Mr. Mohammad Aljnoobi, Chair of the Radiocommunication Advisory Group (RAG),
Vice Chairs of RAG,
BR Director, Mario Maniewicz and fellow Elected Officials,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today.
Thank you for your contribution to the work of WTDC-25 that adopted outcomes of mutual interest to our two sectors. There is a natural synergy between the work of ITU-D and ITU-R, and by extension TDAG and RAG, expressed through joint activities between our two Bureaux, BDT and BR.
The overwhelming majority of people in the world rely on wireless technologies for connectivity and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Wireless will be our bridge to the 2.2 billion people still unconnected.
It is essential to last-mile connectivity which is enabled through technological solutions such as microwave and cellular networks but also, through low-cost satellites and HAPS.
Wireless is also essential to web traffic especially in the developing countries, which rely on mobile communication for internet access.
For instance, 70 percent of the web traffic on the African continent takes place via mobile phones more than in all other regions in the world.
And wireless is essential to disaster prediction and response.
The frequency of natural disasters and extreme weather events is increasing, and radio and satellite technologies are more than ever, critical to infrastructure resilience which is essential to disaster prediction, detection and alerts and to relief efforts for victims as well to the wider work of humanitarian workers.
These are just some of the reasons why spectrum remains central to BDT activities and especially our work in such areas as IMT-2030, commonly known as 6G, designating it as the next generation of mobile technology, spectrum management and harmonization, particularly with the WRC-27 in sight.
I am confident that a strong digital sector will serve as a key driver for digital transformation and development in every sector and that, for the world’s developing economies in particular, wireless will be crucial. That is why I am so encouraged by the excellent collaboration we continue to enjoy between BDT and the BR.
There are many examples of BDT and BR collaborations in our six ITU regions including capacity-building events like the Regional Radiocommunications Seminars workshops on future networks IMT-2030 and 5G trainings assistance on spectrum management and valuation to regulators analogue to digital transition and of course a wide range of co-organized activities with our Regional Telecommunication Organizations APT, LAS through the ASMG, ATU, CEPT, CITEL and RCC.
At BDT we are working through sandboxes to leverage innovation in wireless technologies like broadband satellite and High-Altitude Platforms (HAPs) to help connect remote areas, with a special focus on school connectivity and CPP scaling and roll-out.
We continue advocating for resilient ICT infrastructure wider adoption of Conformance and interoperability capacity and Electro Magnetic Frequencies – EMF - awareness in developing countries.
In all of these areas, the synergies with your work are obvious and I look forward to continuing this collaboration in the months and years to come.
Thank you!
