Senegal’s President Wade opens ITU Global Symposium for Regulators in Dakar

Friday, 12 November 2010 13:35  |  James Barton

Leading policy makers from around the world are meeting in Dakar this week to debate the critical issues surrounding deployment of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) that will play a vital role in ushering in tomorrow’s Knowledge Society.

Hosted by ITU and the Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Post (ARTP) of Senegal under the auspices of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, the Global Industry Leaders Forum (GILF, 9 November) and Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR, 10-12 November) provide a unique platform where industry and regulators from markets worldwide can share experiences, build consensus and forge common approaches to managing today’s complex and fast moving ICT markets.

Held in Dakar’s Meridien President Hotel, this year’s meetings focus on key issues including ongoing mobile and wireless market development, the impact of broadband on and beyond the ICT sector, and the migration from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting and allocation of the so-called ‘digital dividend’.

Speaking at the opening of the GSR this morning, ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré urged the world’s ICT regulators to “do for the Internet and broadband what we have now so successfully achieved with mobile.”

Noting that this year’s GSR is the first to be held on the African continent, he spoke of the extraordinary progress Africa has made in ICT development, with mobile cellular penetration now reaching 44% across the continent as a whole, an increase from just 15% four years ago.

“Two things need to change if the online world is to become a ubiquitous resource for all Africans,” Dr Touré said. “Firstly, governments need to raise broadband to the top of the development agenda. Secondly, we need to ensure that Internet access – and especially broadband access – becomes very much more affordable. This is where the GSR can play an important role. Affordability is dramatically improved when competitive forces are brought to bear, and when there are clear incentives to increase capacity.”

The symposium was officially opened this morning by President Wade, who stressed that everyone should share in the benefits of the digital dividend, even those who are not aware of the transition to the digital economy, and presented initiatives for youth, such as "cyberhuts", which act as hubs for communication and training. "The aim of regulators can be stated quite simply: A computer for all, digital for all".

He was joined on the podium by Dr Touré; Mr Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau; Mr Ndongo Diao, Director General of the ARTP, who is serving as Chairman of GSR 2010; and this year’s Chairman of the Global Industry Leaders Forum, Mr Mahfoudh Ould Brahim, Deputy Director-General of Expresso.

With the theme ‘Enabling Tomorrow’s Digital World’, this year’s GSR features a special focus on broadband, looking at the challenges for regulators in stimulating nationwide broadband deployment through adaptive and targeted regulation and out-of-the-box tools.

The event also focuses on the need to keep up with the pace of convergence and integration of ubiquitous networks, in particular through adapting institutional structures and mandates, adopting cutting-edge best practices, and embracing new tools such as innovative dispute resolution techniques.

A main output of the GSR is a set of Best Practice Guidelines based on contributions from regulators around the world. The theme of this year’s guidelines is “A new ladder of regulation: best practices for enabling open networks”. The guidelines are designed to assist regulators in markets worldwide to promote open access to ICT networks, services, applications and content.

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