Holding Broadband Providers To Account

The Internet is an empowering force for the world's consumers, connecting them with their families, governments, communities and markets both nearby and far. Broadband access is needed for them to fully take advantage of all that the Internet offers. As such, strong consumer protection for consumers of broadband services is vital, not only to enjoy the Internet itself, but to fully participate in the many other areas of modern life to which it connects them. Consumer organisations have a vital role to play in promoting high consumer protection standards for broadband providers, and in holding them to account when they fall short. This manual is designed as a primer for consumer advocates wishing to enter the battle for fair and high quality broadband services, but uncertain about where to start. It begins with an overview of the practice of consumer advocacy, including simple guidelines for effective campaigning with particular attention to key areas such as communications and partnerships. It moves on to explain the technical and policy issues that surround broadband services, including "traditional" consumer protection issues such as unfair contract terms and complaint handling, but also broader issues such as privacy and network neutrality. Finally the manual outlines three campaign ideas, responding to problems that CI members uncovered through research conducted in 2011. These are a "Broadband Disclosure Statement" to address the opacity of broadband contract terms, a "Don't Lock Me In!" campaign against providers who stop consumers from shopping around for the best deal, and a campaign to provide broadband consumers with better independent resolution services. Included are template resources from which members can "cut and paste" for use in their own campaigns, leading we hope to concrete improvements in the quality and fairness of broadband services for consumers around the world.

The Nigerian telecommunications industry has continued to grow in a phenomenal manner following market liberalization reforms that commenced in the 1990s. As of 2017, the telecommunications industry was one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in Nigeria and the fourth largest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. The telecommunications industry, however, remains a highly technical and naturally dynamic industry that has not been a usual area for legal research in developing countries such as Nigeria. This book bridges that gap in knowledge by providing an analysis of the legal and policy instruments that regulate the industry. It comprises eleven chapters that discuss the historical evolution of telecommunications and its regulation; the development of the Nigerian telecommunications industry from 1886 to 2017; the legal basis for the regulation of the industry; the licensing and duties of service providers; the regulation of network infrastructure; the protection of consumers; the regulation of competition, interconnection, universal access, and environmental protection; and the resolution of industry disputes. This book will be useful to policy makers, legislators, regulators, lawyers, law students, investors, operators, and consumers, as well as any person interested in the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

Cybersecurity is an increasing problem for which the market may fail to produce a solution. The ultimate source is that computer owners lack adequate incentives to invest in security because they bear fully the costs of their security precautions but share the benefits with their network partners. In a world of positive transaction costs, individuals often select less than optimal security levels. The problem is compounded because the insecure networks extend far beyond the regulatory jurisdiction of any one nation or even coalition of nations. This book brings together the views of leading law and economics scholars on the nature of the cybersecurity problem and possible solutions to it. Many of these solutions are market based, but they need some help, either from government or industry groups or both. Indeed, the cybersecurity problem prefigures a host of 21st century problems created by information technology and the globalization of markets.

This book contains an Open Access chapter Beyond the Pandemic? is integral to the exploration of the sectoral consequences of the Internet for business managers, policymakers and researchers engaged in planning and study for the digital economy future and planning for future pandemics.

This book seeks to think differently about what we recognize as "global institutions" and how they could work better for the people who need them most. By so doing, the contributions show that there is a group of institutions that influence enough people’s lives in significant enough ways through what they protect, provide or enable that they should be considered, together, as global institutions. The United Nations, the World Bank, the internet as well as private military and security companies leave a heavy footprint on the social, political and economic landscape of the planet. We are all aware in different ways of the existence of these global institutions but their importance in achieving change in the twenty-first century is often underestimated. In this book, contributors seek to explain what associations exist between change in global institutions and the reduction of poverty and inequality as well as the achievement of security and justice. The work makes sense of processes of change and identifies the most significant obstacles that exist, offering suggestions for future action that will be of interest to students and scholars of global institutions.

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