The 40th anniversary edition of ITU Telecom World opened its doors today to participants from across the globe including 250 top leaders from government, the private sector and the global technology community.

The event, which is being held in Geneva from 24-27 October, is bringing the brightest minds and most influential leaders together to debate the key issues that will shape the future of an industry that now pervades virtually every field of human endeavour.

A vibrant opening ceremony sponsored by China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator with over 600 million subscribers, featured President Ali Bongo of Gabon; Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji; Igor Shchegolev, Minister of Communications and Mass Media, Russian Federation; Doris Leuthard, Head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Switzerland; Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Saud Al-Thani, Chairman, Qatar Telecom; Jianzhou Wang, Chairman, China Mobile; and Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, ITU.

 

Dr Touré noted how, for the first time in ITU Telecom's 40-year history, tens of thousands of people from around the world were joining the event using the full range of connected technologies. The event, he said, will be a genuine "conversation reflecting the concerns, dreams and visions, not just of people physically present at the event" but of those all around the world following the event remotely from their homes, offices, schools, and through a network of 100,000 telecentres around the world.

The official ceremony was followed by a more informal event celebration in the OpenSpace arena, where participants heard from additional dignitaries including Mark Muller, Conseiller d'Etat, Geneva; Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UN Population Fund (UNFPA); and Mohamed Khalfan Al Qamzi, Chairman of the Board of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arab Emirates.

Pathway to a Connected World

Setting the scene for the next three days of co-creation and active exchange of knowledge, ideas and experience, the first Forum session of ITU Telecom World 2011 began in landmark participatory style. Chaired by Nik Gowing of the BBC, the debate drew on the collective interests and opinions of leading stakeholders in connected technologies from across private and public sectors and all parts of the world: Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General of the ITU,  H.E.  Mr Igor Shchegolev, Russian Minister for Communications,  Jianzhou Wang, Chairman of China Mobile,  Mr John Davies, VP of World Ahead at Intel, and H.E. Mr Stephen Conroy, Minster for Broadband and the Digital Economy in Australia.

If the international, public-private mix of the high-level panellists reflected the unique, established nature of ITU Telecom events, the format of this session was indicative of the interactive, multi-platform, multi-media approach so significant to the new shape of this year's event. Joining the delegates and audience in Geneva were thousands of children and young people connecting through metacentres around the world, plus those watching the live stream or asking real-time questions through a very active twitter feed.  Answering questions from the floor, email and tweets, the panellists focused on establishing steps to smooth the pathway to a connected world for all.

Chairman Wang introduced the concept of hyper-connectivity, where connection facilities and network devices are over-used and interest becomes saturated - which the delegates agreed was far from the truth in reality, whether because of lack of knowhow in terms of basic communication facilities in developing countries (and specifically in rural areas), or through the low levels of broadband penetration in countries such as Russia and Australia, where geographic features and sheer size play a key role.  As the Ministers for these countries outlined their different and varied strategies to extend broadband penetration to reach all citizens, Dr Touré reminded those present that, "There is no one-size-fits-all universal solution. What works in one country doesn't work in another, but what is important is that we have a common, shared vision and goals and a good regulatory framework".

Further hot topics of the Broadband Summit discussed with a worldwide audience, both live and virtual, included the need to reach the "next billion" Internet users by following the model of the mobile miracle, how existing legal frameworks in the real world are being overtaken by the realities of the fast-developing Internet world and how the threats to data protection and personal security across and within national borders this might create should best be addressed.

Cybersecurity, Dr Touré said, "is the most fundamental issue that we face. The issue is not one country - we need to harmonise national laws at regional and international level. If we do not establish a good international framework, we run the risk of fighting the next world war in cyberspace. The best way to win such a war is simply to avoid it."

Minister Shchegolev also echoed the importance of a secure and safe Internet for children, before the panel moved on to discuss a range of stimulating key issues: from interoperability and rural access to the importance of low cost, affordable devices, sharing insights on innovative approaches to extending access in rural areas and highlighting the need for manufacturers and operators to work together.

Critical to the rollout in rural areas is cost, and bringing costs down as low as possible for end users- the subject of questions from the floor and around the world. Chairman Wang outlined how costs can be reduced through high volume and large scale deployments, summing up by pledging to work hard to lower the costs as a part of China Mobile's social responsibility.

Throughout the session, participants from across the world posed questions and shared ideas on expanding broadband, cutting costs, and healthcare, education and other applications. International cooperation remains critical to extending the reach of ICTs, with Chairman Wang taking the opportunity to call for a review of the frequency spectrum. 

Concluding his thoughts for the session and echoing viewpoints from the audience, Senator Conroy noted that Broadband is "too important to hope it will appear, it needs leadership from governments and also the ITU. Leadership is the key for ubiquitous broadband."

Meet the Broadband Challenge and move forward to "a wonderful world ahead"

Wrapping up the Broadband Leadership Summit, Dr Hamdoun Touré and Mr Carlos Slim Helú addressed the Broadband Challenge to world leaders, top policy-makers, industry leaders, users and consumers in a closing conversation moderated by Becky Anderson of CNN.

The Broadband Challenge, endorsed by the Broadband Leadership Summit, is extended to world leaders, top policy-makers, industry leaders, users and consumers. Based upon the central premise that communication is not just a human right, but a human need, the Challenge underlines the paramount importance of broadband as a critical modern infrastructure driving economic growth and the associated social benefits of improved education, healthcare, gender equality and improved public services. Outlining the need for concrete policy measures to promote broadband, and the fundamental importance of making content meaningful to individuals at a real-life, local level, the Broadband Challenge calls upon all world leaders, governments, industry leaders, and civil society to work together to ensure that at least 50% of the developing world's population, and 40% of its households, are using broadband Internet by 2015.

Called upon to provide solutions from the private sector on meeting the Broadband Challenge, Carlos Slim pointed to the explosive growth in mobile services over the past decade as offering a potential roadmap for broadband take-up. He cited the success of the prepaid model in Latin America as an innovative alternative to large-scale top-down investment in the current economic climate, in addition to affordable devices and low-cost universal access through the introduction of Wifi in public places, schools and libraries.

Central to increasing broadband uptake is increasing the provision of suitable, local content, whether in education, health care, e government, or small business services and applications. Mr Slim Helu professed optimism in meeting the Broadband Challenge targets, no matter how short-term: "Investments can be made and we can develop - local content and applications, education centres, health centres, small businesses getting developed".

Using the 146-year history of the ITU as an example of successful private-public partnership, Dr Touré stressed the importance of government and industry working hand-in-hand, and of the need now to fast-track content development in key areas such as health, education, culture and science. "We are now in the information society, but the ultimate goal we are all dreaming of is the knowledge society, where everyone has not just access to information but can use this information, can create information, and can share information".

The key stimuli identified by Dr Touré are the development of content, the implementation of key policy and regulatory frameworks and the partnership of stakeholders from every sector of society -private,  government, industry and civic.  ITU Telecom World 2011 offers an excellent example of this type of collaborative partnership, allowing for the exchange of best practices and sharing of ideas vital to ensuring that the Broadband Challenge is met.

"We have the mobile miracle and now we can transform this into the broadband miracle," said Dr Touré, "No one in this room knows what will come in the space of the next ten years in the terms of services and applications, but so many youngsters share our vision and believe in the broadband future that I can say with confidence: what a wonderful world we have ahead of us".

Making the global online village a reality

Opening a wide-ranging discussion to a distinguished panel including H.E. Ambassador Philip Verveer (US Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy), H.E. Mr Diego Molano (Minister, Colombia), H.E. Mr Tifatul Sembiring (Minister of Communications and Information, Indonesia) and Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal (Vice President of Tanzania), moderator Becky Anderson of CNN sought to frame ideas, case studies and conclusions on how to make the virtual community truly global, and how this new world order should be regulated.

Central themes included the need for web content to better reflect the reality of the world offline, the concepts and frameworks necessary to establish online law and order, and the importance of education, both as a condition of greater internet use at grassroots level and as a vital, internationally-relevant content platform. Mr David Kanamugire of the Rwandan delegation used the parallel of the role of traditional village elders, stressing the need to find the equivalent online in the form of knowledge workers willing to share internet skills and know-how throughout the population.

The goal was clear, as summed up by Dr Gharib Bilal: "What I want is people connected and talking to each other, and that is paramount". However, there were differences of opinion on the hot issue of internet regulation and the extent to which this may impinge upon freedom of expression and the "human right to communicate".

For the USA, Ambassador Verveer said, the existing default multi-stakeholder approach through which the Internet has grown is the way forward, enabling equal participation without privileging one group or country over another. Whilst championing the concept of the online village without boundaries as allowing human potential to be maximised for the benefit of all, H.E. Mr Tifatul Sembiring of Indonesia reminded the panel of the importance of local, cultural values, norms and traditions, and the problems arising as these are challenged by the expansion of the global, international nature of online content.

Content, then, should be local on many levels: locally-produced, locally-relevant, sensitive to local culture and customs to enable the global online village to become a reality for all, including the underprivileged, rural, remote and currently under-connected populations of many countries in the developing world.  As Mr. Molano summed up , "The global world today is only global for the rich part of the world; for the poor, we have to work locally to reach the base of the pyramid and extend connectivity and its benefits to all".

Innovation at ITU Telecom World 2011

Two days ago 15 people arrived in Geneva bursting with ideas to potentially to change the world. But - and this is a big but - none of them had pitched their idea to potential investors before!  To tackle this, the ITU invited UK agencies Snook and NoTosh to give these innovators a crash course in communicating ideas in a way that sticks.

The workshops introduced tools and techniques associated with the design process which by its very nature is focused on the people that make ideas what they are. The ITU recognised the importance of user-centricity and encouraged the finalists to embrace design techniques to achieve this.

Meanwhile, in the ITU Telecom World metaconference, children as young as nine years old were among the first to challenge speakers on the panels at ITU Telecom World 11 with their own views, thoughts and video prototypes of ideas that could help solve the problems posed by gathered delegates.

Using Twitter to share their ideas with panel chairs who relayed their messages, students were thrilled to see that their voices had a global impact. Forming part of the ITU Telecom World 11 Manifesto, to be published after the event, that is almost certainly true, too.

ITU Fuels Global Debate with New Stats

ITU took the occasion of the first day of ITU Telecom World 2011 to unveil its latest statistics report, the World in 2011: ICT Facts and figures, which revealed impressive growth in a number of areas such as global internet use, particularly in developing countries.

Announced by ITU Secretary-General at the Opening Press conference, along with details on  on the first day at the event, the report included further key details such as:

■One third of the world's population are forecast to be online by the end of 2011, 45% of whom will be under 25 with developing countries now accounting for some 62% of total global internet users up from 44% in 2006.
■Mobile penetration set to continue its robust growth, with almost 6bn connected via mobiles and a global penetration that stands at an 87%, 79% for developing countries. A total of 159 economies worldwide have launched 3G services commercially and the number of active mobile-broadband subscriptions has increased to almost 1.2 billion. 3G population coverage has reached 45%, compared to 90 % of the population that is covered by a 2G mobile cellular network.
■Global disparities still remain.  For example, while international Internet bandwidth has grown from 11'000 Gbit/s in 2006, to close to 80'000 Gbit/s in 2011, Europeans enjoy on average almost 90'000 bit/s of bandwidth per user compared to Internet users in Africans who are limited to 2'000 bit/s per user.
■The world's top broadband economies are from Europe and Asia and the Pacific. In the Republic of Korea mobile-broadband penetration today exceeds 90% and almost all fixed-broadband connections provide speeds equal to, or above 10 Mbit/s. In comparison, broadband users in Ghana, Mongolia, Oman and Venezuela are limited to broadband speeds below 2 Mbit/s.
 

Spotlight on TD-LTE Technology & Spectrum

As handheld devices grow ever more sophisticated and demand for content-rich services such as mobile video increases, mobile data traffic is likely to continue growing at an explosive rate.  This represents good news for the industry, but next-generation wireless technologies will need to be ready to meet the challenge and able to cope with these increased demands on bandwidth. The TD-LTE spectrum workshop looked at the potential of TD-LTE technology to take us on to the next stage of wireless communication.

Viewpoints were shared on the status of the technology, with key players such as Mr Li Yizhong, former MIIT Minister, Mr Wang Jianzhou, Chairman of China Mobile, Mr Sun Lixin, Vice President Huawei Wireless Network, Chairman of APT AWG presenting views from China, and speakers from France's ARCEP, Ericsson and Poland presenting views from around the world.

Moderating the first part of the workshop, ITU Deputy Secretary General Houlin Zhao opened with an overview of TD-LTE and how it offers the potential for utilizing unpaired spectrum and enhancing operational efficiency.

Former MIIT Minister, Mr Li Yizhong outlined the impressive steps China had already taken in terms of TD-SCDMA network rollout and the measures, policies and actions which were helping ensure its smooth deployment. Already providing a significant boost to China's GDP growth and creating jobs, China is now in the process of TD-LTE testing and rollout across the country, with ITU Secretary General Dr Hamadoun Touré noting, in his opening address to the session, that he had taken part in a test trial for the technology in Shanghai in 2010.

China Mobile's trial of TD-LTE has gone "smoothly" so far, according to Chairman Wang, with the company now preparing for a fuller promotion. Worldwide, the technology is being rolled out in a number of countries including Japan, Saudia Arabia, Sweden, Poland and more.

The issue of international collaboration and cooperation for a global TD-LTE rollout was stressed throughout. Mr Li Yizhong called for "a strong global industrial chain and joint efforts of the industry to promote the standard, which would be critical going forward."

Chairman Wang outlined how China Mobile is cooperating with a number of countries worldwide. Underlining the need for cooperation, he explained how his dream was for "one device that could be used around the world," and how he believed that this would come true in a 4G era.

Currently accepted by ITU-R as an IMT- Advanced candidate technology, an issue which will be high on the agenda of the upcoming ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in 2012, the session summed up the potential that TD-LTE offers in delivering next-generation wireless services, the current state of play, and how sustained international cooperation and debate will help usher in the next generation of wireless technology.

Reaching the third billion

Intel VP and General Manager of the Intel World Ahead Program, John Davies, was centre stage at today's opening ceremony and celebration to announce a remarkable initiative by Intel and selected partners - Reaching the Third Billion Technology Users.

While much is made, and rightly so, of the advancements made in the ICT world since the inaugural ITU Telecom World event 1971, there still remain some hugely underserved regions. Global mobile penetration may be up above the five billion mark but in huge areas of countries within Africa internet penetration can be as low as just 2%.

"In Vietnam, the PC for Life prepaid programme began in late 2010. The program dropped TCO for PCs and broadband by half, bringing the percent of people who can afford the technology up from just 12% to 70%," said Davies, "A similar programme in Indonesia that was launched in July 2011 dropped cost of ownership by 50%."

Reaching the Third Billion means putting internet access within affordable reach of another one more billion people. In order to achieve this aim, the Intel World Ahead Program is aiming to both bring down the cost of a connecting device and also lower the financial barrier of connection itself. Davies suggested that the PC world should take its inspiration from the mobile prepaid world where connectivity can be provided for as low as $1 per day.

Seven Billion Day call to action

The world's population will hit the seven billion mark on October 31st 2011 and to mark the event the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is raising awareness at ITU Telecom World 2011 of the issues and challenges that the population explosion brings and asking ICT leaders how technology can help.

UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Batatunde Osotimehin spoke at World 2011's glittering opening ceremony: "In six days time the world will reach a population of seven billion. We want everyone here to make a commitment to making the world a better place. Send a text  saying 7b to 995."

The world population is growing but population growth does not tell the whole story, in the time it took Dr Osotimehin to make his presentation to assembled delegates five women will have died in child birth, he said. "We can make a difference and use ICT to make a difference.

UNFPA wants seven billion people to do at least one thing to raise awareness, ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré noted he had asked each and every ITU member to send a text on 31st October alerting their subscribers to the campaign.

Global CTOs call for faster progress on e-health standards

Disaster relief, sustainability also high on agenda at strategic meeting

A meeting of 21 CTOs from leading companies[1] in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry has urged ITU to accelerate technical standardization work in the field of e-health. CTOs stressed that reliable, interoperable standards are key to providing patients and health professionals with the means to utilize remote consultation services, advanced ICT-based diagnostic procedures and electronic health information services.

The meeting, which was held today in Geneva during ITU Telecom World 2011, agreed that international coordination on standards will be vital, and that growth in telemedicine services will also demand aggressive roll-out of broadband networks. The CTOs encouraged ITU, as the world's leading developer of global ICT standards, to intensify its involvement by developing essential e-health infrastructure standards, and by cooperating with other standards bodies to create reliable, secure and interoperable e-health solutions.

Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General, ITU: "ITU greatly profits from and welcomes the advice of these technology leaders. E-health will bring cutting-edge medical advice to people living in remote, underserved areas, and will revolutionize access to health services in the developing world. ITU is actively working with all parties to create the frameworks for these technologies to be rolled-out on a solid bedrock of broadband deployment."

On the topic of the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT-12), CTOs urged that any revisions to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) maintain the necessary flexibility to enable continued growth in services. To provide a strong basis for continued growth, the CTOs believe the resulting ITRs should reflect technology-neutral, high-level principles, and should be stable enough to reduce the need for future updates.

Participants also encouraged ITU to continue promoting the key role of ICTs in efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and urged ITU to push this agenda at the upcoming United Nations climate change negotiations (COP17) in Durban, South Africa. They praised ITU's current work in the field, referencing in particular the work of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Sector on methodologies to assess the environmental impact of ICT.

Regarding climate change adaption, and informed by recent events in Japan, CTOs identified two crucial areas for further work: a disaster relief system allowing individuals to notify a victim's friends, family or employer; and a disaster relief guidance mechanism to help victims reach safety. ITU is already actively engaged in work in this field, including emergency communication systems to provide early warning of impending disasters.

In the area of technical standards for fixed networks, the meeting reached an important agreement on the need for a release-based approach. CTOs recommended that ITU take a leading role in the release production, coordinating the activities of the most important fora and standards-development organizations (SDOs). 

They also welcomed the increasing role of developing countries in global standards development, and recognized the importance those countries attach to issues such as broadband, electromagnetic compatibility, quality of service, sustainable rural communications, and affordability. They pledged to develop partnerships with developing countries to strengthen national standards capacities.

Regular CTO meetings cement ITU's relationship with ICT industry leaders, ensuring top-level needs are taken into account in ongoing work. The strategic-level debate engendered by the meetings provides invaluable insights into the future course of the ICT industry

[1] Participating companies were: Alcatel-Lucent; Cisco; Ericsson; Etisalat Group; Freescale; Fujitsu; Huawei; KDDI; Microsoft; Netscout Systems; NSN; NTT; Orange FT Group; RIM; Telecom Italia; Telefonica; Telekom South Africa; Turk Telecom Group; Verizon; Vodafone Group; ZTE.

App challenge winners revealed

The ITU announced the winners of its IPTV App Challenge competition at ITU Telecom World 2011. The corporate app category was given to Discover Japan from NHK Enterprise (Japan) which offers users an introduced to the best of Japanese culture, both ancient and modern, through two distinct programs. While the best individual/SME award split the vote and was awarded to 7 Days Gallery and Dengue Combat.

Discover Japan features one programme, called "kawaii.i," that highlights Tokyo's cutting-edge pop culture; and the other one features the traditional culture of Kyoto, a city steeped in over 1,000 years of history. With broadcast TV and video on demand as the areas of focus, this application responds to users' interests, providing answers to their questions, offering interesting information, and enabling them to shop online.

7 Days Gallery, by Alève Mine and Eric Bréchemier is a digital space to promote new artists/designers. It organizes seven pieces of art work from one artist/designer in a collection, and presents a different collection for each day of the week.

IPTV users can use their remote controller to browse the seven full screen 960 x 540 pixels pictures, and find out more information on each of the piece of art, such as its title, description text, a web site (URL) with more detail or online shopping possibility for this piece.  After browsing the collection of art works, users can also find information about the artist including: the name of the artist, portrait, the web site (URL) of the artist, contact details and biography.

Dengue Combat is an interactive TV programme to promote awareness and knowledge to combat dengue fever. IPTV users are informed by watching a video programme about dengue fever. They can also find out the nearest medical care facility by providing their postal code and verify their knowledge of this disease by participating in a quiz.

Huawei launches new telepresence solution at ITU Telecom World 2011

Telecoms equipment company Huawei today launched what it claims is the world's first 1080p 50/60fps telepresence system, ViewPoint TP3106. In line with the company's promise of offering new technologies to enterprises, ViewPoint TP3106 enables global organizations to communicate over long distances more effectively through true-to-life live video conferencing.

ViewPoint TP3106 is Huawei's most advanced video communication system to date. The telepresence system features ultra-low bandwidth consumption of up to 30% lower than the current industry average, enabling enterprises to reduce operating costs. ViewPoint TP3106 also offers HD video and surround sound.

In addition, Huawei's ViewPoint TP3106 is built on an open platform that can be integrated with existing unified communications systems, IP multimedia subsystems and traditional video conferencing systems.

Mr. William Xu, President of Huawei Enterprise.  "We look forward to providing our enterprise customers with a 'One World, One Team' face-to-face communication experience with the ViewPoint TP3106 telepresence system, which enables them to boost efficiency and at the same time, reduce costs."

Video views from CEOs, Ministers and leaders

Today's  thought-provoking video interviews address issues key to the future of ICT,  as Ministers, CEOs and leading industry figures discuss how connected technologies can best drive social and economic development for the benefit of global citizens everywhere.

■H.E. Mr Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy, Australia, shares the successes of the National Broadband Network
■Mr Carlos Slim Helu, Carso Group, discusses the role of government in ensuring universal broadband access
■H.E. Mrs Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communications Technology discusses government initiatives to extend broadband to rural populations
■Dr. Reza Jafari, Chairman of e-Development International talks on the power of social media
■Mr Francis Gurry, Director General of WIPO, considers how broadband can increase universal access to information
■Mr Jay Naidoo,  Chair of GAIN discusses the role of ICTs in reducing malnutrition
■Dr Eugene Ikemefuna Juwah of the Nigerian Communications Commission discusses broadband penetration  in Nigeria
■Mr Wale Goodluck of MPN, Nigeria, presents  plans for further mobile and broadband growth in the country
■H.E. Mr Ali Abbasov, Minister of Communications, Azerbaijan discusses the TASIM project
 

ICT to replace oil as top revenue earner in Azerbaijan

Ahead of the opening of ITU Telecom World 2011, Prof. Dr. Ali M Abbasov, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, announced his country's ambition to transition from an oil and gas-led economy to an ICT leader by the year 2025.

The announcement came a few hours after Azerbaijan was awarded a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council as announced at World 2011 by H.E Ismayil Alakbarov, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

"Over the last few years investment in the ICT sector reached $3 billion," Prof Abbasov told the World 2011 Daily Highlights, "Such volume of investment inevitably boosted growth of the ICT sector. Azerbaijan has been witnessing double digit growth over the last eight years and the ICT sector in particular has expanded by more than five times."

In order to further increase the role of the ICT sector in the national economy and ensure long term sustainable development, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan has implemented three key initiatives: The First National Telecommunications Satellite, a Regional Innovation Zone and the Trans-Eurasian Super Information Highway (TASIM).

Azerbaijan's position as a gateway between Asia and Europe, with links to neighbours such as Russia, Georgia, Iran and also Kazakhstan makes it an ideal location of a regional ICT hub, according to Prof Abbasov.

Domestically, meanwhile, Azerbaijan already has 110% mobile penetration, 60% Internet connectivity and 30% broadband, while its ambition is to connect all 6,000 of the country's villages to the high speed backbone enabling those people in rural areas to also benefit from broadband technologies.

"ITU Telecom World 2011 is an important platform to help explain our mission in the ICT sector," said H.E Alakbarov, adding: "We are in the process of transforming black gold into human capital."

Burkina Faso President announced as new Chairman of IMPACT Advisory Board

Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, has been appointed Chairman of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), which serves at the executing arm of the ITU in the area of cyber security.

Mr Compaoré takes over from former Malaysian Prime Minister H.E. Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who served as founding Chairman of the IAB. The handover was marked today by a ceremony, in conjunction with the second IAB meeting. ITU Secretary General Dr Hamadoun Touré welcomed President Compaoré into the fold, commending him as "an active and high-profile advocate of a more global approach to cybersecurity."

An MoU signed by ITU and IMPACT in May 2011 sees IMPACT provide cybersecurity support and services to ITU Member States and other organizations within the UN system. ITU-IMPACT is the first cooperative global venture of its kind offering cybersecurity expertise and resources to governments and organizations to detect, analyze and respond effectively to cyberthreats.

Nigeria to convert mobile explosion to broadband

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, revealed Nigeria's telecoms ambitions at ITU Telecom World 2011. Dr Jonathan stated Nigeria is ready to move to the next phase of telecom growth by transforming growth in mobile technology to broadband growth and asked the international community to team with Nigeria in the process.

Speaking through the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, Dr Jonathan said that Nigeria has made tremendous progress in the communications sector in the past few years, explaining that apart from voice communication time has come for the country to translate the growth to tangible benefits for the populace.

Nigeria is seeking outside investment in its broadband sector which the country hopes will mimic the growth explosion experienced in mobile communications over the past decade.

ITU's Popov room opens For business

Tuesday also saw a ceremony to mark the opening of the re-furbished Popov room, ITU's key conference room.  Renamed in honour of Alexander Popov - the leading Russian physicist and radiocommunications pioneer -the Popov Room is now the most state-of-the-art conference facility in Geneva, and will allow ITU to offer full remote participation, with video and audiocasts direct from the room.  Its refurbishment has been made possible by the generous contribution of Russia. Speaking at the ceremony, which was attended by H.E  Igor Shchegolev, Russia's Minister of Communications and Mass Media, H.E Ambassador Valery V. Loshchinin and a host of other key players who had been involved in the work, ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun Touré revealed that the revamped Popov room had already passed its first test with flying colours. Councillors from around the world benefited from its leading-edge facilities in recent successful  ITU Council meetings held in the room.

 What's hot tomorrow

 ■08:00 Build up your strength for a day of networking at GSMA Networking Breakfast in RefreshSpace #4 - register via YourSpace!
 
■10:45 WSIS Recognition Ceremony & Breakfast on the ITU Hub #4061 - join ITU in recognizing the commitment of WSIS Stakeholders towards strengthening the Implementation of the WSIS Related Activities by honouring countries that have contributed to the ITU's WSIS Fund in Trust.
 
■12:30 Refuel at the Global e-Sustainability Initiative Networking Lunch in RefreshSpace #1 - register via YourSpace!
 
■15:00 Join Hamadoun Touré on the ITU Hub # 4061 in a show of appreciation to Mr Osman Sultan, Chief Executive Office of Du for his sponsorship of the Joint ITU-AICTO Workshop on Interoperability of IPTV held in Dubai last month.
 
■17:30 End a day of networking, collaboration and decision making at the RIM Networking Cocktails in the OpenSpace - register via YourSpace!
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