Although it may sound unfamiliar to the general public, the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (or PP-14 Busan), scheduled to be held from October 20 to November 7, 2014 at BEXCO, Busan, is viewed as a crucial international conference to the current South Korean government. This is because the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference -- the top ICT policy-making event organized every four years by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) -- is expected to serve as a practical role model for the S. Korean government’s creative economy agenda, shining a positive light on the future of the ICT (information and communication technology) business.
Much attention has been paid to the PP-14 Busan as it is expected to bring enormous economic benefits to the host nation. The PP-14 Busan is estimated to be attended by nearly 3,000 dignitaries (including ministerial-level government officials from 193 ITU member states and representatives from a couple of hundred companies). Moreover, with special ICT events, slated to take place on the sidelines of the PP-14 Busan, taken into account, over 300,000 visitors (including those from industry and academia, the press and general visitors) are anticipated to visit the port city of Busan. On top of that, since the PP-14 Busan will take place in Busan, a future-oriented city packed with state-of-the-art ICT infrastructures and conference facilities, the PP-14 Busan is forecast to soup up the local economy (including the ICT, tourism and convention industries) and to spruce up South Korea’s brand image as an ICT powerhouse, thus facilitating exports of Korean ICT products to overseas markets. All told, economic benefits, both direct and indirect, from the PP-14 Busan are likely to surpass KRW 700 billion.
What’s more, when the PP-14 Busan’s non-economic, indirect effects – for instance, expansion of opportunities for the S. Korean ICT industry to enter overseas markets, growth in investment inflows into ICT companies and data centers, Korean companies’ PR opportunities through side events (e.g. exhibitions and forums), reinforced international cooperation through bilateral talks with participating dignitaries from nations that have relatively weak ties with South Korea such as African countries – are factored in, its overall effect will be of astronomical proportions.
In particular, the PP-14 Busan will work towards effectively projecting South Korea once again as one of the world’s ICT powerhouses – the nation’s ICT brand has recently somewhat lost its sheen on the international stage- and therefore pave the way for brisk overseas market entry by the domestic ICT industry.
Therefore, it is natural for the South Korean government to regard the PP-14 Busan as an exemplary event, which helps speed up the materialization of the creative economy agenda and puts forward desirable future images and roles of the ICT industry.
What will be discussed at the PP-14 Busan
Then, what will be put on the table at the PP-14 Busan, an event expected to serves as a role model for the creative economy agenda First of all, what the ITU, the leading specialized agency of the UN for ICT, does is largely three-fold: Radiocommunication (ITU-R), Standardization (ITU-T) and Development (ITU-D). First, the ITU, based in Geneva, Switzerland, coordinates the shared global use of the international radio-frequency spectrum and manages and distributes limited resources, such as nearly 17,000 satellites’ orbits, and draws up standards for the use of worldwide fixed, wireless Internet communications. In order to discuss and make decisions on such important issues, the ITU holds the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference every four years with ministers of ICT from 193 member states in attendance.
Then, let’s take a closer look at agenda items expected to be put on the table at the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. Basically, strategies to boost the telecommunication sector’s contributions to international cooperation and social development are set forth. Based on such strategies, a new ITU strategic plan, including strategies for the next four years, fiscal management and major achievements, will be thrashed out.
On the Internet front, public policies on the Internet, the transition from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) and the Child Online Protection (COP) initiative will be dealt with. Heated discussions on issues like public policies on the Internet, management, regulations, etc. are expected as advances in Internet technologies have jacked up the Internet’s influence on overall social structures and formation of social order across the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural spectrums.
As for the issue of the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, since IPv4 addresses are a limited resources that have been mainly exploited by North America and thus caused IPv4 address exhaustion, calls for the transitioning of the Internet from its current IPv4 infrastructure to the successor addressing and routing system of IPv6 for the developing world have grown. Thus, the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference will revolve around follow-up reports on current Internet protocol situations to move ahead with the Resolution on facilitating the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. As regards online protection of children worldwide, detailed ways to protect children from violent online contents and pornography and roles of the ITU in this area are anticipated to be discussed.
Also put on the table will be gender equality, proactive ICT activities by the disabled, climate change, etc. For a start, ICT-based ways to improve social and economical conditions faced by women worldwide will be contemplated and then discussions on varied programs for this cause will ensue.
And discussions on comprehensive action plans for an improvement in access to ICT by the handicapped will be focused on the ITU’s cooperation with external institutions and organizations on this matter. In addition, the ICT’s roles in addressing climate change and environmental pollution will be adopted as a new agenda item to hammer out ways to put a brake on climate change.
Furthermore, the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference is expected to determine future policy directions for the ICT industry over the next four years, setting off in-depth discussions on a wider range of issues: 1. coordination of international telecommunications rules 2. decisions on space asset registration systems, designed to fast-track the use of space assets and the provision of financial resources needed for acquired space assets 3. ICT’s convergence with other industries (an agenda item to be presented by host South Korea) 4. the Internet of Things (or IoT), the attention-grabbing technology viewed as the key to the future of the mobile ecosystem 5. the need for stepped-up international cooperation in the protection of major information and communications infrastructures.
Researcher Lee Jae-seop at KAIST Institute for IT Convergence will run for director of ITU-T
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) of South Korea said that Lee Jae-seop, a researcher at KAIST Institute for IT Convergence, will run for director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T).
The director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is responsible for supervising, coordinating the ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector’s overall work and has the final say in deciding standards for international information and communication technology.
The top leadership of the ITU consists of five members: Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) and Director of ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R). These five top positions are elected to four-year terms directly by 193 member states at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and are limited to two consecutive four-year terms each. Since South Korea became a signatory to the ITU back in 1952, South Koreans have yet to be elected as a member of the top leadership team of the ITU.
The MSIP believes that the position of Director of ITU-T is influential enough to directly affect South Korea’s economic, industrial development in the midst of ongoing rapid changes in the ICT environment. Thus, the MSIP, which have learnt from failed attempts to put a South Korean figure on the top leadership team in 2006, will join forces with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of S. Korea and other relevant ministries in order to boost candidate Lee’s prospects in the race, the MSIP said.
The countdown to the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference has officially begun. The PP-14 Busan will set out a vision for the future of the ICT industry and decide future policy directions for ICT. Besides, the PP-14 Busan will allow the people to take a pride in the nation’s international standing as an ICT leader and will serve as a festival for national unity. Eyes are on whether the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference will live up to the South Korean government’s expectations. The government hopes that the PP-14 Busan will suggest the roles and future moves of the ICT industry while serving as an international promoter of the creative economy agenda and will be introduced to the rest of the world as a role model for the creative economy agenda.
