This fundamental course on the Master of Arts in the field of ICT Policy and Regulation (MA ICTPR) provides the contextual background to the environment within which policy formulation for, and regulation of, the ICT sector takes place. The course begins with an overview of globalisation in the 21st century and the consequent rise of the information society and the knowledge economy. The trends driving growth in the telecommunications, broadcasting and Internet markets are reviewed. Global trends in telecommunications, including convergence, deregulation, liberalisation, privatisation, are examined. The scope, principles, role and functions of the regulation of telecommunications are discussed, and the institutional environment governing the sector at various levels is reviewed.