LIVE FROM DIGITAL SOCIETIES POLICY FORUM, BANGKOK: Cross-border data sharing will require forward-looking regulations to develop trusted systems and drive uptake of digital services.

Shahed Alam, EVP at Robi Axiata in Bangladesh (pictured, right), told delegates privacy laws in individual countries are not enough, noting cross-border initiatives are needed to support the sharing of data between countries.

“How can operators share data to provide better customer service? We have to build trust or we won’t have the data to build a hyper-connected society,” he said, adding: “We will have millions of sensors, and we won’t be able to get the full extent of new IoT services unless we can share data, so I still see some shakiness in the business cases.”

Panelists in a session on Hyper-connected Societies in Asia Pacific at the event, which was organised by GSMA and ITU, agreed it is vital the priorities of the private sector are shared by governments.

Collaboration
Paradai Theerathada, dtac’s chief corporate affairs officer (pictured, centre), cautioned governments must be careful new laws don’t stifle the flow of information and end up damaging the push for connected societies.

He questioned if Thailand’s telecoms regulator is enhancing or inhibiting the path to the government’s Thailand 4.0 plan: “I think the regulator is in a state of transition and working to be more transparent, and we are building strong relationships with other ministries and working with them to put pressure on the telecoms regulator.”

Alam said regulators face a multitude of challenges in developing regulations as the technology is changing so rapidly: “We need help from them, and we need to cooperate more with regulators and government to provide them with more information so they can predict changes and harmonise future regulations.”

He said Robi Axiata must try to predict the regulatory framework in the future, which he acknowledged is extremely difficult.

Paradai said dtac is working with the Ministry of Education in Thailand to develop training on digital services for SMEs, and ensuring the country’s unconnected get connected.

Looking at the long-running concern of spectrum availability in Thailand, he said dtac feels there is not enough spectrum in the pipeline, with the country in need of a robust, long-term spectrum plan – reiterating comments he made in March.

“The way things stand, we see operators grab at everything that is available, rather than according to what their needs are,” Pardai noted.