UN agency wraps up Asia telecom conference looking to the future

The United Nations telecommunications agency closed the door today on their annual conference, attended by government ministers from the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on new business opportunities to sustain growth in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry.

‘New Generation, New Values’ was the theme for Telecom Asia 2008, organized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Bangkok.

“This week has seen enormous energy focused on ITU Telecom Asia 2008, shedding light on the issues which confront the ICT sector – issues which we sought to explore through the notion of new generation, new values,” ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said.

Dr. Touré added, “Business opportunities flourished within the exhibition and at high-level exchanges with ministers. It is evident that win-win public/private partnerships are a reality.”

The Asia-Pacific region has made remarkable progress in recent years. It now has over two billion telephones, including 1.4 billion mobile phone subscribers, and over 40 per cent of the world’s internet users. It also has the world’s largest broadband market – some 39 per cent of the global total – as pointed out in a new report released this week.

During the conference, which began on 2 September, ministers from the region discussed the future of the enormous ICT sector, and dialogue with industry and business leaders focused on investment, the market environment, government and industry interests, as well as the future of public/private sector partnerships.

The conference also tackled issues related to the needs of the “connected” generation, including the regulatory environment for next-generation networks, security, privacy and trust in cyberspace, greening ICTs and new business models for the sustainable growth of ICTs.

“Developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region are deeply engaged in the issues highlighted at the ITU Telecom Asia 2008,” Dr. Touré said.

“And they have expressed their commitment to supporting the contribution of the ICT industry towards a greener environment, strengthening emergency communications in an effort to save lives in the event of natural disasters and building the synergies to operationalize cybersecurity,” he added.