The current state of the telecommunications industry reflects in part a lag between infrastructure development and the prospect of profitable content.

There is a tendency in development to take a linear approach to ICT planning: first, infrastructure then training then content but experience suggests that all three must run in parallel. The Japanese I-mode system and text messaging are just two examples of successful harmonisation between infrastructure and content creation.

Industry and regulatory convergence is both a consequence and a cause of the synergy between content and infrastructure. Over the next four years its effects, some of them far-reaching and unforeseen, will be increasingly felt in developing and developed countries. The need to focus on convergence is highlighted in Part 1 of the European Common Proposals (Document 18, Part 1)

There are many examples of potentially profitable content in developing countries ranging from indigenous knowledge in agriculture and medicine to music, art and crafts. India has shown how quickly ICT access can stimulate and adapt strong local talent in software design. The imperative of developing rapid local content solutions to safeguard returns on investment and, thereby, sustainability in developing countries' ICT environment makes the case for the ITU exploring over the next four years the scope for strategic alliances and other ways of achieving this goal.

It is worth noting in this respect that local content is one of the themes covered by the World Summit on the Information Society and the UN ICT Task Force whose Working Group 3 has set up a committee to stimulate activity in its development. Local content and applications is also the theme of the DOT Force's Action Point 8.

As a member of both these forums the UK is chairing the Task Force Committee and supporting two DOT Force initiatives designed to promote the effective and sustainable creation and exchange of valuable content. The weight of the ITU's recognition in its strategy of this vital topic would add to its successful implementation across the development process. The ITU's role in addressing user needs and education as one prominent form of content in concert with other agencies through initiatives like the UN ICT Task Force is proposed in the European Common Proposals (Document 18, Part 4). In this connection it is worth noting that the UN ICT Task Force's mission statement commits it to working towards the UN Millennium Development Goals for the reduction of poverty.