ITU Regional Experts Group Meeting for Europe on Increasing Role of Public Private Partnerships in the ICT Ecosystem - 25 Years of Telecom/ICT Sector Reform in Europe, and Beyond

ITU has the pleasure to invite your  Administration / Organization to participate in the Experts Group Meeting on Increasing Role of PPP in the ICT Ecosystem - 25 Years of Telecom/ICT Sector Reform in Europe, which will be held in ITU Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, from 14-15 November 2012.

For 25 years, more precisely since the launch of the EU Green Paper in 1987, European countries have been gradually reforming the enabling environment of the ICT sector, liberalizing telecom and ICT markets, establishing pro-competitive policy frameworks, establishing effective institutional mechanisms, including independent National Regulatory Authorities, and fostering accelerated growth of ICT sector at the national and regional level. A high level of the ICT innovation dynamics has led towards the redesign of traditional value chains, business models, and market structures, while bringing new players to the sector. Consequently, a transition towards open ICT ecosystem has brought much more emphasis on multi-sectoral approaches and partnerships, in particular public private partnerships.

PPPs have started to become a new way to deliver ICTs and accelerate development of the sector in the region. Even though PPPs existed in the past, open ICT ecosystem offers more opportunities for real win-win collaborations that combine innovative efforts from the private sector, forward-thinking policies from governments, and support from nonprofit organizations. In this context, the enabling environment is key for PPPs, encouraging new ways of doing things. What makes the current situation different from that of the past, is that ICTs are reinforcing  and expanding these PPPs beyond all previous limitations and boundaries.

PPPs that incorporate — in innovative and creative ways — the deployment and use of ICTs have the power to improve many services, i.e. education, healthcare, transportation, safety, social services etc. In difficult times of financial and economic crisis, investments in ICTs in Europe and beyond, are being adversely affected, with lenders taking a more cautious approach in providing finance for ICT projects. Despite all this, ICT-related deals are still taking place and the PPP market, especially in mature economies, is still thriving allowing for investments from public as well as private sources. .

For a long time ITU has been working with its membership in the area of PPPs, building necessary capacity to develop an enabling environment, identify opportunities, negotiate, manage, and implement successful PPP projects. The main purpose of this Experts Group Meeting is to take a closer look at the Telecom/ICT reform in context of the increasing role of PPPs in the ICT ecosystem. It will offer an opportunity to define existing challenges  and develop recommendations that might be addressed at the regional level and might be further elaborated within the framework of the Regional Preparatory Process of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14).

Thematic building blocks will include the following:

• Impact of telecom/ICT reform in Europe on ICT sector growth

• Strategic role of PPPs to deliver ICTs, accelerate growth, boost investment and create demand

• Policy and regulatory measures fostering PPPs in ICT ecosystem

• PPP models in open ICT ecosystem

• Existing barriers, opportunities and challenges

• PPP Case Studies

Expected outcomes of this meeting include:

• Meeting report

• Recommendations

• Set of case studies

• Experts group network

Citizens of a number of countries are required to obtain a visa in order to enter Switzerland. The visa must be requested and obtained from the office (embassy or consulate) representing Switzerland in your country or, if there is no such office in your country, from the one that is closest to the country of departure. If problems are encountered, the Union can, at the official request of the administration you represent, approach the competent Swiss authorities in order to facilitate delivery of the visa. To comply with the procedure applicable for ITU meetings held in Geneva, you are requested to provide the following information and documents upon the confirmation of registration request:

1. a letter (with official letterhead, address and the sender's typed title and name), signed by the person responsible for the delegate's entity and specifying the name of the delegate, his/her date of birth and passport number and the passport's expiry date along with a clear and legible copy of his/her passport.

2. The number of the confirmation received together with a copy of the delegate's duly completed registration form.

The above information and documents must be sent to the registration service (bdt-edrs@itu.int). Upon receipt by the Registration Service, a request for visa support will be faxed to the Swiss Embassy/Consulate covering your country with a confirmation of the action taken to the person having sent the official letter. The processing of a request for visa support may take up to 15 days.

Title: ITU Experts Group Meeting for Europe on Increasing Role of Public Private Partnerships in the ICT Ecosystem - 25 years of Telecom/ICT Sector Reform in Europe, and Beyond
Dates: 14-15 November 2012  
Participation: Matter experts from Telecommunication Administrations,  Regulatory Authorities, ITU Sector Members, Private Sector, Academia
Remote participation: Adobe Connect
Location: Room E (1st Floor, Varembé building), ITU, Geneva, Switzerland
Organizer: ITU
Partner: Center for Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI), Aalborg University, Denmark.
Focal Point: Jaroslaw Ponder, Coordinator for Europe, ITU and Vladimir Stankovic, EUR, ITU

• Invitation Letter New!!!

• Meeting Agenda New!!!

• Meeting Presentations New!!!

• Online Registration Form New!!!

• Participate Remotely New!!!

• Concept Note New!!!

• BDT Report: Developing successful Public-Private Partnerships to foster investment in universal broadband networks New!!!

Who should attend?

• Matter experts including representatives of Administrations, Private Sector, Academia, Regional and International Organizations

• Focal points of the telecommunication administrations, regulatory authorities, regional organizations, private sector, academia, and special guests from European countries:

  Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Rep., Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Vatican, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, San Marino, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Organizer