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ITU and EC discuss broadband infrastructure to improve ICT
products and services in Europe
Broadband connectivity aims to achieve sustainable development
Geneva, 29 April 2016 – ITU and the European Commission (EC)
in partnership with the Office of Electronic Communications of Poland (UKE) held
a conference 11-12 April 2016 in Warsaw, focused on “Broadband
Services and Infrastructure Mapping”.
The conference was organized within the framework of the Regional Initiative
for Europe on Development of Broadband Access and Adoption of Broadband approved
by the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014 (WTDC-14).
It provided participants with an opportunity for high-level dialogue between
the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) of ITU, the European Commission,
ITU Member States and Sector Members with particular emphasis on national,
regional and international broadband services and infrastructure mapping
initiatives.
“There is no doubt that broadband has become a critical infrastructure and
essential backbone of each economic sector, helping to cut costs and improve on
service delivery for millions of individuals, particularly those living in hard
to reach areas,” said Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU Telecommunication
Development Bureau (BDT). “It is our responsibility to ensure that this
infrastructure is robust, accessible and affordable to everyone.”
Mr Sanou noted that the mapping of broadband infrastructure is one of the
priorities of BDT and that an
ITU Interactive Transmission Map has been launched to take
stock of national backbone connectivity for optical fibres, microwaves,
satellite earth stations, as well as other key metrics of the ICT sector.
“Broadband Services are becoming an increasingly important feature of the
telecommunications market,” said Ms Magdalena Gaj, President of the Office of
Electronic Communications of Poland. “Infrastructure Mapping is one of the tools
that enables us to target investments to foster the development of information
society. That is why we – at the Office of Electronic Communications – have
always given it a high priority in our work. We have been engaged in various
initiatives connected with Broadband Mapping. Now we are happy to host a
conference on this issue and to hear about others’ experience in this area.”
“The measurement and monitoring of the quality of broadband services is of
critical importance for the realization of the Digital Single Market in Europe,”
said Mr Guido Acchioni, Policy Officer, European Commission Directorate General
for Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG CONNECT). “The
European Platform for Monitoring Quality of Service will support
the programming of EU funds in broadband, assist the development and monitoring
of EU policy objectives and regulation, and support the delivery of high quality
connectivity to all European citizens.”
More than 120 ICT experts from administrations, regulatory authorities,
private-sector entities and institutes from some 35 countries shared their
experiences and exchanged best practices, presenting over 25 national broadband
infrastructure and services mapping exercises at the conference. In addition,
several ways to improve broadband quality of service were demonstrated.
The two-day conference also established a network of professionals dealing
with broadband mapping at both national and regional levels.
Participants at the conference agreed on the need to continue providing
updated information on their national broadband networks in order to enrich the
ITU Interactive Transmission Map. Currently, the map provides information from
156 countries. It includes data from 332 network operators and features more
than 8.6 million kilometres of transmission networks.
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Monica Albertini
Communication Officer
Telecommunication Development Bureau
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