 it is at the same time important for cooperation between the regulator and the industry to take place. In Ireland, for example, the role of the regulator is encapsulated by the following mission statement: "The purpose of the Office of the Director of Tele- communications Regulation is to regulate with integrity, impartiality, and expertise to facilitate rapid development of a competitive leading-edge telecommunications sector that provides the best in price, choice, and quality to the end user, attracts business investment, and supports ongoing social and economic growth." Flowing from regulators' high-level objectives are a range of activities such as licensing, price control, service-level agreements, interconnection, radio spectrum management, and access to infrastructure. Often, regulatory bodies consult formally with the industry, consumers, and other interested parties on major issues before introducing regulatory changes. You can obtain a more detailed appreciation of what telecommunications regulators do and what their priorities are by looking at the var- ious reports, consultation papers, and speeches at regulatory bodies' Web sites. Internet Governance The subject of Internet governance has become increasingly important in recent years. There are many different Internet stakeholders, many of whom have entirely different visions of how the Internet should work and how it should (or should not) be governed. Needless to say, the policies and mechanisms for Internet gover- nance have been the subject of heated debate. At the December 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS; WWW. itu.int/wsis) in Geneva, governments adopted a plan of action that called on the secretary-general of the United Nations to set up the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG; www.wgig.org). The WGIG's mandate was to analyze the gov- ernance of the Internet and make proposals for action, as appropriate; develop a working definition of Internet governance; identify the public policy issues involved; and advance a com