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• ITU-D Study Groups: Working Towards an Information Society

• Telecom Development Symposium (TDS) - Sharing knowledge and experience in Asia

• Asia-Pacific Youth Envision a Society of Understanding and Connectivity

• Building Capacity on Telecommunication Dispute Resolution in the European Region

• High-Speed Broadband Services in Remote and Underserved Areas Focus of ITU Work

• ITU Confirms Asia-Pacific Region as Global Leader in Mobile and Broadband Penetration

• Expanding Opportunities for Continuous e-Learning in Eastern and Central Europe Regions

• Rural Kyrgyz Republic Gets Plugged-in to the Information Society

• ITU and USAID Host Workshop on Telecommunications Access for CIS and Baltic States

• COSITU Training given to Regulators and Operators from Latin American Countries

• Building Human Capacity to Assist the Emergence of IP Telephony in the Arab Region

• ITU-D Welcomes New Members

• Upcoming Events and Workshops

• Information Links

• ITU-D Study Groups: Working Towards an Information Society
  ITU Member States and Sector Members from both the developing and developed world met in Geneva from 7-16 of September to approve studies that will better assist developing countries in their transition to an information society and present new issues of analysis for consideration by the World Telecommunication Development Conference, which will take place 7-15 March 2006 in Doha, Qatar. The topics under discussion during the meeting of Study Groups 1 and 2 included, among others, interconnection, universal access and service, strategy for migration of mobile networks to IMT-2000, application of telecommunication in health care, strategy for migration from existing networks to next generation networks (NGN and the examination of access technologies for broadband communications. To view all documents, click here. To view the press release, click here.

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• Telecom Development Symposium (TDS) - Sharing knowledge and experience in Asia
  The TDS at the ITU TELECOM Asia 2004, held in Busan (Korea, Rep. of) from 7 to 11 September 2004, brought together 52 experts from 26 countries to provide a platform for interaction between representatives of ITU Member States and industry experts, in order to set development goals and recommendations for their implementation. The TDS programme was organized in three sessions that addressed the following issues: the challenges of evolving policy and regulation in a converged ICT era, fostering development by embracing the wireless world, and helping developing countries ride the e-tide. The first session looked at best practices that are being implemented by policy makers and regulators to facilitate affordable access to ICT services. The second meeting was devoted to wireless based communications services and their importance in providing the information and communications access to rural population in developing countries. The final session focused on how the use of e-applications/services can change the ways in which business, education, healthcare, are conducted especially in developing countries in the converged ICT era. To see the conclusions and recommendations, click here.

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• Asia-Pacific Youth Envision a Society of Understanding and Connectivity
  Sixty-three young Fellows from 34 countries in the Asia-Pacific region participated in the ITU TELECOM Asia 2004 Youth Forum, where they not only benefited from their own programme, but were also given the opportunity to attend the Main Forum, as well as visit the more than 200 exhibits at the event.
  The Youth Fellows produced the Youth Forum Declaration and Action Plan 2004, which outlined their views of a society of understanding and connectivity where everyone has the possibility of fulfilling their potential through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Mr Hamadoun Touré, Director of the ITU Development Bureau told the Youth Fellows he was encouraged by the thought and commitment reflected in their work and was “particularly impressed by the emphasis placed in their declaration in aspects such as education, accountability and cooperation; all of which are elements that are shared by the ITU membership”.
  As a follow-up, the ITU’s Youth Programme will ensure that the Declaration and Action Plan become a reality. This programme includes the mobilisation of funding for the implementation of selected projects presented at Youth Foras as well as a global support network offering information on educational opportunities, recruitment, contact information, interactive discussion boards as well as information on ITU’s events and activities for the youth. For more information on the ITU TELECOM Asia 2004 Youth Forum, click here.

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• Building Capacity on Telecommunication Dispute Resolution in the European Region
  The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) organized and held a European Regional Workshop on Dispute Resolution in Geneva, Switzerland, 31 August-2 September 2004. More than 50 participants from 22 European countries attended. The workshop was chaired by Mr. Ömer Faruk KOÇAK, Head, International Relations and EU Coordination Department, Telecommunications Authority of Turkey. The goal of this meeting was to provide participating regulators, policy-makers and ITU-D sector members from the European region with the opportunity to build capacity and share experiences on telecommunication dispute resolution, specifically focusing on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. A role playing exercise was conducted to provide participants with a more practical and concrete understanding of the issues at stake from the perspective of each party. To access all meeting documents, click here.

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• High-Speed Broadband Services in Remote and Underserved Areas Focus of ITU Work
  About 90 participants from industry, government, civil society and the private sector attended the “ITU-BDT/APT Regional Seminar on Broadband Wireless Access for Asia-Pacific Region” held in Busan, Republic of Korea 10 September 2004. The Seminar’s objectives were to provide information on the technological, economic and regulatory factors that influence the availability and deployment of wireless broadband services as well as on the harmonization of spectrum and standards for broadband wireless access. The event provided an opportunity for wireless broadband business, technology and regulatory experts to share their knowledge, experiences and views on the future of the industry with ITU and APT attendees. The Seminar was organized by the BDT in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and kindly hosted by TTA (Telecommunications Technology Association of Republic of Korea). To view the overall information on the seminar, click here.

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• ITU Confirms Asia-Pacific Region as Global Leader in Mobile and Broadband Penetration
  The ITU Asia-Pacific Telecommunication Indicators 2004 report, issued especially for ITU TELECOM Asia 2004 in Busan (Republic of Korea), found that growth rates for fixed lines, mobile subscriber and Internet users over the last few years have soared in a number of countries across the Asia-Pacific region. The publication consists of three parts: an analytical overview, regional and country statistics and a directory of telecommunication organizations. It looks at regulatory and policy developments with a focus on developments in the broadband sector. The statistical section consists of regional indicator tables covering areas such as fixed telephone, mobile, Internet and broadcasting data. Data are for year-end 2003, where available. The directory section consists of the names and websites of telecommunication ministries, regulators and facilities-based telephone and cellular operators active in the region. For more information, click here.  Order your copy now!

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• Expanding Opportunities for Continuous e-Learning in Eastern and Central Europe Regions
  The Europe and CIS Centre of Excellence, through its Eastern and Central Europe branch, is currently working in close co-operation with the New Bulgarian University to design and deliver online training programmes on new technologies through the ITU e-Learning Centre, a platform to deliver distance education and training courses in telecommunications and human resources management. Two online courses, Intelligent Network Implementation and Next Generation Networks Architecture, have been created as part of a strategy to address a wide range of regional training needs under the Technology Trends Program of the Centres of Excellence node. To further complement these activities, follow-up face-to-face workshops on these courses have been planned for the end of September and October in Sofia, Bulgaria and Warsaw, Poland respectively. For more information on ITU’s online learning courses, click here.

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• Rural Kyrgyz Republic Gets Plugged-in to the Information Society
  As the main sector in the country, ITU in partnership with the Government of Kyrgyz Republic and Kyrgyz Telecom have successfully completed the implementation of a project in the rural area of Mandaniyat village where ICTs are bringing direct benefits to farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Thanks to IP-based technologies implemented as part of the project, the rural population, which gathered in the village community hall, could communicate live (voice and video) with the senior government officials attending the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, 2003 in Geneva. Aimed at enhancing agricultural services through the use of ICTs, this project is delivering other services such as access to online newspapers, up-to-date information on agricultural products and farming techniques, and other e-learning services. Within the framework of ITU-EC e-government projects, this project is in the process of being extended to other rural areas of Kyrgyzstan. For more information, click here.

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• ITU and USAID Host Workshop on Telecommunications Access for CIS and Baltic States
  At the invitation of the Government of Kazakhstan, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Informatization and Communications co-hosted a four-day regional workshop on rural access to telecommunications. Telecommunications policy and regulatory officials and private sector representatives from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Baltic States, and Afghanistan attended the workshop from 13-16 September 2004 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. BDT Director Hamadoun I. Touré delivered a keynote address in which he encouraged participants to treat rural access to ICTs as an opportunity for businesses and rural populations alike. Other featured speakers include experts from the ITU BDT, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, universities, non-governmental organizations, the ministries and regulatory authorities from the participating countries and the private sector. All participants and speakers shared their views and experiences in a series of highly interactive sessions. Workshop participants also developed a series of recommendations on promoting rural access in the regions during the last day of the workshop. All presentations and recommendations are to be posted on the workshop’s website at http://www.ruralaccessconference.kz/

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• COSITU Training given to Regulators and Operators from Latin American Countries
  Twenty-one regulators and operators from both fixed-line and mobile operator companies participated in a training workshop for Latin American countries on the use of the ITU software COSITU, the model for the calculation of costs, tariffs and rates for telephone services. This workshop was organized with the support of the Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones de Chile, and took place in the well-equipped Centre of Excellence run by this institution, in Santiago de Chile from 7 to10 September. The workshop was divided into three parts: theoretical aspects of COSITU, software operation, and a practical session, to give the participants hands-on exercises in the use of COSITU. The participants agreed that the software helped facilitate negotiation between operators and regulators in the field of tariffs and interconnection rates. As a follow-up and as requested by participants, a second workshop for this region will be held next year when participants will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and experience of this software to real data. For more information, please click here.

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• Building Human Capacity to Assist the Emergence of IP Telephony in the Arab Region
  Following the partnership agreement signed at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) last December, and the success of the recent IPv6 workshop in Tunis, ITU and the International Institute of Telecommunications (IIT) – Canada, are organizing the “VoIP & IP Telephony Workshop”, to be held in Cairo - Egypt, from 10 - 12 October 2004. Both the IPv6 and the VoIP workshops are part of the TAP ON TELECOM Project 2004 Action Plan with the ARB CoE and its member countries as concrete steps to build up a relevant capacity building process for the professionals in the region. The main objectives of the workshop are to provide an understanding of IP telephony and VoIP issues and to assist in adapting to the changes in the telecom environment. It will also offer participants an opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices that can assist Arab countries in building capacity and human resource development. For more information , click here.

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• ITU-D Welcomes New Members
  In July and August 2004 ITU-D welcomed seven companies and organizations as new Sector Members (see list below). The new Sector Members for 2004 reached 18 at the beginning of September, bringing a total of 283 ITU-D Sector Members. Click here to learn how to participate in the activities of the ITU-D Sector. The new Sector Members are:

  • Africell, Gambia

  • Digital Radio Mondiale, Switzerland

  • Econet Wireless (PVT) Ltd., Zimbabwe

  • International Organization for Standardization, Switzerland

  • International Union of Radio Science, Belgium

  • National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria

  • Union des radiodiffusions et televisions nationales d’Afrique, Senegal

  To see the list of ITU-D Sector Members and their contact details, click here.

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