Telecommunications regulators from around the world endorsed guidelines to help them build digital ecosystems for essential national services like healthcare, education and finance at the Global Symposium for Regulators 2025 (GSR-25) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 
The GSR-25 Best Practice Guidelines, issued at the closing of the three-day event, outlined key tools and frameworks to drive regulatory innovation and build sustainable information and communication technology ecosystems, ensuring that digital societies and economies deliver prosperity for all.
 
The new guidelines reinforced the need to foster innovation, adapt capacity and strengthen cooperation to support the work of regulators. ITU Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, said: “GSR has spent 25 years lighting the path from dial-up to digital society. With 2.6 billion people remaining unconnected, regulators are the bridge to a future where everyone, everywhere, can thrive online.”

In addition to endorsing the new guidelines, participants at GSR-25 shared insights on pressing regulatory issues in the digital landscape, including governance of artificial intelligence (AI), the growing space economy, and sustainable digital transformation.

Governor of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia, and Chair of GSR-25, Haitham AlOhaly, said: “The Best Practice Guidelines represent a collective commitment to re-imagine regulation for the digital era. By fostering collaboration and leveraging innovations in emerging technologies such as AI and big data, we can strengthen our economies, empower our societies, and ensure that digital transformation delivers for all.”

Established by ITU in 2000, the GSR series serves as the world’s regulatory compass on telecommunications, guiding countries toward harmonized, forward-looking regulation in the rapidly evolving digital era.

Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, said for a quarter of a century, GSR has served as a cornerstone of global digital development amid waves of technological change.

“The Best Practice Guidelines are a chronicle of our digital age and of the central role GSR has played in supporting regulators throughout the years. I would like to thank the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting GSR-25 as we celebrate 25 years of the Symposium,” Zavazara stated.

GSR-25 brought together more than 1,200 participants, including Ministers and Heads of Regulatory Authorities. At the event in Riyadh, ITU and CST also released Policy practices for e-waste management: Tools for a balanced and fair circular economy – Second Edition, a practical guide featuring an interactive toolkit covering all phases of e-waste regulation development.