| NOTAS: | "Regulation continues to be one of the cornerstones of the telecoms, media, and technology (TMT) industry. This brief is intended to help service providers, regulators, and technology vendors understand and prepare to respond to the key regulatory trends in TMT in 2018. These trends relate to how the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will change the industry’s approach to data privacy, how regulators are paving the way for the development of 5G, how internet giants will be treated by regulators, and how – and to whose benefit – the net neutrality debate will develop. In 2018, four trends will be at the heart of regulatory activity: the impact of the GDPR, the inception of 5G, the rise of network effects as an economic bottleneck, and the return of net neutrality. How regulators respond to and simultaneously shape these industry developments will influence the course of TMT for years to come. Regulators and industry players are in a new phase in dealing with most of these issues, given the crucial role of data in building a flourishing digital economy. As a result, they are in trial-and-error mode while they determine the best approaches to adopt." |
