Dubai: The sixth ITU (International Telecommunication Union) World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14) opened on Sunday in Dubai with a call to achieve universal broadband connectivity.
Under the theme ‘Broadband for Sustainable Development’, the conference, being held from March 30 to April 10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, will focus on development priorities in telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICT) and agree on the programmes, projects and initiatives to implement them.
Mohammad Nasser Al Ganem, Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of the UAE, and Head of the UAE delegation, was elected Chairman of the Conference in the opening session.
He said the focus on the theme brings attention to the critical aspect of leading-edge ICT in enhancing a nation’s development.
“Since the beginning of this Millennium, mobile cellular subscriptions have continued to rise, social media usage has rocketed, and an ever-increasing number of people across the globe have been able to access the internet, making use of the immeasurable quantity of information that greater connectivity provides,” Al Ganem said.
‘Digital divide’
“Yet one of the most persisting concerns that face us all is the ‘digital divide’. Serious practical solutions are required to close the gap and stem this endemic inequality of access.”
“ICTs, and in particular broadband networks, offer perhaps the greatest opportunity we have ever had to make rapid and profound advances in global social and economic development,” said Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General, at the opening ceremony.
“By delivering efficiencies across so many areas, from education and healthcare to transportation, water and energy, broadband networks can quickly pay for themselves, creating a virtuous circle of investment, productivity and human development.”
Dubai Action Plan
One of the expected outcomes of WTDC-14 is the Dubai Action Plan, which will set the agenda for development of telecommunication and information and communication technologies over the next four years.
“The event represents a pivotal moment in the global ICT agenda with much of the decisions and agreements made here in Dubai having a positive impact right across the world. We all gather with the same intention, that being, to extend the benefits of ICT to those who need it the most and propel the world one step closer to the full implementation of a genuine global information society,” said Mohammad Al Qamzi, Chairman of the UAE TRA.
The output of the conference will be fed into the ITU strategic plan which will be endorsed at the upcoming ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in October (the Radio Regulations Board and the ITU Council) in South Korea from October 20 to November 7.
The Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Brahima Sanou, said that in the recent past the growth of ICTs and their relevance in advancing the economic and social well-being of people have been extraordinary. “Yet, despite progress, significant challenges remain,” Sanou said.
“And that is the reason we are here. We need to create conditions for entrepreneurships and innovation; we need to create conducive and enabling regulatory environments to reach digital inclusion for all.” Sanou stressed that “we should work together to put ICTs in the hands of ordinary people”.
About 1,650 participants from around 150 countries are attending the conference, including over 60 ministers and high-level delegates are taking part.
The 2010 conference was held in Hyderabad, India.
