ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
27 May 2021
Excellencies,
Distinguished colleagues,
I am very pleased to join you today at this Conference on International Connectivity and the EU Atlantic Data Gateway Platform.
Let me start by thanking the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing and the National communications authority for organizing this timely event.
As we approach 2030, the European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has called for making the next years Europe's 'Digital Decade', with the goal of a digitally empowered Europe by 2030.
The important discussions that will take place in this Forum will advance this goal and steer us in the right direction toward meaningful connectivity for all citizens by 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, like nothing else could, that ready access to the internet is an unquestionable requirement for fully-fledged participation in society, and the economy.
However, increased demand has also put significant pressure on the infrastructure underpinning connectivity, highlighting gaps within and across countries and regions, showing how reliability and resilience are essential to trusted and high-quality services for all.
Boosting the availability of international bandwidth has also become of paramount importance in today's globalized economy, with submarine cables providing vital high-speed backbones to support greater inter-regional and international connectivity.
Further to our recent ITU study, we know that there are several enablers for submarine connectivity – including licensing regimes, access regulation, regulatory regimes for cables, and regional traffic consolidation points— and a need for additional investment in this area to maximize connectivity.
Over the past nearly 10 years, ITU has been monitoring international connectivity through our Interactive Transmission Maps.
These maps provide the global community with a good picture of backbone infrastructure and transmission links.
In the 46 countries of the European region, this project has mapped over 3.5 million kilometres of routes, 10,000 transmission links and 6,500 nodes, from over 140 backbone operators.
Recently, we also concluded bilateral agreements with Authorities in charge of backbone mapping in Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, and Ukraine, and we look forward to collaborating with others on this matter.
Of course, infrastructure alone will not lead to an empowered digital community. That's why we continue to provide support in creating enabling policy and regulatory frameworks as well as capacity development.
We in preparation for the forthcoming Global Symposium for Regulators, held recently a Regional Regulatory Roundtable for Europe and Africa.
One of the main takeaways from this conference was a constructive exchange of information between stakeholders, to advance the European Union and African Union's priorities on building a ''digital bridge'', with strong digital connections, between the two continents.
We were able to take lessons from the pandemic and our REG4COVID platform that was established in support of network resiliency measures during pandemic times.
As lockdowns began, REG4COVID provided a virtual space for information exchange and the sharing of best practices between regulators, and other stakeholders in the ICT community, to help keep networks up and running, and populations connected in critical times.
As we look to a post-COVID world, we are assessing how measures that were applied during the emergency phase can be retained or changed, for recovery and future preparedness and we will bring this to the GSR at the end of June.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Europe leads globally on most connectivity indicators and I congratulate member states, national regulatory authorities, regulatory associations, EU institutions, and all other stakeholders for the excellent work done in the recent past.
Let's not forget, that Europe still counts 89 million individuals who remain unconnected to the Internet, mostly in the South Eastern part of the region.
ITU's recent “Connecting Humanity" study estimates that 33 billion USD will be needed over the next 10 years just to connect everyone in Europe and Central Asia.
With network upgrades and demand for greater bandwidth, these numbers will be even higher.
Careful planning and implementation of appropriate international links within Europe, and between Europe and the rest of the globe, will be essential. As well as investing in other areas such as digital skills development to ensure that the connectivity can be used in ways that are empowering for citizens.
As I conclude, let me congratulate Portugal for great progress achieved on connectivity, and for stimulating productive discussions on this issue during the country's Presidency of the European Union.
In particular, I welcome the efforts of the Portuguese Presidency,
In promoting the Ministerial Declaration on European Data Gateways as a key element of the EU's policy for a ''Digital Decade'' to achieve the SDGs.
As well as for putting international connectivity – not just within Europe, but also with other continents such as Africa, the Americas, and Asia – at the centre of the EU digital policy.
We are keenly following Portugal's efforts on innovative technologies, including smart sensing.
SMART cables will enable both telecommunication and sensing functionalities for ocean and climate monitoring, as well as will enable disaster warnings.
We are pleased to see Portugal contributing to the Joint Task Force on SMART cable systems set up by ITU, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, and the World Meteorological Organization.
I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the European Commission, the European Parliament, BEREC, the EaPeReg, EMERG, RCC of Western Balkans and CEPT for their continuous collaboration to implement the ITU Regional Initiatives for Europe, and in particular, the one on broadband infrastructure development.
I wish you all a very fruitful forum.
