Roberto Blois
Deputy Secretary-General
International Telecommunication Union

Opening Ceremony
at ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2005

18:30, Monday 3 October 2005
Bahia Convention Centre, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

His Excellency Mr Hélio Costa, Minister of Communications of Brazil,
Mr Paulo Ganem Souto, Governor of the State of Bahia,
Mr Elifas Chaves Gurgel do Amaral, President of Anatel,
Mr Ronaldo IABRUDI, CEO of Telemar,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2005, the 5th event of the series and the 4th event hosted by Brazil.

It’s wonderful to be back in my home country, to greet old friends and colleagues of many years, to make new ones and to come together to celebrate and reflect on how much has been accomplished over the last five years since the last Americas Telecom in Rio de Janeiro in 2000.

Since that time we have seen a shift in the global ICT industry unlike any other period before. From a downturn in the telecommunications sector amongst industrialized nations, to the rapid growth of mobile and Internet users in developing regions, our industry has indeed been on the move.

ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2005 is taking place at a perfect time and in a perfect location.

This event is coming just three weeks after the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations and six weeks before the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis.

The World Summit in New York has shown how world economies and societies are linked together. It has demonstrated that the millennium development goals will only be achieved through international and multilateral cooperation; that only through unity can a coalition of nations meet the economic, political and even natural disasters that challenge the world.

During the World Summit on the Information Society process, led by the ITU, the organization that I have the privilege to serve, we have shown that information and communication technologies are among the most powerful tools to foster the development of world economies, serving not only commercial and financial objectives, but also social and political visions.

ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2005 gives us, gives you, a unique opportunity to meet all stakeholders of this multilateral debate, to share and validate national or corporate strategies, to communicate and convince, and to build a regional vision ahead of WSIS. I wish I can witness a united and proactive participation of the Americas next month in Tunisia.

It is important to reflect on our successes and the role of our industry. In the last five years the global telecommunications industry has connected more people to each other, than were connected in the last 100 years. People who had never made a phone call, or spoken with distant relatives for many years are now able to reach out and share their lives. This is very powerful, this is your contribution, this is your success, and you should be proud of these achievements.

Yet there is still much to be done. In the Americas, significant disparities persist across the region, for example Internet penetration in North America is 5 times greater than in South America, Central America or the Caribbean. Despite all our accomplishments, most villages and towns in the Americas region still have no reliable means of communications. This may seem to be a trivial point as more people are being connected everyday, but it is not trivial to those waiting to be connected. Why is “being connected” so important? It’s not food or water or air, so where really is the imperative?

It’s imperative because without telecommunications access to these fundamental needs is reduced. Those waiting to be connected are not the only beneficiaries, those already connected also benefit; no matter what the topic, the richer is the discussion, the more compelling the argument, the better founded the solution when more people participate.

ICT technologies have become central to the basic functions of modern life, from the mundane to the motivating. Distance Learning, Tele-medicine, remote monitoring of equipment, high-speed data connections, new voice solutions, all these rely on ICT technologies and services provided by our industry.

This is our contribution as an industry, and it is through forums such as ITU TELECOM AMERICAS that we gather together to explore new technologies and debate and decide its future course.

We speak of “Digital Inclusion” and “Bridging the Digital Divide”, important themes of the upcoming World Summit next month. These are not abstract ideas, and we in this room tonight, and our colleagues across the world, are empowered to implement the solutions necessary to ensure the continued growth of our industry by reaching new users and introducing new technologies to further “Bridge the Digital Divide”.

In our region, we have accomplished much, changed our industry, and learned to thrive. Americas is indeed “Moving to a Latin Beat”, and I am excited to see our progress expand over the next few years and beyond.

Thank you. Welcome to ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2005, I wish you a fruitful and enjoyable event.