivise responsible competition.”

This paradigm shift was driven by practical considerations of scale – maintaining traditional regulatory approaches would be prohibitively expensive for Nigeria’s large population. Maida’s approach leverages transparency and public information disclosure to empower consumers and enhance market accountability through quality of experience indices, consumer satisfaction metrics, and compliance indices made publicly accessible.

### Ms. Ekaterine Imedadze – Georgian National Communications Commission and EAPEREC-EU Eastern Partnership

Ms. Imedadze, serving as Commissioner and Outgoing Chairperson, described Georgia’s evolution from oversight to enablement. She emphasized: “COMCOM shapes and understands the future readiness. It’s not about predicting big technology but shaping the future and being resilient to the change… we’ve shaped ourselves from being the oversight player to the enabler of the transformation.”

She highlighted Georgia’s approach focusing on transparency, data analytics, and partnerships to build resilient regulatory frameworks. Imedadze mentioned their Innovation Lab working with the startup ecosystem and emphasized how strong partnerships enable smaller nations to participate in larger projects and become anchors in the digital ecosystem.

### Mr. Mothibi Ramusi – South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority

Mr. Ramusi emphasized South Africa’s constitutional mandates for digital inclusion, stressing that regulatory frameworks must ensure underserved communities aren’t left behind in digital transformation. He highlighted the importance of South Africa’s constitutional framework and Bill of Rights in guiding their approach to digital governance.

Ramusi stressed the need for robust, protected infrastructure with universal coverage and affordable access to enable rural communities to access world-class services like e-learning. He emphasized multi-stakeholder collaboration frameworks extending beyond local actors to include global partners committed to development, openness, and transparency.

### Professor Sandra Maximiano – Portugal’s ANACOM

Professor Maximiano, serving as Digital Services Coordinator under the EU Digital Services Act, added the dimension of consumer protection, emphasizing that regulators must address behavioral biases exploited online and use behavioral economics tools to protect consumers while ensuring competition and inclusion.

She argued: “regulators must ensure that digital inclusion is a strategic priority… We must require that platforms, operators, and service providers be accountable, not just for the infrastructure they provide, but for the online environment they help shape.” Maximiano mentioned ANACOM’s collaboration with the Lusophone community to advance the behavioral economics agenda in digital policy.

### Charles Noir – Canadian Internet Registration Authority

Charles Noir provided the technical infrastructure perspective, discussing how technical operators play a crucial role in maintaining internet security and trust through infrastructure management and multi-stakeholder governance participation. He emphasized that technical operators are responsible for technologies like DNSSEC, DDoS mitigation, and national DNS firewalls that block malicious traffic.

Noir stressed the responsibility of technical operators to participate in governance spaces, ensuring internet security decisions are grounded in operational realities and technical expertise through multi-stakeholder bottom-up governance models.

### Federico Chacon Loaiza – Costa Rica’s SUTEL (participating online)

Federico Chacon Loaiza described Costa Rica’s balanced approach using the National Telecommunications Fund (FONATEL) to promote both competition and universal access. He stated: “For us digital inclusion is not an afterthought but a central objective. We are convinced that digital public policy should serve as a tool for equity, social cohesion and sustainable development.”

Costa Rica’s model demonstrates practical implementation of investment-competition balance through targeted connectivity programs, showing how regulation with a long-term perspective can use digital public policy as a tool for equity and sustainable development.

## Key Themes and Areas of Consensus

### Balancing Investment and Competition

Multiple speakers agreed on the fundamental challenge of creating regulatory frameworks that simultaneously encourage investment in digital infrastructure while maintaining competitive markets. This consensus emerged from speakers representing different regions and regulatory contexts, suggesting universal recognition of this core tension in digital governance.

### Transparency and Data-Driven Approaches

Several speakers, particularly Maida and Imedadze, advocated for moving away from traditional regulatory approaches toward more transparent, data-driven methods that empower stakeholders and enable innovation. This transformation involves shifting from traditional oversight to enabling innovation through transparency, data analytics, and public accessibility of regulatory information.

### Digital Inclusion as Central Priority

Speakers consistently emphasized that digital inclusion must be a fundamental goal of regulatory frameworks, not an afterthought. This consensus spanned different continents and regulatory contexts, with speakers like Ramusi, Chacon Loaiza, and Maximiano all highlighting the importance of proactive measures to ensure equitable access.

### Multi-stakeholder Collaboration

All speakers demonstrated agreement on the necessity of multi-stakeholder collaboration and partnerships. This consensus extended across different types of organizations, from national regulators to technical operators, emphasizing collaborative approaches involving various stakeholders at local, national, and international levels.

## Concrete Initiatives and Actions

Several speakers outlined specific actions their organizations are undertaking:

– Nigeria’s Communications Commission has implemented data-driven regulatory approaches with public accessibility of quality metrics

– Georgia’s COMCOM established an Innovation Lab working with the startup ecosystem on telecommunications and cybersecurity

– South Africa has developed constitutional framework-based approaches to digital inclusion

– Costa Rica’s SUTEL continues administering the FONATEL fund with connectivity programs

– Portugal’s ANACOM is working on behavioral economics approaches and collaborating with the Lusophone community

– Technical operators are implementing security technologies and participating in multi-stakeholder governance

## Future Challenges and Considerations

The discussion identified several ongoing challenges requiring continued attention:

– Scaling regulatory approaches effectively in large, diverse markets

– Balancing regulatory simplification with comprehensive consumer protection in rapidly evolving digital environments

– Ensuring smaller nations can meaningfully participate in global digital governance

– Managing the relationship between national sovereignty and international cooperation

– Addressing compliance and enforcement costs while maintaining effective oversight

– Adapting to emerging technologies and their regulatory implications

## Key Takeaways

The discussion revealed several critical insights for future digital governance:

1. **Regulatory Evolution**: Digital transformation requires adaptive regulatory frameworks that can balance multiple objectives while remaining responsive to technological change.

2. **Transparency and Empowerment**: Moving toward data-driven, transparent governance approaches that empower consumers and markets through information disclosure.

3. **Inclusion as Foundation**: Digital inclusion must be embedded as a central objective in regulatory policy, supported by appropriate mechanisms and funding.

4. **Collaborative Governance**: Multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential for effective digital governance, requiring participation from various actors at multiple levels.

5. **Technical-Regulatory Integration**: Technical operators play a crucial role in building digital trust and must be integrated into governance frameworks.

6. **Sustainability Focus**: Regulatory approaches must consider environmental, financial, and socio-economic sustainability in their design and implementation.

## Conclusion

The discussion demonstrated significant consensus among global digital governance leaders on fundamental principles while acknowledging the diverse approaches needed for different national contexts. The convergence around transparency, inclusion, collaboration, and adaptive governance suggests a maturing field where best practices are emerging across diverse contexts.

The conversation reinforced that effective digital regulation requires balanced leadership anchored in trust, inclusion, and long-term resilience, with regulators evolving to become enablers of digital transformation that serves both economic growth and social equity. The session concluded with an invitation for a group photo, symbolizing the collaborative spirit that characterized the entire discussion.

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Lidia Stepinska-Ustasiak, I am co-founder and president of the Foundation Polistratos Institute and I will have the pleasure and honor to facilitate the discussion when policy meets progress, paving the way for a fit-for-future digital world. Now, I would like to invite to the stage our panelists, Dr. Konstantinos Masselos, President of Hellenic Telecommunication and Post Commission. Welcome to the stage. Professor Sandra Massimiano, President of the Board of Directors, ANACOM. Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission. Welcome to the stage. Mr. Mokibi Ramozi, Chairperson, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. Ms. Ekaterina Gnadadze, Commissioner and Outgoing Chairperson, Georgian National Communications Commission and EAPEREC-EU Eastern Partnership. And Mr. Charles Noir, Canadian Internet Registration Authority. And we will also have one participant online, Mr. Federico Jaconte Loiza, President, Superintendent of Telecommunications. He will join us online. Let me start with the first question of our today’s session. I would like to direct this question to Dr. Masselos. The deployment of digital and connectivity infrastructure is essential for the digital transformation and the progress in digital space. However, complex trade-offs among investments, competition and innovation do exist in this context. What kind of policy and regulatory frameworks we need to address these challenges?

Konstantinos Masselos: Thank you. Great to be in WSIS 2025. And I would like to thank ITU for having me here. Digital infrastructure is a key driver for economic growth and competitiveness. And digital infrastructure, including connectivity infrastructure, cloud infrastructure, computing, storage, software as a service, is the platform for digital transformation, increases productivity, fosters innovation. So very important. Technology advances very fast. And considering connectivity as an example, we see that in the future, we will see networks shifting from having focus speed to having focus on the services they will offer. Complex, socio-economically transformative services that will require different qualities of service. They will require software-defined type of networks, network slicing, implementation, and qualities of service like reliability, resilience, predictability, continuity, low latency, etc. So we see technology running very fast. On the other hand, the deployment of digital infrastructure and connectivity infrastructure requires investments, is capital intensive. So we need regulatory and policy frameworks to incentivize investments, but at the same time address the demand side so that this infrastructure, the networks are accessible by end users and this means competitively priced. So we need to have a balance to strike the right balance between pro-investment and pro-competition frameworks. Competition still needs to be there to achieve better prices, better quality of service, more choices for the end users. So this combination of technology advances and difficult trade-offs, regulatory trade-offs, is a call for re-evaluation of our traditional electronic communications framework. We need to look more to prioritizing simplification of regulatory frameworks to unnecessary burdens. We need to increase predictability for investments. We need to prioritize deployment-friendly measures, creating level playing field for all the different stakeholders in the ecosystem, harmonization to address economies of scale, and also update our frameworks to reflect to technology advances. And sustainability should be there, not only in the form of environmental sustainability, but also from a financial point of view to make the digital infrastructure sustainable in the long run and also socio-economically sustainable to the benefit of the economy and the society. Thank you.

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Thank you very much, Dr. Marcelos. You clearly articulated how policy frameworks will have to evolve to support innovation on the one hand and to keep investments at the relevant level. Now, I’d like to turn to Professor Massimiano and I’d like to ask, as a chairwoman of ANACOM and also a national regulator of Portugal and also a coordinator of digital services in the scope of the EU Digital Services Act, what would you tell us about the role of regulation in these fields and what is your experience here?

Sandra Maximiano: Thanks a lot for the invitation. I think in this actual context of this digital transformation, regulation plays a very central role and we need to keep ensuring competition, inclusion, resilience and, crucially, the protection of fundamental rights. Competition has been advanced through supply-side measures, such as regulatory obligations to address specific market failures, but as well as through effective management of essential resources like spectrum and numbering. However, we also need to tackle and focus on the demand side, which are equally important for us, especially to empower and protect the consumers. This digital context is essential for regulators on a digital space to understand and respond to how behavioral biases are exploited online. Also, regulators need to use tools from behavioral economics and put them to work for the good. For instance, applying match techniques to protect users. ANACOM has been actively promoting these behavioral insights in international discussions, aiming to integrate these tools into global digital policy. For instance, currently we are working with CEPT. to contribute to European Common Proposal for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku. And these proposals seek to strengthen the ITU’s mandate on consumer protection grounded in these behavioral economics and behavioral insights. We are also collaborating with the Lusophone community to move forward this agenda. But of course, the rapid development of emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, presents undeniable benefits, and some of them we can experience in this meeting, but also complex challenges. And regulators must ensure that digital inclusion is a strategic priority. The goal is to prevent technological advancements from deepening the country’s digital divide. Also, we need a forward-looking regulatory approach that embeds ethical principles into the design of technology ensuring that serves human well-being. Regulators, and in this case, we are also very much embracing this cause, we should act as guardians of digital space and digital safety and dignity. The rise in online violence, surveillance threats, and algorithmic discrimination demands firm and coordinated action. We must require that platforms, operators, and service providers be accountable, not just for the infrastructure they provide, but for the online environment they help shape. And I come as digital service coordinator as a key mission under the European Digital Service Act, so to protect consumers online and safeguards their fundamental rights. This role involves not just for enforcing the rules at the national level and an effective approach, but also working closely with all relevant national authorities to ensure a coordinated approach. Just as important is the cooperation with other coordinators across the EU, with the European Commission, and looking ahead with the new players like trusted flaggers, vetted researchers, and dispute resolution bodies. This networked approach is essential. It allows the regulation to be applied consistently across the union, creating a safer, more predictable, and trustworthy online environment. And I think it also teaches a great lesson, which is basically cooperation and collaboration is the key in this context that a large number of entities should work together to build a stronger regulation.

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Thank you very much for highlighting the role of regulators in creating regulatory landscape, particularly in the context of new roles connected with digital services coordinator role. And it was European Perspective presented by Group Portugal. And now I would like to move to Nigeria and turn to Dr. Edoardo. I mean, Maida, Executive Chairman of Nigerian Communication Commission, and ask how can governments leverage digital transformation to adopt data-driven regulatory approach that fosters market competition among operators and enhances consumer protection to close the digital divide?

Aminu Maida: Thank you very much. I think at the NCC, we’ve understood that connectivity is not just a service, it’s the backbone of progress. Digital services now underpin virtually everything, businesses, healthcare, education, and even governance. But we need to not just focus, when we speak about connectivity, we need to not just focus on the infrastructure, but we also need to focus on building trust and strengthening it, of course. Now, over the years, we’ve come to realize, like I’m sure the regulators around the world from my interaction with them, that the traditional approach of command and control has its place, but it also has its limitations, especially when you consider the kind of dynamic digital world we live in, which is innovation-driven and fast-paced. It can stifle innovation, of course. Flexibility is questionable. There’s typically a high cost of compliance and enforcement. And quite often, we’re seeing increasing these generating resistance from the entities we regulate. Now, if you take a moment and just look at the scale of the problem, Nigeria, most populous black nation in the world, 220 million people. It’s over 20 times the size of Switzerland. To maintain that approach effectively will cost a lot of money. And so far, if I could find some of the best examples, the crystal ball, I can find the answer of how to maintain that approach at scale. But I think, I assume you’re a very rich man. So considering the scale of this problem, we’ve had to take a shift in our approach to regulation from prescribing behavior to empowering the market, consumers, and civil society with transparent data. And if you think about it, like most of the markets, the regulator collects a lot of data. So already we’re collecting data on whether it’s on quality of service, pricing structures, consumer complaints trend, and a whole load of other data points. So we’re now trying to leverage these data to come up with a smarter way to provide oversight and also incentivize responsible competition. And enhance accountability without too much overreach. But crucially to do this digital transformation, this is the enabler, we must adopt digital tools and platform. So very quickly, let’s see, I’m running out of time. The question is, how are we going about this in the NCC? So at the heart of our regulatory transformation, we’re embedding information disclosure, leveraging digital tools. So for example, we recently launched a major incident reporting portal for the public. And we saw a shift in the discourse from people questioning the operators, why are you not offering the right level of service to or why are these construction companies damaging telecommunications infrastructure? So it started a process whereby the media and citizens through a discourse were engaged in questioning and effectively protecting the infrastructure. We’ve also moved away from quality of service, more to quality of experience. We’re leveraging crowdsourced data from real user, from real usage. And this real time data is providing us actual insight into people’s experience. But we’re also making this information publicly accessible so that people can make the decisions of what’s the best network, where I need to use it and when I need to use it. And this actually is going to, we believe is going to elevate competition by putting power in the hands of the users. And lastly, we’re also developing a number of indices which we hope to make, which we intend to make public. So there’s an index on quality of experience, an index on consumer satisfaction and a compliance index. Now, by digitizing our oversight and mandating this transparent reporting, we’re fostering a competitive. and Mr. Aminu Maida, Dr. Konstantinos Masselos, Prof. Sandra Maximiano, Dr. Aminu Maida, Ms. Ekaterine Imedadze, Mr. Federico Chacon Loaiza, Dr. Charles Noir

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Thank you very much. And because time of our session is running very quickly, I will also quickly move to our next panelist, who is Mr. Mothibi Ramusi. And I would like to ask the question, how do we ensure that a future digital world is not just defined by technology, but also its ability to transform the daily lives of ordinary citizens, and especially those in underserved areas?

Mothibi Ramusi: Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I think from our side, I’m just going to use the South African context here. You know, living in a democratic country, we have a constitution, which has got Bill of Rights, which serves as a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. And what it calls for, it calls that everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and the benefit of the law. Now, within the context of WSIS, I think the question that we then need to ask is, from a regulatory point of view, how best are we then supposed to make sure that everyone that is going to be consuming services is included in the agenda? So, I think from my analysis is then, in terms of policy, if it defines the main problem within your environment, then from a regulatory point of view, our job then is to make sure that we come up with a regulatory program that is going to be inclusive, and most importantly, taking into consideration citizens’ requirements. Now, as South Africa, we have shown its commitment for the future world. Recently, we’ve just launched a digital transformation roadmap in 2025. This is amongst others, just to show the commitment that we have actually listened to a citizen, and with the intention that that citizen, we should not leave everyone behind. Now, in the main, we know that when we talk about inclusivity, the issue of universal access, literacy for all, accessible technology, and ensuring that you close the digital divide, it’s how you can bring a child from an underserved community into the mainstream of the future. Because from a policy, even if you’re talking about advancing your political agenda, as a regulator, then it will be to make sure that, how do we then support those that are building infrastructure? We need robust infrastructure that are protected, issues of cybersecurity to be taken care of. Then, in practice, a child in a rural village should be able to access world-class education through e-learning, because it’s all about visibility and knowledge. And that to happen, we need universal coverage, affordable access to services that are provided by those that are building networks. So, in my conclusion, we must be mindful of emerging trends and technologies, such as the intelligence and adaptive services. The working model of the future requires enhanced performance, prediction, and offered by services. Notably, it is going to be important to implement automated systems that are geared to detect and respond to unscheduled events, because issues of emergency and disaster, we need to be mindful of those. These interventions are meant to drive and promote citizen-centric and user-friendly environment. And in South Africa context, linking all these futuristic initiatives to our constitutional mandate, it’s how we have learned. Finally, the journey cannot be undertaken in isolation. It requires a well-developed multi-stakeholder collaboration framework, one that extends beyond local actors and includes global partners, particularly those committed to development, openness, transparency, shared vision, and progress. Thank you.

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Thank you very much. Thank you very much particularly for highlighting the importance of inclusion and affordability. And now, reflecting on the challenges in the creation of regulatory frameworks, we will leave Africa. I would like to turn to Georgia and ask the next question to Mr. Ekaterin Madadze. Based on the Georgia example, how can national regulators champion future regulatory frameworks that successfully balance the drive for investment and competitive digital growth with the imperative to place people’s trust and resilience at the heart of digital progress?

Ekaterine Imedadze: Thank you very much for the question. Good afternoon. It’s an honor to be part of the leaders’ talk and speak about the Georgian experience particularly. If we speak, Georgian regulatory authority COMCOM shapes and understands the future readiness. It’s not about predicting big technology but shaping the future and being resilient to the change. So, what is our identity being resilient to changes? It’s first our mindset. It’s about people and culture. So, it’s about organizational pillar. Another pillar is the mechanisms. This is the data analytics and knowledge. And third, very important for us is partnership, collaborative partnerships with different sectors and different geographies. So, COMCOM is 25 years young and we’ve shaped ourselves from being the oversight player to the enabler of the transformation. And this is our major role now to enable innovation and embed inclusivity and trust in our decisions. So, if we speak about how operationally we come to those targets, there are three also directions. This is first, when we make any decision, we try to be exceptionally transparent and inclusive. So, opening our doors to any stakeholders. This is our mandate to be public but also providing facility place where we can really debate in person on the changes and debates we have. Also, if we speak about equipping ourselves with proper mechanisms, we know that we live in the era of data. So, having strong analytical portal where we put all the sector-related data is very important. So, this also brings trust and transparency for our citizens and for market and for peers. And third and very important is our partnerships. And through our strong partnerships with different regulatory authorities also present here, different donor organizations, it is possible for the smaller nations, smaller countries to really become part of larger projects. This is, for example, in case of Georgia Rural Development Project, which has the pillar of bringing digital literacy in the rural areas of Georgia. And this is also extending the mandate of the COMCOM. So, this is why we’re trying to be quite adaptive to challenges. We also have Made in a Lab at COMCOM. It means that we are working with startup ecosystem and trying, but in specific pillar of that. Digital and we are trying to build the ecosystem of startupers who understand what is telecom, how important is resilient and trustworthy telecom and cyber security. So those are the main areas where we work and we really believe that with strong partnerships and collaboration even small nations can become the changing anchors in the digital ecosystem. Thank you.

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Thank you very much and because our session is approaching its end very quickly I would like to move to Dr. Charles Noir and ask in your view what is the role of technical operators in supporting the broader goal in cultivating trust and security in the digital environment?

Charles Noir: Thank you very much for the question. It’s a pleasure to be with you and with these panelists today. So technical operators and when I’m talking about that I’m thinking about domain registrars, domain name registrars, registries for internet numbers. These are the folks that play a critical if not often taken for granted role in cultivating trust and security in the digital environment. The integrity and the resilience of the global internet depends on the infrastructures that they manage, the standards they uphold and the values they embed in their day-to-day operations. At CIRA we see this as a responsibility which is core to who we are and our mandate. Of course we operate the .ca domain space but we see our broader role for ourselves in stewarding Canada’s digital infrastructure particularly internet infrastructure. We invest in a number of tools some of them you may know you may not know DNSSEC also known as domain name system security extensions. I won’t get into it. DDoS mitigation and we also provision a national DNS firewall. These are technologies that block malicious traffic before it reaches users and they’re not just technical functions they’re trust building. The role of technical operators doesn’t just stop at the technical layer. We also have a responsibility to show up in governance spaces to ensure decisions about internet security and trust are grounded in operational realities and that they’re informed by technical expertise and that’s a key message of a technical community coalition for multi stakeholderism or TCCM if you have not heard of them which is a global coalition of technical operators including CIRA that works to uphold the multi-stakeholder bottom-up internet governance model. We’re focused on ensuring processes shaping the internet’s future remain open, accessible and rooted in a shared responsibility. Critically CIRA believes that technical operators should lead by example through transparent security practices respect for open standards and a demonstrated commitment to privacy and accountability. These principles are essential not only for maintaining user trust but also for reinforcing the legitimacy of the multi-stakeholder model in a moment where digital trust is under strain from state-led internet fragmentation to rising cybersecurity threats. We as technical operators have both the tools and the credibility to help safeguard the open and resilient internet we all depend on and that requires stepping up not just technically but meaningfully in key conversations about the future of internet governance like the one we’re having here at the WSIS. It’s great to be part of it. Thank you.

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: Thank you very much and last but not least I would like to ask the question to our panelist who is with us online, Mr. Mr. Federico Chacon Loaiza. Based on your experience promoting access and universal service through the National Telecommunication Fund which plays a key role in reducing Costa Rica’s digital divide, how do you manage the balance between a regulatory framework that fosters competition and the need to ensure connectivity in rural areas

Federico Chacon Loaiza: and vulnerable populations? Thank you for your question. Good afternoon and best regards to all from Costa Rica. First I would like to thank the International Telecommunications Union for giving us the opportunity to share our experience in this important forum. For us effective regulation should promote competition, protect user rights and guarantee service quality. However it should also align with a more equitable and inclusive national vision. At SUTEL we seek this balance through a comprehensive approach. On one hand we promote competition through clear rules, transparent public vendors and efficient spectrum management. On the other hand we administer the National Telecommunications Fund, FONATEL, to expand connectivity to areas the market doesn’t reach on its own, including rural areas, indigenous territories and vulnerable communities. Thanks to technical and transparent management FONATEL has financed key projects to close the digital divide. The Connect Community Program, for instance, has deployed more than 700 connectivity sites in rural districts, benefiting over 1 million people. Through the Connected Homes Program more than 287,000 subsidies have been guaranteed to low-income families, reducing the digital divide by 22 percentage points with a total investment of 220 million U.S. dollars. Additionally over 123,000 devices have been delivered to schools, health centers and daycare facilities. These projects are executed through public tenders involving national and regional operators, which also foster competition in the use of funds resources. However, our goal is not only to connect but to connect with purpose. This is why we collaborate with institutions such as the Ministry of Education, the Costa Rican Social Security Administration and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology and Telecommunications to ensure that this connectivity supports the development of distance learning, telemedicine, financial inclusion and digital government. A recent example of this approach is the public tender for 5G networks, which aim not a revenue collection but a widened frequency to providers, offering the broadest network deployment and committing to cover all districts with low connectivity. In this way we ensure that fifth generation telecommunications also reach the areas of greatest need. In summary at SUTEL we regulate with a long-term perspective. For us digital inclusion is not an afterthought but a central objective. We are convinced that digital public policy should serve as a tool for equity, social cohesion and sustainable development. Thank you very much for your

Lidia Stepinska Ustasiak: attention. Thank you very much. Thank you very much to all panelists and as today’s discussion to the sequence of interventions clearly shown, shaping fit for future digital world required bold but also balanced regulatory leadership. The leadership which should be anchored in trust, inclusion and long-term resilience. Thank you very much. Now I would like to invite all of you to the group photo. Recording

Agreement points

Need for balanced regulatory frameworks that promote both investment and competition

Speakers

– Konstantinos Masselos
– Federico Chacon Loaiza

Arguments

Need for regulatory frameworks that balance pro-investment incentives with pro-competition measures to ensure accessible, competitively priced networks while encouraging capital-intensive infrastructure deployment

Administration of National Telecommunications Fund to expand connectivity to underserved areas through programs like Connect Community and Connected Homes, reducing digital divide by 22 percentage points

Summary

Both speakers emphasize the need for regulatory approaches that simultaneously encourage investment in digital infrastructure while maintaining competitive markets to ensure affordable access for consumers

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Economic | Infrastructure

Importance of transparency and data-driven approaches in regulation

Speakers

– Aminu Maida
– Ekaterine Imedadze

Arguments

Shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven approaches that empower markets and consumers through transparent information disclosure and digital oversight tools

Transformation from oversight player to enabler of innovation, embedding inclusivity and trust through exceptional transparency, strong analytical capabilities, and collaborative partnerships

Summary

Both speakers advocate for moving away from traditional regulatory approaches toward more transparent, data-driven methods that empower stakeholders and enable innovation

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Infrastructure

Digital inclusion as a central regulatory objective

Speakers

– Mothibi Ramusi
– Federico Chacon Loaiza
– Sandra Maximiano

Arguments

Constitutional mandate requires equal protection and benefit of law for all citizens, necessitating inclusive regulatory programs that consider citizens’ requirements

Regulation with long-term perspective where digital inclusion is central objective, using digital public policy as tool for equity, social cohesion, and sustainable development

Regulators must address behavioral biases exploited online and use behavioral economics tools to protect consumers while ensuring competition and inclusion

Summary

All three speakers emphasize that digital inclusion must be a fundamental goal of regulatory frameworks, not an afterthought, requiring proactive measures to ensure equitable access

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory | Human rights

Necessity of multi-stakeholder collaboration and partnerships

Speakers

– Mothibi Ramusi
– Ekaterine Imedadze
– Sandra Maximiano
– Charles Noir

Arguments

Multi-stakeholder collaboration framework extending beyond local actors to include global partners committed to development, openness, and transparency

Strong partnerships with regulatory authorities and donor organizations enable smaller nations to participate in larger projects and become changing anchors in digital ecosystem

Networked approach with cooperation between national coordinators, European Commission, and new players like trusted flaggers creates safer, more predictable online environment

Responsibility to participate in governance spaces ensuring internet security decisions are grounded in operational realities and technical expertise through multi-stakeholder bottom-up governance model

Summary

Multiple speakers agree that effective digital governance requires collaborative approaches involving various stakeholders at local, national, and international levels

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Infrastructure

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasize the critical importance of accountability, transparency, and trust-building in digital environments, with regulators and technical operators having responsibility for maintaining safe and secure online spaces

Speakers

– Sandra Maximiano
– Charles Noir

Arguments

Need for regulators to act as guardians of digital safety and dignity, requiring platforms and service providers to be accountable for the online environments they help shape

Need for transparent security practices, respect for open standards, and demonstrated commitment to privacy and accountability to maintain user trust

Topics

Cybersecurity | Human rights | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers advocate for regulatory transformation that moves from traditional oversight to enabling innovation through transparency, data analytics, and public accessibility of regulatory information

Speakers

– Aminu Maida
– Ekaterine Imedadze

Arguments

Development of quality of experience indices, consumer satisfaction metrics, and compliance indices made publicly accessible to elevate competition

Transformation from oversight player to enabler of innovation, embedding inclusivity and trust through exceptional transparency, strong analytical capabilities, and collaborative partnerships

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Economic

Both speakers emphasize that digital infrastructure must serve practical purposes in improving citizens’ lives, particularly in education and essential services, with special focus on reaching underserved communities

Speakers

– Mothibi Ramusi
– Federico Chacon Loaiza

Arguments

Importance of robust, protected infrastructure with universal coverage and affordable access to enable rural communities to access world-class services like e-learning

Collaboration with institutions across education, health, and government sectors to ensure connectivity supports distance learning, telemedicine, and digital government services

Topics

Infrastructure | Development | Sociocultural

Unexpected consensus

Shift away from traditional command-and-control regulation

Speakers

– Aminu Maida
– Ekaterine Imedadze
– Sandra Maximiano

Arguments

Shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven approaches that empower markets and consumers through transparent information disclosure and digital oversight tools

Transformation from oversight player to enabler of innovation, embedding inclusivity and trust through exceptional transparency, strong analytical capabilities, and collaborative partnerships

Regulators must address behavioral biases exploited online and use behavioral economics tools to protect consumers while ensuring competition and inclusion

Explanation

It’s unexpected to see such strong consensus among regulators from different continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia) about moving away from traditional regulatory approaches. This suggests a global shift in regulatory thinking toward more adaptive, innovation-enabling frameworks

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Economic

Technical operators’ role in governance and policy-making

Speakers

– Charles Noir
– Sandra Maximiano

Arguments

Responsibility to participate in governance spaces ensuring internet security decisions are grounded in operational realities and technical expertise through multi-stakeholder bottom-up governance model

Networked approach with cooperation between national coordinators, European Commission, and new players like trusted flaggers creates safer, more predictable online environment

Explanation

The consensus between a technical operator and a regulatory authority about the importance of technical expertise in governance spaces represents an unexpected alignment between traditionally separate domains, suggesting growing recognition of the need for technical-regulatory integration

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Infrastructure | Cybersecurity

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrated remarkable consensus on key principles including the need for balanced investment-competition frameworks, transparency and data-driven regulation, digital inclusion as a central objective, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. There was also unexpected agreement on moving away from traditional command-and-control regulation toward more adaptive approaches.

Consensus level

High level of consensus with significant implications for global digital governance. The agreement across diverse geographical regions (Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Asia) and different types of organizations (national regulators, technical operators, international bodies) suggests emerging global standards for digital regulation. This consensus indicates a maturing field where best practices are converging around principles of transparency, inclusion, collaboration, and adaptive governance. The implications are positive for international cooperation and harmonization of digital policies, potentially leading to more effective and coordinated global digital governance frameworks.

Different viewpoints

Regulatory approach: Traditional oversight vs. data-driven empowerment

Speakers

– Konstantinos Masselos
– Aminu Maida

Arguments

Need for regulatory frameworks that balance pro-investment incentives with pro-competition measures to ensure accessible, competitively priced networks while encouraging capital-intensive infrastructure deployment

Shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven approaches that empower markets and consumers through transparent information disclosure and digital oversight tools

Summary

Masselos advocates for traditional regulatory frameworks that balance investment incentives with competition measures, while Maida argues for moving away from command-and-control regulation toward data-driven approaches that empower markets and consumers.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Economic | Development

Focus on technical infrastructure vs. behavioral protection

Speakers

– Charles Noir
– Sandra Maximiano

Arguments

Technical operators play critical role in cultivating trust through technologies like DNSSEC, DDoS mitigation, and national DNS firewalls that block malicious traffic before reaching users

Regulators must address behavioral biases exploited online and use behavioral economics tools to protect consumers while ensuring competition and inclusion

Summary

Noir emphasizes the technical infrastructure layer and security technologies as the foundation for trust, while Maximiano focuses on addressing behavioral biases and using behavioral economics to protect consumers.

Topics

Cybersecurity | Human rights | Legal and regulatory

Unexpected differences

Scale and approach to regulatory transformation

Speakers

– Aminu Maida
– Konstantinos Masselos

Arguments

Shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven approaches that empower markets and consumers through transparent information disclosure and digital oversight tools

Need for regulatory frameworks that balance pro-investment incentives with pro-competition measures to ensure accessible, competitively priced networks while encouraging capital-intensive infrastructure deployment

Explanation

Unexpected because both are telecommunications regulators from developing regions, yet they propose fundamentally different approaches – Maida advocates for abandoning traditional regulation due to scale challenges, while Masselos supports evolving traditional frameworks.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Economic | Development

Overall assessment

Summary

The main areas of disagreement center on regulatory philosophy (traditional vs. data-driven approaches), the primary focus for building digital trust (technical infrastructure vs. behavioral protection), and the role of partnerships in achieving digital inclusion goals.

Disagreement level

Moderate disagreement level with significant implications – while speakers share common goals of digital inclusion, trust, and infrastructure development, their different approaches could lead to divergent regulatory policies and outcomes. The disagreements reflect different national contexts, regulatory maturity levels, and philosophical approaches to governance, suggesting that one-size-fits-all solutions may not be appropriate for global digital governance.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasize the critical importance of accountability, transparency, and trust-building in digital environments, with regulators and technical operators having responsibility for maintaining safe and secure online spaces

Speakers

– Sandra Maximiano
– Charles Noir

Arguments

Need for regulators to act as guardians of digital safety and dignity, requiring platforms and service providers to be accountable for the online environments they help shape

Need for transparent security practices, respect for open standards, and demonstrated commitment to privacy and accountability to maintain user trust

Topics

Cybersecurity | Human rights | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers advocate for regulatory transformation that moves from traditional oversight to enabling innovation through transparency, data analytics, and public accessibility of regulatory information

Speakers

– Aminu Maida
– Ekaterine Imedadze

Arguments

Development of quality of experience indices, consumer satisfaction metrics, and compliance indices made publicly accessible to elevate competition

Transformation from oversight player to enabler of innovation, embedding inclusivity and trust through exceptional transparency, strong analytical capabilities, and collaborative partnerships

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Economic

Both speakers emphasize that digital infrastructure must serve practical purposes in improving citizens’ lives, particularly in education and essential services, with special focus on reaching underserved communities

Speakers

– Mothibi Ramusi
– Federico Chacon Loaiza

Arguments

Importance of robust, protected infrastructure with universal coverage and affordable access to enable rural communities to access world-class services like e-learning

Collaboration with institutions across education, health, and government sectors to ensure connectivity supports distance learning, telemedicine, and digital government services

Topics

Infrastructure | Development | Sociocultural

Key takeaways

Digital transformation requires regulatory frameworks that balance pro-investment incentives with pro-competition measures to ensure accessible, affordable connectivity while encouraging infrastructure development

Regulators must evolve from traditional command-and-control approaches to data-driven, transparent governance that empowers consumers and markets through information disclosure

Consumer protection in the digital age requires addressing behavioral biases exploited online and holding platforms accountable for the online environments they create

Digital inclusion and universal access must be central objectives of regulatory policy, not afterthoughts, with dedicated funding mechanisms like national telecommunications funds

Technical operators play a critical role in building digital trust through security technologies and participation in multi-stakeholder internet governance

Regulatory innovation requires transparency, strong analytical capabilities, collaborative partnerships, and adaptive governance structures that can respond to rapid technological change

Multi-stakeholder collaboration frameworks extending beyond national borders are essential for effective digital governance and closing the digital divide

Future regulatory approaches must embed ethical principles, sustainability considerations, and citizen-centric design into technology deployment

Resolutions and action items

ANACOM working with CEPT to contribute to European Common Proposal for upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku

ANACOM collaborating with Lusophone community to advance behavioral economics agenda in digital policy

Nigerian Communications Commission launched major incident reporting portal for public engagement

South Africa launched digital transformation roadmap in 2025 showing commitment to inclusive digital future

Georgia’s COMCOM established Innovation Lab working with startup ecosystem on telecom and cybersecurity

Costa Rica’s SUTEL continuing administration of FONATEL fund with specific programs like Connect Community and Connected Homes

Technical Community Coalition for Multi-stakeholderism (TCCM) working to uphold multi-stakeholder internet governance model

Unresolved issues

How to effectively scale traditional regulatory approaches in large, diverse markets like Nigeria’s 220 million population

Balancing the need for regulatory simplification with comprehensive consumer protection in rapidly evolving digital environments

Ensuring smaller nations can meaningfully participate in global digital governance and infrastructure development

Managing the tension between national sovereignty and international cooperation in internet governance

Addressing the high costs of compliance and enforcement while maintaining effective regulatory oversight

Determining optimal regulatory responses to emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing

Establishing consistent application of digital rights and protections across different jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks

Suggested compromises

Striking balance between pro-investment and pro-competition frameworks through regulatory predictability and deployment-friendly measures

Combining supply-side regulatory obligations with demand-side consumer empowerment through behavioral economics tools

Using transparent data disclosure and public indices to foster competition while reducing direct regulatory intervention

Implementing networked regulatory approaches that coordinate between national authorities and international bodies

Leveraging public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder frameworks to share responsibility for digital infrastructure development

Adopting adaptive governance models that can evolve with technology while maintaining core principles of inclusion and trust

Balancing market-driven connectivity expansion with targeted public funding for underserved areas through national telecommunications funds

We need to have a balance to strike the right balance between pro-investment and pro-competition frameworks… This combination of technology advances and difficult trade-offs, regulatory trade-offs, is a call for re-evaluation of our traditional electronic communications framework.

Speaker

Dr. Konstantinos Masselos

Reason

This comment is insightful because it identifies the fundamental tension at the heart of digital regulation – the need to simultaneously encourage investment while maintaining competition. It goes beyond surface-level solutions to call for a complete re-evaluation of traditional frameworks, recognizing that technological advances have fundamentally changed the regulatory landscape.

Impact

This comment established the central theme for the entire discussion. It framed the conversation around the core challenge of balancing competing interests and set the stage for other panelists to explore different aspects of this balance from their regional perspectives.

We’ve had to take a shift in our approach to regulation from prescribing behavior to empowering the market, consumers, and civil society with transparent data… So we’re now trying to leverage these data to come up with a smarter way to provide oversight and also incentivize responsible competition.

Speaker

Dr. Aminu Maida

Reason

This comment is particularly thought-provoking because it presents a paradigm shift from traditional command-and-control regulation to data-driven, transparency-based governance. It acknowledges the limitations of traditional approaches at scale and proposes a more collaborative model that empowers stakeholders rather than merely controlling them.

Impact

This comment introduced a concrete alternative regulatory model that moved the discussion from theoretical frameworks to practical implementation. It demonstrated how regulators can adapt to digital transformation challenges and influenced subsequent speakers to discuss their own innovative approaches to regulation.

Regulators need to use tools from behavioral economics and put them to work for the good. For instance, applying match techniques to protect users… regulators must ensure that digital inclusion is a strategic priority… We must require that platforms, operators, and service providers be accountable, not just for the infrastructure they provide, but for the online environment they help shape.

Speaker

Professor Sandra Massimiano

Reason

This comment is insightful because it expands the regulatory scope beyond traditional telecommunications to include behavioral economics and platform accountability. It recognizes that digital regulation must address how human psychology is exploited online and calls for a more holistic approach to digital governance that includes ethical considerations.

Impact

This comment broadened the discussion from infrastructure and competition to include consumer protection, behavioral insights, and platform responsibility. It introduced the concept of regulators as ‘guardians of digital space’ and shifted the conversation toward more comprehensive digital governance approaches.

COMCOM shapes and understands the future readiness. It’s not about predicting big technology but shaping the future and being resilient to the change… we’ve shaped ourselves from being the oversight player to the enabler of the transformation.

Speaker

Ms. Ekaterine Imedadze

Reason

This comment is thought-provoking because it redefines the role of regulators from reactive overseers to proactive enablers of transformation. The distinction between ‘predicting’ and ‘shaping’ technology represents a fundamental shift in regulatory philosophy, emphasizing adaptability and resilience over rigid control.

Impact

This comment introduced the concept of regulatory transformation and the evolution of regulatory identity. It demonstrated how smaller nations can be change agents and influenced the discussion toward collaborative, partnership-based approaches to regulation.

For us digital inclusion is not an afterthought but a central objective. We are convinced that digital public policy should serve as a tool for equity, social cohesion and sustainable development.

Speaker

Mr. Federico Chacon Loaiza

Reason

This comment is insightful because it positions digital inclusion not as a secondary consideration but as the primary objective of regulatory policy. It reframes the entire regulatory mission around equity and social cohesion, suggesting that technical and competitive considerations should serve broader social goals.

Impact

This comment provided a strong conclusion to the discussion by emphasizing the ultimate purpose of digital regulation. It reinforced themes of inclusion and equity that had been building throughout the conversation and demonstrated how regulatory frameworks can be designed with social objectives at their core.

Overall assessment

These key comments collectively shaped the discussion by establishing a progression from identifying core regulatory challenges to presenting innovative solutions and ultimately defining the social purpose of digital regulation. The conversation evolved from Dr. Masselos’s foundational challenge of balancing investment and competition, through practical examples of regulatory innovation from Nigeria and Portugal, to broader concepts of regulatory transformation from Georgia, and finally to the social mission articulated by Costa Rica. Each comment built upon previous insights while introducing new dimensions – from technical and economic considerations to behavioral economics, from national approaches to international collaboration, and from regulatory efficiency to social equity. The discussion demonstrated a global consensus on the need for regulatory evolution while showcasing diverse approaches to achieving similar goals of inclusive, competitive, and sustainable digital transformation.

How to maintain traditional command and control regulatory approaches effectively at scale in large populations

Speaker

Dr. Aminu Maida

Explanation

Dr. Maida mentioned that maintaining the traditional approach effectively would cost a lot of money for Nigeria’s 220 million people, and he couldn’t find examples of how to maintain that approach at scale, suggesting this needs further research

How to integrate behavioral economics tools into global digital policy frameworks

Speaker

Professor Sandra Massimiano

Explanation

She mentioned ANACOM is working with CEPT to contribute to European Common Proposal for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku, seeking to strengthen ITU’s mandate on consumer protection grounded in behavioral economics

How to ensure consistent application of digital services regulation across the EU

Speaker

Professor Sandra Massimiano

Explanation

She emphasized the importance of cooperation with other coordinators across the EU and the European Commission to ensure coordinated approach and consistent regulation application

How to develop effective automated systems for detecting and responding to unscheduled events and emergencies

Speaker

Mr. Mothibi Ramusi

Explanation

He mentioned the importance of implementing automated systems for emergency and disaster response as part of future-ready digital infrastructure

How smaller nations can become changing anchors in the digital ecosystem through partnerships

Speaker

Ms. Ekaterine Imedadze

Explanation

She emphasized that through strong partnerships and collaboration, even small nations can become significant players in digital transformation, suggesting this model needs further exploration

How to ensure internet governance decisions remain grounded in operational realities and technical expertise

Speaker

Dr. Charles Noir

Explanation

He highlighted the need for technical operators to participate in governance spaces to ensure decisions about internet security and trust are informed by technical expertise

How to scale successful digital inclusion models like Costa Rica’s FONATEL to other contexts

Speaker

Mr. Federico Chacon Loaiza

Explanation

His presentation of Costa Rica’s successful approach to digital inclusion through the National Telecommunications Fund suggests this model could be studied for replication in other countries