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ITU Telecom World 2013 Forum kicks off Conversations between government, UN
agencies and industry
Top players debate sector transformation, broadband revolution and driving
connectivity worldwide
Bangkok, 20 November 2013 – The urgent need for
understanding and cooperation between governments and the ICT industry in the
form of public private partnerships, renewed regulatory approaches and
investment policies was the central message at the Forum Opening Conversation at
ITU Telecom World
2013 today.
The debate, which set the scene for four days of discussion, workshops,
showfloor activities and networking in Bangkok, touched on many of the key
topics of the event: the pace and complexity of change in the ICT sector and in
the world, including changing mobile and social technology, end user needs and
demands, and operational processes; convergence across vertical sectors; and the
position of the end user at the heart of the digital revolution. Underlying all
this is the importance of driving broadband deployment – the engine for
transformational change for the industry and for people around the world.
"We cannot limit ourselves to change in the industry – we need a broader
perspective with the whole ecosystem in mind, other service providers, content
providers, vertical industries, policy makers, regulators, vendors, suppliers,
application developers and NGOs, even our competitors,” said Reza Jafari,
reminding the audience that “ICT is inside everything that impacts our everyday
life, every day, every minute and every second”. He urged sector stakeholders to
actively participate in the transformation of not just the ICT sector, but other
industries as well in a “manifestation of collaborative innovation”.
“The broadband revolution, the mobile revolution and the mobile broadband
revolution are the backbones of our society, of every aspect of social and
economic development throughout the world, connecting the unconnected and
empowering the disenfranchised,” ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré
reminded the audience of high level delegates drawn from across the industry and
all corners of the world.
Several key steps to ensure that unconnected billions can reap the benefits
of the digital world were outlined. Affordability, content, infrastructure
investment and balanced regulation are critical. CEO of leading mobile operator
Telenor Jon Frederik Baksaas said, “All stakeholders need to be involved in
getting connectivity to happen. Regulators and governments must distribute
spectrum fairly to enable service providers to invest in infrastructure;
handsets must be affordable to drive the network effect; and then local content
will play a tremendously important role as a driver for the utilization of
capacities.”
John Davies, Executive Vice President of Intel's World Ahead Programme,
highlighted the importance of moving to offer prepaid services to lower-income
customers in driving connectivity in developing economies: “The business model
which worked for the cell phone in voice will work for networks, encouraging
vertical sector content in areas such as education and healthcare, allowing
businesses to start up more easily and people to enjoy government services.”
CEO of Ooredoo Nasser Marafih outlined how his company's relationship with
Telenor as fellow 3G licence holder in the new market of Myanmar could provide a
blue print for driving connectivity in the future: the two companies will
cooperate on investment in infrastructure and compete on service provision on
the market side.
“Working together to share as much as possible on passive infrastructure will
bring down costs, allowing us to develop both new and existing markets,” he
said. “But knowing that broadband is the enabler for all other sectors, the role
of government is crucial in the long-term in terms of allocation of spectrum,
licencing fees and licence renewal.”
Stressing the role of public private partnerships in implementing digital
deployment, Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap, Minister of ICT for Thailand and
host of ITU Telecom World 2013, stated, “It is a win-win-win situation: public
agencies obtain their policy objectives, private companies make a profit, and
the biggest win goes to those who can enjoy broadband connectivity - the
people.”
In an era of increasing convergence of services, ensuring a centralized
approach within and across differing government agencies, balancing spectrum
allocation equitably, and reinvesting licence windfalls into projects which
stimulate the ICT sector are vital steps, the panellists concluded.
This was the first of over forty panel debates, discussions, round tables and
workshops running over the course of ITU Telecom World 2013 from 19 to 22
November, under the theme Embracing Change in a Digital World.
- For highlights for this session, see
http://youtu.be/eqvn-orNEuI.
- For the live webcast of this session and others, plus full
details of the programme at ITU Telecom World 2013 this week,
please see
http://world2013.itu.int/
- Follow the event live via
twitter using the hashtag #ITUWORLD. Tweet your questions
live, as the debate unfolds using the #ITUWORLDLIVE
Webcast:
http://world2013.itu.int/event/webcast/
Video:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpoIPNlF8P2PpyXYDRaWq57UMZ0MnIpX_
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQYHrk7oURo
Photo:
wwwflickr.com/photos/itupictures/collections/72157630527796340/
Media Information:
Media accreditation for ITU Telecom World 2013, 19-22 November 2013, enabling
free access to the event for registered media and analysts is open.
Accreditation is compulsory. UN Press accreditation is valid. For accreditation
and procedures, please see:
www.itu.int/en/Pages/media-accreditation.aspx
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For more information please contact:
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Media Accreditation enquiries: |
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Soraya Abino Quintana
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