TELECOM UPDATE

MEET THE FUTURE – ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2001

The next ITU TELECOM event, AFRICA 2001, is around the corner. With the support of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, which is hosting the event in Johannesburg from 12 to 16 November, AFRICA 2001 is expected to be the one place this year where the continent's policy-makers, industry experts and innovators can meet and share with each other the progress they have made for the benefit of the world's people since the last regional show in 1998.

"We have made great advances since AFRICA TELECOM 98, with many millions of telephone lines having been installed across the continent. Millions of people have signed up for mobile cellular service. And hundreds of thousands of users are coming to the Internet for the first time", says Yoshio Utsumi, ITU Secretary-General, in a special brochure for ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2001.

"But access to any telecommunication services, let alone modern telecommunication services, is still far from universal in Africa. And that must remain the yardstick by which we, as an organization, as well as governments and politicians, should be measured", Mr Utsumi adds. Universal access to modern telecommunication services is not an unrealisable dream, the Secretary-General also notes, stating that "it is relatively easy to achieve this goal, given sufficient political will". AFRICA 2001, therefore, promises to be a launch pad for the rapid development of the continent's information and communication technology infrastructure. It will focus on exciting opportunities of growth throughout Africa.

"This unique event offers a real opportunity for us to bridge the digital divide and to bring modern communication services within reach of all of Africa's people", comments South African President, Thabo Mbeki. South Africa itself has made dramatic improvements in developing a modern telecommunications infrastructure. "In April 1994, when we achieved democracy, South Africa had about 3.5 million main telephone lines in operation and cellular telephony in the country was at its infancy. Just six years later, in the year 2000, we had 5.5 million main telephone lines and 5.3 million mobile subscribers. By the time AFRICA 2001 takes place, we expect there to be over ten million cellular subscribers," Mr Mbeki also notes.

Meet the future, and bridge the digital divide

AFRICA 2001 continues the winning ITU TELECOM formula of combining an Exhibition and a Forum. The Exhibition will feature a comprehensive range of telecommunications-related products and services, while the associated Forum will focus on the latest telecommunication developments in the region and will provide a platform for telecommunication leaders to share their ideas on future trends and discuss appropriate strategies for development. The Forum will also be enhanced by a TELECOM Development Symposium, and will feature, for the first time, a Youth Forum.

AFRICA 2001 is your opportunity to see the future shape of telecommunications on the continent and to network with leaders in the world of telecommunications as they work to bridge the digital divide.

The Gallagher Estate

AFRICA 2001 will be taking place at the Gallagher Estate, which is situated within easy reach of Johannesburg's northern suburbs, airports and major concentration of hotels. The Estate is set in a stunning 19-hectare park that highlights Africa's natural beauty and features modern exhibition halls, excellent forum facilities, secure on-site parking for up to 5000 vehicles and a number of attractive restaurants.

The Forum

At the AFRICA 2001 Forum, government and industry leaders will share their vision of 21st century telecommunications for the region in a bid to help bridge the digital divide. It will be the chance of a lifetime for delegates to network with the telecommunication ministers of the region and the captains of the world's info-communication companies.

The Forum will encompass a "Policy and Development Summit" and an "Infrastructure and Applications Summit", running in parallel over five days, along with a series of special roundtables (see Forum Programme overview below).

The Policy and Development Summit will focus on strategies for harmonizing and connecting Africa to the rest of the world via telecommunications. In particular, it will examine the key challenges for bridging the digital divide.

The Infrastructure Summit will focus on the different solutions for promoting interconnectivity between African countries and, most importantly, access to and between rural areas.

The Forum will also include a TELECOM Development Symposium (TDS) and a Youth Forum.The TELECOM Development Symposium will bring together 82 engineers and human resources specialists (middle managers) from Africa's lowest income and least developed countries (LIC and LDC) in order to visit the Exhibition and participate in a special three-day programme on issues of immediate importance to their specific countries.

The Youth Forum, for its part, will bring together smart, highly motivated young people selected on the basis of a competition which aims to broaden the talent pool of future leaders in the ICT field (see Youth Forum Progress report). Winners of the competition will be awarded scholarships (fellowships) to attend AFRICA 2001 and participate in the Youth Forum.

The Preliminary Forum Programme will be available on the AFRICA 2001 Forum website from August at www.itu.int/africa2001/forum.

Accommodation, visas and further information

Full information on accommodation, visas and the event itself can be found at the AFRICA 2001 website (www.itu.int/africa2001).

Forum Programme Overview (as at 18 June 2001)

Monday, 12	Tuesday, 13	Wednesday, 14	Thursday, 15	Friday, 16
	09h30 - 12h30 POL+DEV.2 Market development	09h30 - 12h30 POL+DEV.4 Accessibility and opportunities	09h30 - 12h30 POL+DEV.6 Investment |	09h30 - 11h00   POL + DEV Workshop 1 Ethics
09h30 - 12h30 Forum opening Defining the digital divid	09h30 - 10h45 INF.3 From legacy to NGN: Services in focus	09h30 - 10h45 INF.7 E-commerce solutions for Africa	09h30 - 12h30 INF.11 and 12 Providing access for underserved communities	09h30 - 11h00 POL + DEV Workshop 2 Empowerment
	11h15 - 12h30 INF.4 From legacy to NGN: Protocols in focus	11h15 - 12h30   INF.8 Internet		09h30 - 11h00 POL + DEV Workshop 3 Emergency Communications
	09h30 - 12h30 TDS.1 (Roundtable) Building effective regulators	09h30 - 12h30 TDS.2 (Roundtable) Development of Internet in Africa	09h30 - 12h30 TDS.3 (Roundtable) Competence development in the Africa Region	09h30 - 11h00 INF  Workshop 1 Social issues
				11h30 - 12h30 Forum closing
14h00 - 17h00 POL+DEV.1 Challenges of the digital divide	14h00 - 17h00 POL+DEV.3 Transition	14h00 - 17h00 POL+DEV.5 e-Africa	14h00 - 17h00 POL+DEV.7 Strategic initiatives and solutions
14h00 - 15h15 INF.1 Connecting Africa	14h00 - 15h15 INF.5 Evolution to 3G networks	14h00 - 15h15 INF.9 Sustainable solutions	14h00 - 15h15 INF.13 Telecentres for connecting Africa
15h45 - 17h00 INF.2  Packet telephony voice over IP	15h45 - 17h00 INF.6 The 3G business opportunity	15h45 - 17h00 INF.10 ICT in rural access	15h45 - 17h00 INF.14 Broadband access in the last mile and the last metre
14h30 - 17h30   YF.1  (Roundtable) Policy and Regulation	14h30 - 17h30   YF.2  (Roundtable) Technology	14h30 - 17h30   YF.3  (Roundtable) Finance	14h30 - 17h30   YF.4  Working group session

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