Shaping the Future of the Industry - Part 3

Shaping the Future of the Industry

How Policy, Politics and Power Are Changing the ICT Market - Part 3 

By Grant Seiffert

President, Telecommunications Industry

Association (TIA)On the international front, the ICT industry works hard to address market access and trade issues that are critical to its future.  For example, China has the largest wireless market in the world, with 950 million wireless subscribers in 2011. By 2015, this is expected to grow by another 400 million subscribers to 1.35 billion.

To sustain growth, U.S. companies need access to new markets such as China. Unfortunately, we have seen policies that seek to lock out “foreign” competition, or that demand direct government access to U.S. companies’ equipment and services. In facing these issues, our industry is in close partnership with the U.S. government. We are also working with U.S.-based stakeholders, including the government, to combat proposals that would create a new international-level governance structure for the Internet, which could severely threaten the economic and consumer opportunities it presents.

On both a domestic and international level, the development of voluntary, consensus-based standards enhances competitiveness by promoting openness and innovation.  The continued success of this ecosystem is essential for allowing the ICT industry to thrive.