Live from Telecom 99: European Backbone Network Launched

The opening of the first stage of a 300 million euro ($320 million) backbone connecting 40 metropolitan areas in 16 European countries was announced by France Telecom during the first full day of Telecom 99 and Interactive 99 in Geneva.

France Telecom President Michel Bon announced details of the European Backbone Network, which will link Geneva, Paris and London, and will reach Madrid next month. In a press conference, Mr. Bon emphasized France Telecom's commitment to two specific directions for future growth: convergence and international scope. Commenting on last week's acquisition of Sprint (in which France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom each held a 10 percent interest) by MCI, and the current uncertainty regarding Global One, owned by all three companies, Mr. Bon said: ''The disintegration of [ownership in] Global One was motivated by business, not personal reasons.'' He added: ''A solution for Global One is closer now than it was a year ago, perhaps within two months.'' He also stated: ''If we lose control of Global One, we might work with an American operator.''

Talk at Telecom 99 on Sunday centered on ''the gap'' and ''the WAP'' (wireless application protocol). The gap refers to the threat of the widening information gap between the information rich and the information poor among the world's countries. WAP is the platform that enables mobile devices such as mobile phones and communicators to access Web-like value-added services such as stock prices, e-mail, flight schedules and electronic commerce.

The gap theme was evident in both morning and afternoon sessions on the first day of the forum. The morning session's keynote speeches were given by Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union; John Roth, chief executive officer of Nortel Networks; and Erkki Liikanen, commissioner in charge of enterprise and the information society for the European Union. Mr. Roth emphasized that the fundamental change brought about by the Internet is ''universal access to the world's knowledge.'' Mr. Liikanen said that developing countries need to implement appropriate institutional and legal frameworks for liberalization in order to take advantage of the information society.

Louis Gerstner, Jr., chief executive officer of IBM, and Jichuan Wu, minister of information and industry for the People's Republic of China, were the keynote speakers at the afternoon forum roundtable on the ''connected society.'' Mr. Gerstner sketched out a vision of the digital bridges that are bringing about a ''profound change'' in business, institutions and society at large. Mr. Gerstner noted that IBM is working with Harvard to create a guide to Global Electronic Commerce Readiness for Developing Countries, which will be available in early 2000. Mr. Wu described China's dramatic advances in telecommunications in recent decades, including an average annual growth rate of 40 percent in the 1990s. This growth will be encouraged by what he calls ''significant reforms.'' Separately, Chinese officials revealed that their government will appoint a license for a third carrier in the country this year. The new company will handle Internet networking and will be called China Netcom.

Claudia Flisi