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International Telecommunication Union
For immediate release |
Telephone: +41 22 730 6039
Fax: +41 22 730 5939
E-mail: pressinfo |
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Setting the course for the future of
telecommunications and ICT
ITU prepares for 17th Plenipotentiary Conference
Accredit Now
Geneva, 28 September 2006 —
ITU’s 17th Plenipotentiary Conference opens in Antalya, Turkey, 6–24 November
2006. The event is expected to attract 2’000 participants from over 150
countries representing both government and private sector as well as regional
and international organizations.
The Conference seeks to provide new vision and direction to ITU to facilitate
the worldwide growth and development of telecommunications and information and
communication technologies (ICT) everywhere and for the benefit of all. The
conference is being held at a time when the telecommunications sector and the
ICT industry are coming to grips with new trends in convergence.
ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference, which is held every four years, adopts the
Union’s Strategic and Financial Plans, and develops new policies as necessary in
the light of recent and forthcoming developments in industry.
The conference will also elect the leadership at the helm of an organization
which has been at the cutting edge of helping the world communicate over the
past 141 years, earning it the distinction of one of the world’s 10 most
enduring institutions1.
Looking to the future
The future strategy of ITU is meant to address the rapidly changing ICT
environment and its implications for the Union. These include:
the convergence of technological platforms
and the deployment of common network infrastructures for multiple
communication services and applications
the continued but uneven growth of the
internet and other IP-based platforms and related services, and the
deployment of national and regional IP-based backbone networks
the continuing rapid development of wireless
and mobile communications, and their convergence with both fixed lines
and broadcasting services
the need for market-driven, high-quality,
international standards, which are developed rapidly, in line with the
principles of global connectivity, openness, affordability, reliability,
interoperability, and security
the emergence of key technologies including
radio-frequency identification (RFID) and sensor network technologies
expected to create new services and applications and to enhance
efficiency in a revolutionary way
the importance accorded to Next Generation
Networks (NGN) by service providers and equipment manufacturers
illustrated by their substantial investment of resources in
standard-making activities
the delivery of audio-visual services and
applications over a wide variety of new platforms, including both fixed
and mobile networks, resulting in increased competition for media
distribution
the continued trend towards separation of
operational and regulatory functions, and the creation of many new
independent telecommunication regulatory bodies
the growing role of regional organizations to
ensure the consistency and predictability of regulatory frameworks and
encourage capital investment
continuing market liberalization, including
the opening of markets to competition, greater private sector
participation, and licensing of new market entrants
the growing trend to regulate
telecommunications with less reliance on sectoral regulation in
competitive markets, generating different challenges for policy-makers
and regulators
the ongoing challenges relating to
capacity-building, in particular for developing countries, in the light
of rapid technological innovation and increased convergence
the persistent differences in the level of
access to the benefits of ICT within and among countries
the promotion of ICT as tools for the overall
development of society based on a robust telecommunication
infrastructure, and the encouragement of the private sector to uphold
its corporate social responsibility.
Plenipotentiary delegates meeting in Antalya will be expected to take
decisions on a number of critical issues, including:
Organizational reform with consideration of a
possible review of ITU’s federal structure;
ITU’s role in implementing the action lines
laid out in the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS), many of which call for a broader vision on ways that can
effectively bridge the digital divide, in a bid to establish a more
inclusive, equitable, people-centred Information Society
Enlarging the participation of new
stakeholders in its work, including civil society, given the
expectations raised in the WSIS process
Broadening the mandate of ITU to encompass
Information Society issues so as to maintain ITU’s pre-eminent role in
global ICT affairs
Balancing the Union’s budget within a general
framework of zero-growth despite the need to respond to the challenges
of a changing ICT environment which call for additional resources to
carry out an ever increasing number of activities
Media accreditation
Media accreditation for this event provides a number of privileges, including
access to conference documents and the photolibrary, the delegates' list as well
as press material released during the event. Accreditation also provides access
to plenary meetings of the conference and its working group and to plenary
sessions of the substantive committees.
For media accreditation, click here.
For further information, please contact
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
ITU
Tel: +41 22 730 6135
Mobile : +41 79 249 4861
E-mail Contact
| 1 |
The Award was given to ITU in December 2004
to celebrate institutions that "have reinvented themselves time and
again — and remained market leaders — as the unique circumstances of
their founding have given way to changing conditions." For more
information, click
here. |
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