Regulators adopt global broadband technology guidelines at ITU meeting
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) held last week ended with the adoption of Best Practice Guidelines aimed at advancing the deployment of broadband connectivity worldwide.
The adoption is in response to the changing market environment in broadband deployment.
The adoption was made in Armenia City, Colombia, on September 23, 2011.
As many as 504 participants attended, including 243 representatives from 72 countries and Palestine. In addition, 261 representatives from 42 public and private sector companies as well as regional and international organizations participated.
“In an era in which broadband is increasingly considered the right of every citizen, “smart” regulation was advocated to encourage greater openness and use of incentive dynamics to mitigate the challenges and threats posed by a rapidly changing ICT landscape,” said the ITU in a statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.
The adoption will “increase access to the Internet – and broadband in particular – will allow for a more effective delivery services to meet the Millennium Development Goals, as e-applications such as e-health, e-education, and e-governance are able to reach even the remotest corners of the world,” ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said in the statement.
Mr Touré adds that “But this will only change when broadband becomes more affordable – and the world’s regulators meeting here in Colombia can facilitate this by advocating a combination of increased capacity and competition.”
President of the Republic of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos addressing the symposium said “Smart regulation is precisely what we need…Taking advantage of broadband as a source of productivity and growth, we can identify the most appropriate solutions to reduce our productivity gap as efficiently as possible.”
Held for the first time in Latin America, the eleventh GSR focused on innovative regulatory measures to promote the roll out of broadband globally.
By Ekow Quandzie