Workshop on “Regulation of Value Added Services (VAS)” to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25 to 28 March 2013. This workshop is organized under the auspices of the ITU Centres of Excellence for Africa. It will be hosted by the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRALTI), as part of the capacity building relationship established between ITU and AFRALTI.

OVERVIEW

Due to the proliferation of smart phones and 3G networks and the decreasing cost of smart phones, uptake of data applications and value added services is poised to grow. Further, the value added services have become an important revenue source to the telecom industry. All these innovations depend on an enabling policy environment that will see the rollout of more services and fair practices from the operators.

MAIN TOPICS

In this context, this workshop is intended to help the participants explore the challenges and opportunities that VAS present and explore best practice in their regulation. In particular, the workshop will enable  participants to:

• Explore the current developments and best practice in the VAS space;
• Share experiences on VAS deployments and regulation among participants’ organizations;
• Identify the challenges and opportunities in VAS regulation.
The workshop will cover a wide range of VAS topics as follows:
• Overview of telecom sector market segments;
• Definition, overview and categories of value added services (VAS);
• Overview of Telecommunication services regulation;
• Regulatory challenges in VAS;

• Opportunities in VAS regulation;
• Recommendations on effective regulation of VAS.

The workshop will be highly interactive, with presentations and case studies of best practices. Participants  are encouraged to prepare and share presentations of their experiences with VAS.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This workshop is intended for persons who are involved with VAS from a regulatory, provider and user perspective, namely, regulatory staff, VAS providers, network providers, policy makers, telecoms/IT engineers, legal staff, business development executives and consumers of VAS.
Academics, telecommunication/ICT training center managers, in the Sector are also welcome to participate in this workshop.

REGISTRATION

If you wish to participate in this workshop, please complete the attached Registration Form (Annex 1) and return it by e-mail no later than 16 March 2013 to Ms Jane Mahui ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) with a copy to Ms Oumou Niang ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). For more information, please contact  them by phone on +254 710 207 061, +254 733 444 421, or by e-mail on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.afralti.org.