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Issue
15
Previous
editions
In this edition:
ITU New Initiatives Workshop on Ubiquitous
Network Societies
1.
ITU
New Initiatives Workshop on Ubiquitous Network Societies, Geneva, 6-8 April 2005
2.
The ubiquitous network society: an Italian
perspective
3. Eighth meeting of the Council WG-WSIS in Geneva,
3-4 May 2005
4.
WHO and ITU host joint session on ICTs for disaster
relief
5. PrepCom2 meets in Geneva
6. Related Links
1.
ITU New Initiatives Workshop on Ubiquitous
Network Societies, Geneva, 6-8 April 2005
From 6 to 8 April 2005, at the Varembé Conference Centre in
Geneva, Switzerland, the International Telecommunication Union held a
Workshop on
"Ubiquitous Network Societies" the latest in its
informative series of
New Initiatives Workshops. This workshop, the 15th in the series, was
managed by
Ms Lara Srivastava (of the ITU's Strategy and Policy Unit) and chaired by
Professor Robin Mansell (London School of Economics). It brought together experts from the
business, academic and regulatory worlds
to discuss the important
issues, including technological developments, the key sectors, public
policy mechanisms and corporate strategies. The delegates examined the
impact of new technologies on the telecommunication industry and society
and also addressed themes such as social inclusion, diversity, user
protection and security.
The Italian case study (and survey) summarized below
(chapter 2), is one of four presented at the Workshop on
Ubiquitous Network Societies,
the other three being
Japan,
Republic of Korea and
Singapore. Three background papers
were also presented: "Radio
Frequency Identities," "Privacy
& Ubiquitous Network Societies" and "The
Impact of Ubiquitous Network Societies on the Telecommunication Industry".
The
Chair's report
is now available and a
comprehensive report on the workshop will be published later in the
spring.
On 16 and 17 May 2005, the
WSIS Thematic meeting on Ubiquitous Network Societies
will take place in Tokyo, Japan. This conference is being organized by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan, the International
Telecommunication Union and the United Nations University. It will build
upon the research carried out during the New Initiatives Workshop.
 The "Survey on Ubiquitous
Network Societies: The Case of Italy" is the latest in a series of
Telecommunication Case Studies produced under the New Initiatives
programme of the Office of the Secretary-General of the ITU. In the run-up to the New Initiatives Workshop on
Ubiquitous Network Societies, the SPU conducted a
series of interviews with a around dozen of the most important
players in the Italian telecommunication market, including leading
figures from both the public and private sectors. One reason why Italy was chosen as the subject of
this survey and the case study is because ever since the liberalization of the Italian
telecommunication market in 1994, this sector has
grown at an unprecedented rate. Italian academic, public and private sectors have been
cooperating closely in this area and, most importantly, they share a
common goal. Moreover,
the
Italian public has embraced the new mobile technologies with great
enthusiasm, owning more mobile phones and sending more text messages per
head of population than the citizens of almost every other country.
Figure
Source: ITU
World Telecom Indicators Database
This survey forms an important background element to
the paper "Ubiquitous Network
Societies: The Case of Italy". The interviews
provided some very interesting and illuminating insights into the
prevailing moods and expectations within the Italian telecommunication
sector regarding the advance towards the ubiquitous network
society. The respondents replied to the questions with great enthusiasm
and were prepared to deal with the key issues in some detail, with the
result that the information they provided represents an extremely useful
background to the Workshop.
The Italian Ministry of Communications is aware of the
importance of research and has introduced
various initiatives, including fast regulation and experimental trials
more appropriate to the Italian and EU markets; two examples of this
would be the introduction into Italy of Wi-Fi and WiMax. Innovation is
also crucial and, once again, the Italians (Telecom Italia, TIM, Fastweb,
etc.) have proved themselves leaders in this field, being the first to
introduce large-scale tariff schemes and other products and services
designed to meet specific customer needs and solve specific customer
problems. The Italian mobile market has been particularly
innovative in the convergence of voice, data and video, as well as IP
and other fibre networks. Italy is also leading the way in digital
terrestrial television, with the final switch-over scheduled for 31
December 2006.
Amongst the security solutions proposed or cited by the Italian respondents were
encryption technology, high-reliability user information management and
security guarantees, including authorization, streaming and other
platform services. The Italian regulatory body has updated the
existing legislation and issued multi-level protection provided for in
Framework Act No. 36 (2001). Although in 2003, the Italian Data
Protection Authority recognized that national legislation does not apply
to e-mails originating outside Italy, it did caution that this does not
imply the absence of appropriate remedies and safeguards. Having been at
the forefront of the drive towards the ubiquitous network society for
over a decade, it appears that the Italians have no intention of
relinquishing their leadership role.
3. Eighth meeting of the Council WG-WSIS, Geneva,
3-4 May 2005
On 3 and 4 May 2005, the Council
Working Group on the
World Summit on the
Information Society will hold its eighth meeting at the Geneva
International Conference Centre in Switzerland. Amongst the
topics on the agenda will be a report on the ITU Thematic meetings, a
discussion on how the WSIS will shape ITU's future strategic plan and a
discussion of ITU's role in Internet Governance. Participants will, of course, also
receive
comprehensive
reports on both the Council's seventh meeting and the WSIS
Prepcom 2
(17-25
February 2005).
4. WHO and ITU host joint session on ICTs for disaster
relief
On 22 February 2005,
ITU and
WHO hosted two themed sessions on ICTs for Disaster Relief, during
which a panel of distinguished speakers shared their knowledge and
experiences with an interested audience, including many delegates to
PrepCom2. The lunchtime session, entitled "ICT for Health Action in the
Tsunami Crisis," was chaired by Dr Jean-Claude Healy, Director of WHO's
Office of External Relations and Governing Bodies and the opening speech
was made by Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General of both ITU and WSIS,
who talked about "The Scale of the Tsunumi Disaster". Mr Utsumi was
followed by Dr Lee Jong-Wook, the Director General of WHO, who delivered
a comprehensive report on "The Health Response in the Aftermath of the
Crisis". Three speakers dealt with "The Flow of Information for Health
Action": Dr David Nabarro, WHO Health in Action Crisis; Ms Janet Bumpas,
WHO Director General's office: and Mr Martin Catterall, WHO Information
Technology and Telecommunications.
 The
evening session was entitled "Telecoms for Disaster Relief:
Tampere Convention"
and was chaired by Mr Houlin Zhao, Director of ITU's
Telecommunication Standardization
Bureau (TSB), who had participated in the recent
Ministerial Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Tsunami Early Warning
in Phuket, Thailand. The opening speech, "Securing Access to ICTs in
Natural Disasters - Lessons from Japan," was delivered by Mr Manabu
Kanaya, Director of Telecommunication Systems Division,
Telecommunications Bureau,
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan. Mr
Kanaya was followed by Dr Marco Ferrari, Deputy Head of the Department
for Humanitarian Aid and SHA, Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation, who briefed those in
attendance on "Easing the Way to Disaster Mitigation". Three speakers
tackled the subject of "ITU Work on Telecommunications for Disaster
Relief: first up was Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Head of the Special Unit for
Least Developed Countries of ITU's
Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). He was followed by Mr
Colin Langtry, Counsellor, Study Group 8, of ITU's
Radiocommunication Bureau (BR)
and Mr Les Homan, Manager and Routing,
INMARSAT.
Even as the speakers and delegates were discussing the future, ITU was
continuing to render assistance very much in the present, providing USD
250'000 from its
TELECOM Surplus Fund for a project to provide expert services to
three of the countries most affected by the earthquake and tsunamis,
namely Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. ITU is assessing the
existing telecommunication infrastructure and helping to develop a
national plan for emergency communications as part of the Tsunami Early
Warning System for the Indian Ocean. ITU continues to assist governments
to prepare technical specifications and investment projects needed for
infrastructure procurement and helping to prepare the documentation
required to source funding for the investment projects. Throughout ITU's
140-year history, disasters have served to remind us that the most
effective approach to telecommunication deployment is one that is highly
focused and takes into account four distinct communication channels,
which are explained in Box 1:
Box
1: Emergency communication channels
Citizen to authority:
As it has in the past, ITU will continue to focus on providing ‘last
mile’ telecommunications solutions for disaster prevention,
mitigation and relief. These solutions, which facilitate
communications between citizens and authorities in times of
emergency, include special numbers such as 911 in North America or
112 in Europe. These telephone numbers provide instant connections
to emergency response teams. While initiatives such as these may
pose some regulatory challenges, they can be overcome with
conditions on telecommunication licensing.
Authority to authority: ITU is
committed to help countries establish sound communication systems
between national agencies involved in disaster management — monitoring
centres, police, fire brigades and field rescue teams.
Authority to citizen: This may be
the most critical communication step of all, if citizens are to be
warned of an impending disaster and to get instructions on how they
should respond. The events in the Indian Ocean have shown that any gap
in the communication chain from the time of the warning to the time of
the rescue can cause terrible loss of life. Until recently, radio and
television broadcasts have been the essential communication tools for
authority-to-citizen warnings. Internet web sites, and SMS ‘cell
broadcast’ messages to mobile phones, are now playing an increasingly
important role.
Citizen to citizen: The social
concerns of those in the affected regions must be addressed, as well as
the anxiety of their relatives who want information as to their health
and safety. Again, radio and television, the Internet and mobile
telephony are critical methods to address this need.
Two years ago, ITU Member States took a decision
that allows for prioritization of calls in an emergency. This means that
when disaster strikes, telecom networks can be effectively cleared of
non-urgent telephone calls. International agreements such as these will
be essential to make any early-warning disaster system developed by the
international community both practical and effective. But there are
still many areas that would benefit from “best practices” on what to do
from the time a warning of an impending natural disaster is is issued to
relief operations, including the information flow between seismic data
centres to authorities, authorities-to-authorities and authorities-to
citizens. Potentially, one of the most effective technological tools
available to warn citizens might be the mobile phone, which is becoming
increasingly available and affordable in both the developed and
developing world. Among its many technological strengths is the fact
that a warning message — either voice or text — can be broadcast to a
specific geographic mobile ‘cell’ to warn of a pending disaster.
However, to utilize information and communication technologies for
disaster prevention two things are necessary: political will and
international cooperation. For now there appears to be an abundance of
both. The first step is to identify what went wrong in the communication
chain and put in place the standards and procedures needed to avoid
another tragedy on this scale.
PrepCom 2,
the second session of the Preparatory
Committee for the Tunis phase of the
World Summit on the
Information Society, took place from 17 to 25 February 2005 at the
Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland; the Committee held five Plenary Meetings and 14
Subcommittee meetings. An impressive total of 149 UN member States (plus
Palestine) sent representatives, along with nine UN specialized
agencies, 17 other UN bodies, 28 inter-governmental organizations, the
European Union and many NGOs and business sector entities (including ITU
Sector Members). For a full list of the main participants, please see
the Final Report.
 Amongst the papers presented to the Committee were the report of the ITU
Secretary General, Mr Yoshio Utsumi, on the activities leading to
PrepCom 2; an interim report on the stocktaking of WSIS-related
activities and the report of the Group of
Friends of the President of the Preparatory Committee, which was agreed
as the basis for further negotiations. There were also
three reports on regional conferences; Western Asia (23-23 November
2004), Africa (2-4 February 2005) and the Bishkek-Moscow Conference on
the Information Society (16-18 November 2004). The reports from 12
thematic meetings were also presented to the participants.
The texts of the Final Documents were drafted by the Sub-Committee, under
the chairmanship of Ambassador Ileana di Giovan (Argentina); these draft
texts were based on the report presented by the Group of Friends of the
Chair, as well as the Executive Summary and Conclusions of the Report of
the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms (TFFM), which can be found here. The
PrepCom
Decision and
Final Report are also available.
For a comprehensive list of meeting documents, please click
here. The third session,
PrepCom 3,
will take place in Geneva from 19 to 30 September 2005.
 Tampere
Convention Comes into Force (ITU Press Release)
Working
Group on Emergency Telecommunications
World
Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (Emergency Communication)
WSIS
Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action
ITU
Internet Report 2004 "The Portable Internet" (September 2004)
Strategy
and Policy Unit: Publications
Strategy
and Policy Unit: Newslog  
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reading the Strategy
and Policy
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