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UN and partners launch plan to bring wireless Internet connections to developing world

UN and partners launch plan to bring wireless Internet connections to developing world

Hoping to extend Internet connectivity to underserved populations around the world, the United Nations and the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) today announced a series of programmes to accelerate the adoption of broadband wireless technology in developing countries.

Hoping to extend Internet connectivity to underserved populations around the world, the United Nations and the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) today announced a series of programmes to accelerate the adoption of broadband wireless technology in developing countries.

The "Wireless Internet for Underserved Populations and Local Communities" initiative was developed in follow-up to a June 2003 conference on wireless Internet opportunities for developing nations. It is also in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - a set of measurable and time-bound targets adopted by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000 - and the Declaration of Principles adopted at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the first-ever global forum on information technologies (ICTs).

Planned within the framework of the programme are over 15 conferences, seminars and interactive workshops for Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East designed to help officials and experts explore the use of broadband wireless Internet technologies in their countries and communities. Special emphasis will be put on training and capacity building, as well as cooperation at international and local levels and public-private partnerships.

"W2i has received requests from business organizations and governmental regulatory agencies in several countries to facilitate consensus among local stakeholders in emerging broadband wireless Internet standards," said Daniel Aghion, Executive Director of W2i.

Early underwriters of the initiative include IBM and Intel. "Intel is a strong proponent of enabling affordable Internet connectivity worldwide, and we are developing wireless technologies and working with organizations like W2i to help accelerate the adoption of broadband wireless technologies worldwide," said Julie Coppernoll, director of marketing for Intel's Wireless Networking Group.

UN ICT Task Force Chairman Jose Maria Figueres-Olsen said he looked forward to the impact these initiatives will have "in raising private and public stakeholders' awareness of the potential Wi-Fi and related technologies present as an economic development tool for underserved populations in developing nations and local communities around the world."