🌐 Examples

In countries like Rwanda, Mozambique, and The Gambia, telecom regulatory authorities collect data from operators to enact their mandate as a regulator. The collaboration can extend to research, policy applications, and statistics production. Mostly, this data collection takes place for purposes such as knowing your customer, service quality assurance, fraud detection, or revenue assurance, but the data sharing arrangements and data management policies can be repurposed.

For example, in The Gambia, the regulator collaborates with the NSO to produce detailed statistics on migration, supported by the World Bank. Deidentified data from mobile networks is shared with the regulator, which then aggregates it for statistical use.

On the other hand, in several countries, the regulator does not take any role in discussions related to the data that operators collect in providing their services. BPS Statistics Indonesia consulted with the regulator of Indonesia and, after not receiving helpful feedback, proceeded to have bilateral discussions with the operators without the regulator. Nonetheless, consulting with the regulator is necessary and can often be helpful to the project. 

❗Tips

✅ Stay open to the possibility that the regulator can help open the door to discussions with operators but not take a more active role. In some countries, the regulator has no role in projects involving mobile phone data, which is not a barrier to data sharing as long as all parties agree on the way forward.

✅ The regulator might already be a stakeholder in the national statistical system, with interest in receiving more detailed statistics on the mobile telecommunications sector. In these cases, there may be an opportunity to add improvements in sectoral statistics to existing projects.

✅ If collaboration with the regulator is challenging, reach out to the Big Data project team at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for guidance. Experience from ITU indicates that proposing a use case that has relevance to regulators (such as information society indicators) may convince regulators to take part in a project they otherwise may not see the benefits of engaging in.

📖 Resources

International Telecommunication Union’s Big Data project: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/bigdata/default.aspx 

⏩ Next actions

  • Identify the role of the regulator in the country.

  • Establish discussions.

  • Determine a plan of action.

  • Outline a vision for cooperation with the regulator.

💡 Important Note: Global (UN Agency) Support

Engaging global experts and organizations like the UN, ITU, and World Bank can provide valuable support. For example, as a result of the ITU’s Big Data project in 2016, five countries accessed data from mobile network operators for statistical purposes, followed by another two in 2020. The project started with no countries having access to data. At the end of two years, 10 mobile network operators were sharing their data for analysis into statistical products. Currently, ITU supports several key initiatives on mobile phone data for statistics, including the World Bank-ITU Global Data Facility’s “Mobile Phone Data for Policy” and the UN Big Data’s Mobile Phone Data Task Team.

Here’s a list of international agencies that can provide support—and how:

  • Eurostat (European Commission) has had projects with operator data since 2013, when the Scheveningen Memorandum was signed. The organization currently provides support in all areas: legislation, methodology, privacy-enhancing technologies, and data fusion, and has published several guidance documents.
  • UN Statistics Division (UNSD) hosts the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science, where the task team on mobile phone data works on guidance, training, and awareness-raising. UNSD has also published guides on the use of mobile phone data in six domains of statistics.
  • World Bank hosts a window and support program under the Global Data Facility (GDF) that delivers essential resources, programmatic support, and knowledge to help countries develop capacity to put MPD to work for policy and statistics.
  • UN Tourism engages in capacity building to enable more countries to contribute complete tourism statistics to the global database.
  • UN Population Fund (UNFPA) supports countries where mobile phone data can contribute to better common operational datasets on population dynamics.
  • UN regional commissions (UNECE, UNESCAP, UNECLAC, UNESCWA, UNECA) provide capacity building through the Regional Hubs of Big Data for Official Statistics.
  • UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) engages in capacity building and aids in data access discussions with telecommunication regulatory bodies.
  • International Organization for Migration (IOM) supports capacity building in the area and invests in pilot projects to prove the concept of the use of alternative data sources for migration studies. IOM released the Practitioners’ Guide to Data Innovation in Migration, including a chapter on mobile phone data.
  • GSMA is a mobile network operator umbrella body that runs an ‘AI for Impact’ initiative, to support countries to accelerate action toward the use of mobile data for positive societal impact.