ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2000 Closes on Optimistic Note
Region’s Mobile and Internet Boom Set to Continue

Rio de Janeiro, 15 April 2000 — Today was the final day of  ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2000, the fourth regional telecommunications Exhibition and Forum for the Americas region, which was held from 10-15 April, at the RioCentro Exhibition and Conference Centre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and hosted by the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil.

AMERICAS 2000 featured world and regional leaders from the telecoms and IT industries as well as key figures from governments across the region. They met in Rio to discuss the issues shaping the future path of an industry which now generates more than a trillion US dollars a year in revenue worldwide.

Around 17 000 trade visitors came to see the latest technology and services on display from 303 exhibitors from the telecommunications, information technology and audio-visual entertainment fields.

AMERICAS 2000 put the spotlight on the opening of markets in light of the wave of liberalization in Latin America, and on the dual boom underway in the Americas region in mobile communications and in the uptake of the Internet. Latin American countries, in fact, experienced the fastest Internet host growth rate in the world in 1999, with the number of hosts more than doubling during the year. As for mobile cellular, the number of subscribers in the region soared from just 3.5 million at the end of 1995 to 38 million by the end of 1999. Today, one in every four telephone users in Latin America and the Caribbean depends on a mobile phone, and in some countries, such as Paraguay and Venezuela, more people already have cellular telephones than fixed-line ones.

At the opening press conference on Sunday 9 April, Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the ITU, pointed out that progress in telecoms development over the past decade had been very encouraging. "But," he added, "Much remains to be done – particularly in terms of promoting the further development of new technologies, and in terms of bringing access to all sectors of society and not just the wealthy few."

On Sunday 9 April Mr Utsumi inaugurated the event. The ceremony was honoured by the participation of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the host country of ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2000.

Mr Utsumi reminded the audience during his opening address that affordable access to communications services is essential to social and economic existence in the twenty first century and is vital to our cultural and even our individual existence. He closed his speech with a challenging goal for the telecoms sector – to bring virtually the whole of mankind within easy reach of modern means of telecommunications, including the Internet, by the end of the decade. "Affordable Universal Access – not just to basic telephony, but to the Internet – is a realizable dream," he said. "Let us take the first steps, together, towards realizing that dream of digital opportunity here in Rio, this week."

President Cardoso said that with the help of telecommunications, the economies of Latin America are being economically and politically transformed: "Knowledge and Technology are the comparative advantages which count today". With respect to the successful liberalization of telecommunications in his country, he added: "The changes in the area of telecommunications in Brazil are a result of the democratization of the country and its society. At the same time, these changes help reinforce the more open, democratic and participatory profile of the Brazilian society of today."

A special stamp was issued by the government of Brazil to commemorate the event which coincided with the 500^th anniversary of the discovery of Brazil.

The FORUM at AMERICAS 2000 covered the whole breadth of the telecommunications field. More than 300 speakers came from 42 different countries and a dozen international organizations such as Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of the American States, the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank.

Altogether more than 1100 people attended the FORUM, which encompassed a Policy and Regulatory Summit, an Infrastructure and Applications Summit, a TELECOM Development Symposium and various combined sessions, which had a strong focus on the impact of the digital revolution.

The TELECOM Development Symposium which was organized in conjunction with the FORUM brought 73 telecommunications specialists from 38 countries to AMERICAS 2000 on a fellowship to discuss the principal factors that governments, regulatory bodies and operators need to bear in mind in order to be customer and business oriented, to improve services within their own countries and, in the case of operators, to survive in a liberalized market.

The FORUM was closed by Roberto Blois, Deputy Secretary-General of the ITU, on Friday 14 April. In his closing remarks Mr Blois said that "…when we meet in ITU TELECOM AMERICAS 2002 we can claim that telecommunications in the Americas have not only sustained their current growth rate, but that they have also led to a regionally converged marketplace."

Americas Telecommunication Indicators 2000 & Americas Blue Book

AMERICAS 2000 was also the venue for the launching of two new ITU reports. The first of these is Americas Telecommunication Indicators 2000, which offers a thorough and authoritative analysis and assessment of the data the ITU has collected from all countries in the region. The second report, launched in cooperation with CITEL, is the second edition of the Blue Book on Telecommunication Policies for the Americas. This provides a conceptual framework and a range of policy options for the advancement of sector reform in the region.

Americas Telecommunication Indicators 2000 and the Blue Book on Telecommunication Policies for the Americas are available from the ITU sales service. Please contact the ITU Sales service at sales@itu.int for further information.

Americas 2000 Statistics are as follows:

¹ As at Saturday, 15 April 14:00. Number does not include exhibitors, exhibitors' staff, and their invited guests.

The previous AMERICAS TELECOM event, in 1996, attracted 18 119 visitors, 412 exhibitors and 274 journalists. Exhibition space comprised 18 745 m², including upper floors. Nearly 1 400 participants attended the FORUM.

ITU TELECOM events have an unprecedented track record in bringing together governments, industry, investors, operators, and other key players in telecommunications. They are also of direct benefit to the developing world, with the surplus funds generated being used for telecommunications projects in the world’s developing countries.
  

For further information on TELECOM, please see the ITU Telecom web site: http://www.itu.int/telecom or contact:

Thomas Frankl
Press and Public Information Officer
E-mail: thomas.frankl@itu.int
Tel: +41 22 730 6345
Fax: +41 22 730 6444

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