1. What work does ITU carry out in the ICT space, and how do its activities impact the world of technology?

Since its origins in Paris in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, founded to manage and standardize the rapid expansion of telegraph networks across the world, the principles and core purpose of the ITU have remained the same. To manage telecommunication resources across the globe and to help the world communicate.

ITU's mission is to enable the growth and sustained development of telecommunications and information networks, and to facilitate universal access so that people everywhere can participate in, and benefit from, the global information economy and society — thus advancing all people’s "right to communicate". ITU is committed to ensuring that the digital world and digital lifestyles remain open to all

With membership including almost all the world’s countries and over 650 private members from the telecommunication, broadcasting and information technology sectors, ITU’s truly global nature means it can provide a forum for discussion and standards-development that is not tinged by the commercial interests of one region. This enables decisions to be made multi-laterally, in other words, everyone has a fair and equal voice – representing both government and private industry.

2. ITU has been in existence since 1865 – but how is it relevant to the modern world?

Just one example of how ITU’s role is more essential now than ever before in the modern world is the rise of technological convergence, where communications, computers and the Internet combine, removing the traditional boundaries that exist between fixed-line and wireless.

This convergence between Internet protocol (IP), public switched telephone network (PSTN), digital subscriber line (DSL), cable television (CATV), wireless local area network (WLAN) and mobile technologies is a task that many believe is impossible without the development of global standards, and the International Telecommunications Union is committed to minimizing the proliferation of differing standards that new technologies bring. To pave the way for convergence to be easily accessible to consumers around the world, ITU is driving standards development efforts aimed at defining the building blocks of a new broadband global infrastructure.

3. Has broadband fulfilled its promise, or is the revolution still to come?

In recent years, broadband user numbers have skyrocketed in a number of countries across the world, and by 2005, some 217m people were solely broadband users. This was over three times as many as there were in 2002.

Countries such as the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong (China), Denmark and Iceland are the world leaders in terms of user numbers, with Iceland topping the global broadband penetration league in 2005, with a rate of 26.5%.

By the end of 2006, more than a quarter of a billion people worldwide will be connected to broadband networks of ever-increasing capacity. The number of broadband has grown at a faster rate than almost for any previous communication technology and, as the technology matures, broadband networks are now being used to carry full-motion video alongside internet and voice. Mobile networks are also offering increasing capacity for downloads as 3G networks become more widespread. Some cities are going ahead with metropolitan Wi-Fi networks in the hope that they will generate fresh economic growth and competitive advantage.

4. What kind of climate helps broadband thrive?

ITU analysts attribute high broadband penetration to a number of factors, including proactive government policies promoting the growth of high speed access, a transparent regulatory environment, and a dynamic understanding by service providers of users’ needs.

An essential factor in the success of broadband is a healthy competitive climate. A large number of broadband providers means a wider choice for end users. Competition needs to be supported by an effective regulatory body to ensure it functions well.

Communications networks are important to the economic prosperity of nations, and ITU supports broadband for all. The consequences of exclusion from high-speed access for rural and remote communities are heavy, and prevent nations bridging the Digital Divide.

5. How does ITU work to eliminate the differences in ICT affordability and accessibility in the developed and developing world?

ITU educates governments and countries on the most suitable technologies available to enable them to provide broadband services to local populations. In emerging countries where the challenges of bringing broadband to all is even more challenging, ITU helps countries consider alternative options to DSL, fiber optics and cable modems, such as advanced wireless technologies such as WiMAX or 3G, which can provide high-speed access for rural and remote communities. It is not ITU’s role to advocate any particular technology but to provide counsel on the most appropriate technology in the right place at the right time.

The future success of telecommunication development programmes will depend on partnerships between the public and private sectors and on close cooperation between a range of players, including government, regulators, operators, financial institutions, equipment manufacturers and service providers. ITU plays a key role in facilitating the processes necessary for telecommunications reform and growth around the world. This can be seen at the wide range of conferences, workshops and seminars it hosts around the world, as well as in the specialized counsel and workgroups it establishes for specific regions.

6. With vast sums of money invested in R&D and market expansion by technology companies in the developed world, won’t there always be a Digital Divide?

There is still plenty of potential beyond existing, maturing or emerging telecom markets. Twenty years ago when the ‘digital divide’ was better known as the ‘missing link’, it was possible to claim that “there are more telephones in Tokyo than in the whole of Africa”, or “half of the world’s population have never made a telephone call”. Although these claims still get repeated even today, they are now well out of date.

Today there are more phone users (mainly mobile phone owners) in Africa than the entire population of Japan. Although there are still many who do not have access to telephony, ITU estimates that the number of people without access to telephony service has decreased to less than one-fifth of world population. The digital divide is shrinking.

7. What can the industry itself do to bridge the Digital Divide?

Manufacturers need to think of low cost handsets in a different light – as we have seen in emerged countries, lowering the cost of handsets boosts adoption of mobile services in the long run. Phone manufacturers see the potential of large developing markets like India, China and Brazil. But they need to go beyond their comfort zone to see the potential in unexpected places.

Studies have shown that people in some of the poorest countries are ready to spend a significant part of their income on ICT to help improve their social and economic well-being. In Namibia, Ethiopia and Zambia for example, households spend more than 10% of their monthly income on phone services because it helps them save money in other areas, such as travel. The estimated average spent in developed countries is about 3% of monthly income.

8. Will 3G win the race to provide on the go broadband access, or will other wireless technologies pip it to the post?

On the horizon beyond 3G lie a cluster of other wireless technologies with huge potential. In particular they have the power to make major strides in providing much-needed ICT access in remote or rural areas, and in developing markets.

3G initially saw a slower than expected take-up in most of the world, but now global 3G user figures are firmly on the up, helped by more compelling content and services to stimulate consumer take-up. Consumer demand for more sophisticated and personalized services is also driving 3G adoption.

As 3G continues to rollout, operators have been implementing network upgrades so they can offer the higher speed services using HSDPA, EV-DO and EV-DV. As well as enhancements to 3G systems, alternative wireless access technologies are being developed in many countries, including broadband wireless access systems such as WiMAX, ETSI HiperMAN and WiBro.

Merging a mix of technologies, such as mobile, WLAN and other wireless access systems could help deliver users a richer variety of ‘always-on’ content over a host of different access devices.

9. What are the challenges in moving towards a wireless world?

Trends towards the personalization of mobile phones will intensify, raising concerns over issues like privacy, identity-theft and location-based services. There is a danger of a consumer backlash, or reluctance to adopt, if these consumer fears are not tackled. As mobile services become harder to live without, the pricing of certain non-transparent user costs, such as roaming charges, SMS or download fees, is a key regulatory issue.

Technology convergence is giving rise to a host of new standards that need to be harmonized and regulated. The take-up of various broadband technologies is leading to spectrum crowding and widely differing claims to the same parts of spectrum from industries that were traditionally very different. ITU encourages the adoption of regulatory convergence to ensure spectrum is allocated fairly, and works to minimize the proliferation of differing standards that new technologies bring.

ITU’s continuing role in managing the radio-frequency spectrum ensures that radio-based systems like cellular phones and pagers, aircraft and maritime navigation systems, scientific research stations, satellite communication systems and radio and television broadcasting all continue to function smoothly and provide reliable wireless services to the world’s inhabitants.

10. Who is responsible for the allocation of wireless spectrum?

Governments mainly manage and control the wireless spectrum in use in their country. As seen in the case of 3G, parts of the wireless spectrum can be auctioned off, enabling commercial organizations to offer new services. The convergence of computing, telecommunications and broadcasting that is happening in many countries all around the world means that there are specific regulatory hurdles which often touch upon spectrum allocation in each country. Unless these hurdles are surmounted, new business models enabled by broadband, such as multiple play, or the provision of voice, broadband and television to users over the same network, cannot take root.

11. What is ITU’s involvement in radio spectrum allocation?

Organizations with a vested interest in different wireless technologies frequently lobby for spectrum allocation more favourable to their cause. Often their voice is amplified by the industry organizations they themselves are active members of – meaning that there is a danger of unilateralism or bipartisanship.

As an international organization that represents all its members in equal measure, the ITU is essentially a community of its members, combining an impartial, global perspective and cooperative approach with the technical expertise drawn from hundreds of leading manufacturers, carriers and service providers.

Usually standards are developed by companies – ITU ensures it is a political and multi-lateral process with everyone having a voice. For example, a discussion on WiMAX would not just have the main technology proponents talking about how great the technology is. ITU experts would take a step back and analyse whether the technology would actually work for an operator given its existing network and coverage area. ITU also ensures smaller companies with an interesting story to share are also given a voice in important industry discussions.

12. What role does RFID play in the Digital Society?

The vision of a “ubiquitous network society” suggests a world in which information can be accessed from anywhere, at anytime, by anyone and anything. New and exciting technologies are making this vision a reality.

Early forms of pervasive technologies can be seen in mobile telephony, and to some extent in the broadband internet. But in the future, ubiquitous networks will extend beyond person-to-person and person-to-object connectivity. Connectivity will unite everyday things in one huge, ubiquitous communications network, the so-called Internet of Things.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is one of the most important technologies in realizing the ubiquitous network society, and can be used to automatically identify and track individual items using radio waves.

There are however important technical, security, and privacy-related challenges for enabling technologies such as RFID and sensors. Interoperability and standardization are required to ensure secure and reliable technological platforms in developing a stable ubiquitous network society. While the opportunities are immense, the scope and magnitude of potential threats and misuse grow correspondingly.

13. Are consumers justified in their Big Brother fears of an RFID-enabled world?

In light of technical developments in RFID, ITU believes there is an increasing need to ensure data protection and privacy. Consumer boycotts have been organized against companies planning the introduction of RFID, over concerns that such information tracking will infringe on personal privacy and civil liberties. Information can also be misused (for example, in the growing phenomenon of 'identity theft', the fastest-growing crime in the UK), while concepts such as "ubiquitous surveillance" and the tracking of workers is fast becoming reality.

The key technological drivers behind the Internet of Things are likely to be Radio-frequency identification (RFID), sensors, nanotechnology and intelligent systems. The Internet of Things requires us to view cyberspace in a different way. It is always-connected, responsive, adaptive and, above all, omnipresent in all aspects of our lives. The technology is here, but there is a challenge to build new business models and applications that will exploit the new capabilities.

ITU raises all these questions and also analyses what the Internet of Things means for developing countries. As we get closer to realizing the Internet of Things, the issues it raises will come hard and fast – and ITU’s role is to help governments and organizations address these.

14. How long before consumers can move into, and live in a truly Digital Home?

The capabilities of the Digital Home would not look out of place in the glossy pages of the latest architectural magazine, but people are not going to move house just so they can gain access to all the latest technologies.

ITU examines whether existing resources can be used – for example, can the existing wiring of a house be used? Are wireless networks the best solution for linking together the different members of the household, and the different rooms? In building the digital home, interoperability and ease of use remain as key challenges since consumers, not systems are the main target.

Multiple play is the network backbone of the Digital Home – where a broadband IP-based network brings a world of entertainment, news and information to all members of a household. Because of this focus around entertainment, the Digital Home will contain hardware from numerous different companies – TV, DVD-player, CD Player, personal music players and personal computer – all of which are likely to use different digital rights management (DRM) systems.

Downloaded music may work on one digital music player but not on another. Wireless frequencies for exchange of information may also differ between devices or services. That might mean that the 'convergence' in the digital home is more likely to be a 'collision'. Such a situation might be prevented where digital home products and services are based on open standards, agreed at the international level.

The merging of ICTs with the field of consumer electronics means that many different skills need to be combined together. ITU ensures this is done effectively by helping the ICT industry understand what consumers really want.