Americas TELECOM 96 wraps up today

Rio de Janeiro, 15 June 1996 — Today was the final day of Americas TELECOM 96, the third regional Americas telecommunications Exhibition and Forum, which was held from 10-15 June, at the Riocentro Exhibition and Conference Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This year's event attracted over 18,000 telecommunication professionals, who came to see the latest technology on display from 412 exhibitors from the telecommunications, information technology and audio-visual entertainment fields.

The event attracted industry leaders at the highest level, from ambassadors and government ministers, to the CEOs of the front-ranked market players as well as some of the most respected industry analysts and commentators. Nearly 1,400 people took part in the Forum programme, which encompassed the Strategies and Technology Summits. The Summits focused both on new technological developments, and on the problems of communications in the developing world, and a special session was held on the role of telecommunications in emergency situations. A TELECOM Development Workshop was organized, in conjunction with the Forum, which brought 46 telecommunications specialists to Americas TELECOM 96 on a fellowship to discuss the issues relating to rural and remote telecommunications development, and the need for balanced development programmes.

Speeches were given by Pekka Tarjanne, André Lebel and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and a commemorative stamp to mark the occasion was issued. Pekka Tarjanne also presented the ITU's 125th Anniversary silver medal to the Brazilian President.

The event coincided with the restructuring of Brazil's telecommunications sector, and was marked by strong government participation. The President, H.E. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, emphasized the importance of the regulatory framework that should surround telecommunications liberalization in his country. His message was reinforced by the Minister of Communications, H.E. Sérgio Motta, both at the Forum opening and on the Press Day, held on Sunday 9 June, and received wide media coverage both in Brazil and in the International press. Great interest was expressed throughout the event by external investors who came to see what role they could play in a newly liberalized telecommunications environment.

1996 is TELECOM'S 25th anniversary year, and Americas TELECOM 96 was the third regional Americas telecommunications Exhibition and Forum to be organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as part of its programme of regional TELECOM events, following Americas TELECOM 88, also held in Rio de Janeiro, and Americas TELECOM 92, held in Acapulco, Mexico.

Trade visitors	18,119
Ministers	24
Delegates from Administrations	102
Directors-General	44
Ambassadors	11
Chief Executive Officers	260
Exhibitors	412 exhibitors from 25 countries
Exhibition space	18,745 m²
Forum participants, including speakers	1,383 from 76 countries
Forum speakers	301 from 44 countries
Accredited press	274 journalists from 187 publications and 23 countries. 116 journalists represented the international press, 118 the Brazilian press, and 47 from the rest of the Americas region.

The next TELECOM event will be Asia TELECOM 97 - the regional exhibition and forum which will take place in Singapore from 9-14 June 1997. This will be followed by TELECOM Interactive 97, to be held in Geneva, from 8 to 14 September 1997, Africa TELECOM 98, to be held in Midrand, South Africa, from 4 to 10 May 1998, and the next World TELECOM Exhibition and Forum, TELECOM 99, being held in Geneva from 10 to 17 October 1999.