[DIGITAL Business Africa] – Long focused on telecom networks, spectrum management, licensing, and quality of service, digital regulators now want to play a far more strategic role in the digital transformation of States. Through “Regulatory Governance Essentials: The new core kit regulators need to make digital markets deliver”, the strategic “GSR-26 Best Practice Guidelines” document of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the organisation sends a strong signal: the future of e-governance will also depend on regulators’ ability to coordinate public digital ecosystems.
Adopted during the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-26) held in May 2026 in Ankara, Türkiye, the new ITU guidelines mark a major shift in the very vision of regulatory authorities’ role.
Regulators no longer want to be mere technical referees of the telecom sector. They now aspire to become central actors in the success of digital public policies, the interconnection of administrations, and the operation of digital public services.
E-governance can no longer operate in silos
In its analysis, the ITU considers that modern digital services now cross traditional administrative boundaries. A digital identity system interacts with tax services, payment platforms, territorial administrations, healthcare systems, telecom operators, banks, and sometimes even regional or international platforms.
Yet in many countries, public administrations continue to operate in digital silos.
The result:
• duplication of data;
• incompatible platforms;
• lack of interoperability;
• multiplication of procedures;
• authentication difficulties;
• fragmented user experiences;
• and low efficiency of digital public services.
For the ITU, this fragmentation has now become a major obstacle to e-governance. This is why the organisation calls for better coordination among public authorities, permanent information-sharing mechanisms, and structured cooperation frameworks between institutions.
Regulators want to become architects of the digital ecosystem
Through this approach, telecom regulators appear determined to expand their sphere of influence.
The issue is no longer only about regulating telecom operators, but also about contributing to the overall coherence of the national digital ecosystem: interconnection of public platforms, secure circulation of data, harmonisation of technical standards, supervision of critical infrastructures, and coordination among administrations.
This evolution comes at a time when governments are accelerating projects related to:
• digitalization of public services;
• digital identity;
• government electronic payments;
• electronic archiving;
• cybersecurity;
• artificial intelligence;
• and the dematerialisation of administrative procedures.
The ITU, therefore, seems to consider that regulators now possess strategic expertise essential to ensuring the efficiency, stability, and interoperability of future digital public services.
E-Gov’A 2026 at the heart of Africa’s new digital governance challenges
This new vision promoted by the ITU directly aligns with the ambitions of the E-Gov’A 2026 Exhibition, scheduled from October 14 to 16, 2026, at the Yaoundé Conference Centre in Cameroon. Organised by Smart Click Africa and Digital Business Africa, under the high patronage of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the event serves as an African platform for reflection on the future of digital public services.
Held under the theme: “Artificial Intelligence and E-Governance: Building Efficient Public Services in a Cashless and Paperless Africa”, this first edition aims to bring together governments, regulators, telecom operators, fintechs, cybersecurity experts, public institutions, and digital stakeholders to address the major challenges of administrative interconnection and the digital transformation of African States.
The planned discussions on:
• interoperability of public platforms;
• government digital payments;
• digital identities;
• cybersecurity;
• digital infrastructures;
• and artificial intelligence applied to public services,
strongly resonate with the new strategic orientations promoted by the ITU.
Towards a new generation of African regulators?
Through “Regulatory Governance Essentials: The new core kit regulators need to make digital markets deliver”, the ITU’s strategic “GSR-26 Best Practice Guidelines” document suggests the emergence of a new generation of African regulators more deeply involved in the overall governance of digital States.
In this logic, regulatory authorities could progressively become key actors in national digital coordination, capable of bringing together administrations, private operators, technology platforms, and citizens around more integrated public ecosystems.
For many observers, this evolution could profoundly transform the historical role of telecom regulators on the African continent, as e-governance becomes a central issue of digital sovereignty, economic competitiveness, and administrative efficiency.
By Digital Business Africa
