The concept started sometime in September 1998 and it required her last 14 years of experience and discovery to compile the unique CD-ROM on Internet regulatory and policy issues. It’s now paying off for Laina Raveendran Greene as The Internet for Policy Makers recently launched in Singapore.

Laina Raveendran Greene, managing director of GetIT Pte Ltd., an Internet, and telecommunications consulting firm, is the author of this CD-ROM which aims to help policymakers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), government bodies, intranet and extranet users, professionals, and academics understand the issues surrounding Internet regulations.

The CD-ROM also aims to provide a framework for formulating internal policies.

“In Asia, people are reluctant to pay for consultancy advice but are willing to pay for products. GetIT, as a consultancy firm, used the CD-ROM as a way to put our expertise and advice in a tangible format,” Greene said. “I can confidently say that this CD-ROM is the first of its kind.”

The consultant started her career in this field when she first joined the legal department of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in 1986 in Geneva.

“I have been very fortunate to be at the right place at the right time, and have since worked with [the United Nations] agencies, INTELSAT, and [the] private sector in both Europe and the United States,” she said.

In late 1990, she [founded]  GetIT in the United States as an independent consultant. She came to Singapore and worked for Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. for a period of time before joining GetIT in Singapore when the GetIT local office was launched in January 1996.

“I have been collecting materials for the last 14 years and have also produced many training materials which formed the basis of my CD-ROM. Many of the materials are obtained first-hand from my participation in international conferences as well as from my industry experience. Some content [are] also derived [from] the Internet,” Greene says.

With the exception of the two sections, Getting Started and International Internet Infrastructure Financing, produced by Cisco Systems Inc. who also sponsored the production of the CD-ROM, the content comes from her.

Since last September, work has been poured into the production of this CD-ROM. Beta versions of The Internet for Policy Makers were developed in November last year and distributed to the UN member countries in the Asia Pacific and to the APEC trade ministers for feedback.

The final version was completed late January this year and officially launched in March. Priced at S$150 ($87), more than 5,000 copies of the CD-ROM were sold to date.

“The beta testing phase took the most time, but we were lucky to get good feedback and are constantly looking for ways to better it. Version 2 may be out sooner than we expect. We are also planning to make another CD-ROM on telecom issues since this one [is so successful].”