Opening the first of two ministerial sessions focused on the need to drive investment in digital infrastructure and the role that governments can play in stimulating investment to accelerate digital transformation, moderator Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, reminded participants that, “This event comes at a time when digital networks and services have never been so vital to our …
Ministerial Roundtable – “Cutting the cost: can affordable access accelerate digital transformation?”
Opening the first Ministerial Roundtable session at ITU Digital World 2021, moderator and ITU Deputy Secretary-General Malcolm Johnson urged panelists from government and the private sector to explore ways in which digital access can be made more affordable, including government subsidies, incentives, networking sharing, regulatory reform and new spectrum policies. International standards developed by ITU and other standardization bodies enable …
Digital transformation centre stage at ITU Digital World 2021 Opening Ceremony
Live streamed from Ha Noi, Viet Nam, the vibrant Opening Ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of ITU Telecom events, the launch of the ITU Digital World 2021 Ministerial Roundtables and the opening of the Virtual Exhibition, demonstrated Viet Nam’s commitment to digital transformation in dazzling style. Calling for the global ICT community to work together to accelerate the pace of …
Managing growth, managing spectrum: best practices in spectrum harmonization
Managing growth, managing spectrum: best practices in spectrum harmonization Why is spectrum harmonization so important, yet increasingly difficult to achieve – and what new approaches or solutions can improve the situation? These were the questions addressed by panellists drawn from a broad range of services dependent on the use of service-appropriate, interference-free spectrum in this informative and thought-provoking debate, ably …
Space for change: satellites in the service of digital transformation
Space for change: satellites in the service of digital transformation Advances in satellite technology, changing business models and growing demand for services are making satellites more relevant than ever. At this Forum session, moderated by ITU’s Alexandre Vallet, Chief, Space Services Department, ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), a lively panel from government, international organizations and across the industry shared perspectives on the …
5G: fuelling digital transformation today – or tomorrow?
The second ITU Digital World 2021 Forum session, ably moderated by ITU’s Diana Tomimura, brought together an insightful panel from across government, industry and international organizations to explore current status and role of 5G in the digital transformation. Discussions spanned the rollout of 5G, current and future use cases, challenges and concerns, the use of 5G in conjunction with other …
Mobile broadband and digital inclusion: Telecom in the 2000s
The new millennium opened with high optimism over the industry’s resilience – and relentless progress — after the non-disruption of Y2K and the burst of the dotcom stock bubble. Renewed expansion focused on emerging markets, cutting-edge mobile technologies, and new services and applications beyond network infrastructure. “You do not have to create new demand in the world,” said Yoshio Utsumi, …
Data and the global networked society: Telecom in the 1990s
As the industry expanded, so did its impact on an increasingly interconnected world. And so, too, did the definitive industry conference and exhibition. In its inaugural 1971 edition, the flagship Telecom event convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) had welcomed some 70,000 visitors and 250 exhibitors. By the end of the 1990s, ITU Telecom attracted more than 175,000 participants …
The dawn of mobile and e-mail: Telecom in the 1980s
After the introduction of computer-led network operation in the late 1970s, the telecommunications industry was in for even bigger changes in the 1980s. The new decade would usher in enormous changes in technology, industry structure, policy and regulation. The innovative eighties heralded mobile telephony, the first standards for e-mail, and an accelerating convergence between computing and communication technologies. The flagship …
Wired, wireless, worldwide: what’s next for networks
Wired, wireless, worldwide: what’s next for networks? How can networks, the underlying infrastructure behind all connectivity, be developed and expanded to provide high quality, rich content and services at high speeds and with high reliability – whilst also being affordable to the 49% of the world that is still offline? This was the question at the heart of the opening …