Asia TELECOM 97 BEATS ALL FORECASTS

Host Country Agreement Signed for Africa TELECOM 98

Singapore, 14 June 1997 — Today was the final day of Asia TELECOM 97, the fourth regional telecommunications Exhibition and Forum for the Asia region, which was held from 9-14 June, at the World Trade Centre, Singapore.

This year’s event attracted over 40,000 telecommunication professionals, who came to see the latest technology on display from 477 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. Great interest was expressed throughout the event by external investors who came to see what role they could play in the world’s biggest and most rapidly expanding telecommunications market.

The Opening Ceremony, held on Monday 9 June, was hosted by H.E. Mr Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister, Singapore, Mr Teo Ming Kian, Chairman, Telecommunication Authority of Singapore, Dr Pekka Tarjanne, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Mr Christopher Galvin, CEO, Motorola. Both it and the Press Day, held on Sunday 8 June, received extensive press coverage around the world, and the Prime Minister of Singapore used the occasion to launch the pilot network for Singapore ONE – Singapore’s ambitious project to wire together businesses, schools, public areas and some 800,000 households on the intelligent island by the end of 1998.The ITU Secretary-General, Dr Pekka Tarjanne, highlighted the importance of finding new ways of cooperating and working together and stressed that the promise of technological innovations, trade agreements and global systems would never be realized if policies and regulations designed for a different era stood in their way. His message was complemented by Chris Galvin of Motorola, who noted that the benefits of global information highways would extend to all parts of the world more quickly than had previously been thought. "The potential for emerging economies to leapfrog into the global marketplace is greater than ever," he said. "One of the ironies of technology is that as software becomes more complex and sophisticated, the product for the end user becomes easier to operate," he added. "This challenges old assumptions about how innovation occurs and how rapidly a culture adopts new technology."

Over a thousand people took part in the Forum programme, which opened with Dr Pekka Tarjanne, Secretary-General of the ITU, Mr Teo Ming Kian, the Chairman of TAS and Mr Frank Blount, the Chairman of Telstra. Mr Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, spoke live from Seattle via videoconference. The Forum encompassed the Strategies and Technology Summits, which focused both on new technological developments, and on the greater challenges of communications in the developing world. A TELECOM Development Symposium was also organized, in conjunction with the Forum, which brought 40 telecommunications specialists from 38 countries to Asia TELECOM 97 on a fellowship to discuss the issues relating to interconnection, the rationalization of tariffs, and the need for balanced development programmes.

Asia TELECOM 97 was the fourth regional telecommunications Exhibition and Forum for the Asia-Pacific region to be organized by the ITU as part of its programme of regional TELECOM events, following Asia TELECOM 85, Asia TELECOM 89 and Asia TELECOM 93, which were also held in Singapore.

Asia TELECOM 97 Event Statistics

Host Country Agreement Signed for Africa TELECOM 98

Asia TELECOM 97 was also the venue, on Thursday 12 June, for South Africa’s Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting, Mr Jay Naidoo, and Dr Pekka Tarjanne to meet and sign the agreement between the Government of South Africa and the ITU to stage Africa TELECOM 98 in South Africa. At the signing ceremony, Mr Naidoo said "This agreement represents a major breakthrough for an African Renaissance – the rebirth of the African continent wired into the Global Information Society, and a proud participant in the community of nations of the next millennium." He went on to say "The signing of this agreement culminates a lengthy process started by President Nelson Mandela, when he addressed TELECOM 95 in Geneva. It is our great privilege to host the ITU at this great event, Africa TELECOM 98."Forthcoming TELECOM Events

The next TELECOM event will be TELECOM Interactive 97 – a new forum and exhibition focusing on interactive and multimedia services and applications. It will be held in Geneva from 8 to 14 September 1997. Africa TELECOM 98 will then be held at the National Exhibition Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 4 to 10 May 1998, while the next World Telecom Exhibition and Forum, TELECOM 99, is being staged in Geneva from 10 to 17 October 1999.