CYPRUS
STATEMENT BY MR STELIOS HIMONAS
DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
Mr. Chairman,
Honorable Ministers,
Distinguished delegates,
First, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus and the
Cyprus delegation, let me express our thanks and gratitude to the Government
of Turkey for hosting this Plenipotentiary Conference and congratulate you,
Mr. Chairman, on your election.
Mr. Chairman, we believe that the cornerstone of our policy must be to
ensure the uptake of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by
businesses and households and promote the development of both public and
private services. We should also increase investment in human capital. This
way, we shall increase productivity, establish an open and competitive
digital economy and promote an inclusive society, thus boosting growth and
jobs.
The underserved areas, Mr. Chairman, shall not be left behind. Ensuring
availability of ICT infrastructure where the market fails to provide it at
an affordable cost and to an adequate level to support broadband services,
especially in remote and rural areas, is equally important. Comprehensive
provision of broadband services is vital in ensuring regional equality.
The prerequisite to achieve the above-mentioned policy objectives is the
establishment of competition, which is a means to an end. It is expected
that consumers shall benefit from effective and sustainable competition
delivering innovation, diversity and choice. Also, government intervention
is needed where market forces cannot provide the desired results.
While today’s broadband market is dominated by broadband services offered
via the fixed telephone network and cable television networks, new broadband
technologies are continuously entering the market. These are mainly wireless
mobile and fixed technologies. Thus, we are experiencing a situation where
the same electronic communications services are offered over a variety of
networks. Moreover, any one electronic communications network is capable of
supporting a variety of electronic communications services.
In particular, digital television networks are able to offer competitive
broadband solutions with good geographical coverage. The “spectrum dividend”
that will result from the switch-off of analog terrestrial television needs
to be managed in a balanced manner. We should not miss the opportunity to
use the spectrum in a flexile way, allowing the provision of mobile
services, enhanced digital interactive and broadcasting services and other
information technology services.
Evidently, Mr. Chairman, innovation requires rapid access to spectrum
resources. The traditional methods of granting rights of use of spectrum, by
specifying either explicitly or implicitly the technology and/or the
service, cannot accommodate today’s market demands. We need to adopt a more
efficient approach to radio spectrum management that is based on the
principles of technology and service neutrality. Spectrum right holders
should have the right to implement any technology they wish. Furthermore, no
frequency band should be reserved for the exclusive provision of any one
electronic communications service. Also, wherever applicable, spectrum right
holders should have the right to trade their spectrum, thereby facilitating
rapid access to spectrum and thus promoting innovation. Moreover,
authorization conditions should become more coherent and unnecessary
constraints to the use of spectrum should be removed. Only constraints to
ensure the avoidance of harmful interference should be imposed.
Mr. Chairman, these challenges are not ahead of us, they are with us and
we need to face them urgently. The ITU needs to maintain its leadership in
promoting the information society of the 21st century and bridging the
digital divide. It needs to lead the way in building a cyber-society that
people can trust. Network and information security, data and privacy
protection and combating spam are, in our opinion, the most critical issues
that need to be addressed.
Mr. Chairman,
During the course of the coming weeks, this Plenipotentiary Conference
will deliberate and take decisions on many important issues. These decisions
will certainly impact the electronic communications sector. I am confident
that, through your wise guidance and counsel, this Conference will succeed
in carrying out its difficult task.
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
And thank you all for your attention.
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