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www.itu.int/itunews Wake-up call.

Climate change is a serious problem. So at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),

we’re looking at serious solutions. For instance, by using information and communication

technologies (ICTs) to monitor global climate change. Or by working with other industries

to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the innovative use of ICTs. And, of course,

by promoting and adopting a carbon neutral approach within our own industry. We’ve

heard the wake-up call. Through leadership and example, ITU is determined to answer it.

www.itu.int/wtisd Committed to connecting the world www.itu.int/climate Committed to connecting the world Editorial

Helping Haiti Dr Hamadoun I. Touré

ITU Secretary-General M. Ferré ITU/J.

As we begin 2010, we have learned of yet another, as telemedicine, as well as voice calls. Experts are devastating natural disaster: the severe earthquake now in Haiti to help set up all this equipment, and to that struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, on assess how telecommunication networks in Port-au- 12 January. We do not yet know how many thou- Prince might be rehabilitated. sands have died or been injured, but it is clear that ITU regularly responds to natural disasters. Most there has been massive damage to the city and mil- recently, equipment for satellite communications was lions of people have been affected in a country with sent to Samoa and Tonga, following an earthquake comparatively little emergency infrastructure. and tsunami in that region on 29 September 2009. One of the fi rst pieces of news was the fact that Just one day later, the fi rst of two major earthquakes — there was no news from the devastated area. All caused great damage in Sumatra, Indonesia, and ITU telecommunication systems were down and neither sent satellite terminals there too. There have been victims nor aid agencies could fi nd out exactly what many more instances of ITU’s assistance, including had happened or summon help. This is a dramatic support for relief efforts after Cyclone Nargis bat- example of the fundamental importance of commu- tered Myanmar on 2 May 2008 and a deadly earth- nications in the wake of disasters. quake struck Sichuan province, China, just ten days It is a challenge to which ITU has responded im- later. mediately. From our ICT Development Fund, we We provide this assistance in partnership with our have allocated some USD 1 million to support dis- membership, whom I thank most wholeheartedly. It aster relief efforts in Haiti. In addition, we have sent is literally vital work, and I appeal to all potential part- 40 satellite terminals to establish basic communica- ners, among ICT companies and others, to contact tions, and a further 60 units with broadband capac- ITU and join us in helping to alleviate suffering that ity have been dispatched (all previously donated by most of us can scarcely imagine. The earthquake in Inmarsat, Iridium and Vizada). ITU will also set up a Haiti is said to be the worst in 200 years. In the words Qualcomm Deployable Base Station. This is a com- of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, it plete system that provides a high-speed mobile net- is a “major humanitarian emergency”. ITU will do all work able to cope with data-rich applications such it can to help.

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 1 Shutterstock

The year ahead for ITU

Emergency communications was one of the areas should also take up the opportunities presented in that I identifi ed as a priority for ITU upon my election partnerships to tackle the digital divide. as Secretary-General in 2006, alongside cybersecurity Mexico plays host to the other very signifi cant and closing the digital divide. They are of even more event for ITU in 2010: the Plenipotentiary Conference importance today. During 2010, ITU will continue to on 4–22 October. It will see the election of ITU’s top work hard in these fi elds, as well as on the topic of offi cials and it has tasks that are of fundamental im- climate change that affects us all. portance for the Union — reviewing aspects of ITU’s Progress on spreading not only basic telecommu- Constitution and Convention, and deciding upon a nications, but also broadband access to the Internet, good Strategic Plan, backed by a strong Financial Plan. will be reviewed in May at the WSIS Forum to be held I am very pleased to say that ITU’s fi nances are in Geneva. It will look at how the aims of the World stable, and I am confi dent that we can maintain the Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) are being membership’s contributions at the current level. Of implemented, now that we are half way towards the course, we will also strive to do better. We need to target date of achieving those goals by 2015. look at making ITU’s funding mechanisms simpler and This year, ITU will celebrate World Telecommuni- more predictable, while keeping the voluntary nature cation and Information Society Day, on 17 May, at of contributions. Meanwhile, with our introduction World Expo 2010 Shanghai, in China. The theme of of new management tools — especially those based “Better city, better life with ICT” is in line with the on ICT — we should achieve greater transparency focus of the Expo on improving life in cities, where and effi ciency. The basic aim, as always, will be to half the world’s population now live. provide value for money for our membership. Then, on 24 May, the World Telecommunication The year ahead will bring opportunities for ITU to Development Conference 2010 opens in India, last- refocus on its mission to connect the unconnected — ing until 4 June. As well as reviewing progress in this be they in areas not yet served by modern commu- fi eld, the conference will decide the focus of ITU’s nications, or (like the population of Port-au-Prince) in future work. This is not simply an event for develop- need of vital help following disasters. It is a mission ing countries. Other nations and the private sector to which I, and all ITU staff, remain fully committed.

2 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Contents

Biometrics and standards

Helping Haiti 1 Editorial by Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General

Biometrics and standards 5 A Technology Watch report

Connect the world 10 Connect CIS Summit held in Belarus to debate the digital future of the Commonwealth of Independent States region

Preparations for WTDC-10 15  CIS Regional Preparatory Meeting (pages 15–16)  Europe Regional Preparatory Meeting (pages 17–19)

20 Climate change Going forward from Copenhagen ITU at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (pages 20–21) Climate change: ITU must continue to act Chris Tuppen, Chief Sustainability Ofﬁ cer, BT Group (pages 22–24) ICT has a unique role in helping all sectors meet the challenge of climate change Stephan Scholz, Chief Technology Ofﬁ cer and Head of Research and Technology Platforms, Nokia Siemens Networks (pages 25–26)

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 3 Contents Biometrics and standards

Main Cover photo: Shutterstock Other photos: ITU/V. Martin, Shutterstock, StockXpert

ISSN 1020–4148 27 The digital dividend: opportunities and challenges www.itu.int/itunews Alexandre Kholod, Federal Ofﬁ ce of Communications (OFCOM), Switzerland, 10 issues per year and John Lewis, Consultant in international spectrum management, Added Copyright: © ITU 2010 Value Applications Limited

Editor-in-Chief: Patricia Lusweti Production Editor: Janet Burgess Art Editor: Christine Vanoli Circulation Assistant: Ricarda Brouard 31 Country focus Printed in Geneva by the ITU Printing Nigeria is increasingly connected and Dispatch Division. Material from this Okoh Aihe, Special Assistant to the Executive Vice Chairman on publication may be reproduced in full or Media and Corporate Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission in part, provided that it is accompanied (pages 31–33) by the acknowledgement: ITU News. Poland’s new law to support development of telecommunication Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and services and networks do not engage ITU. The designations Magdalena Gaj, Vice Minister-Undersecretary of State, Ministry of employed and presentation of material Infrastructure, Poland (pages 34–35) in this publication, including maps, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of ITU concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or 36 The ITU Library and Archives Service concerning the delimitations of its Guardians and disseminators of information frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specifi c companies or of certain products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ITU in preference to others of a similar nature that are not 39 Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development mentioned. Bureau launches web portal for Sector Members New opportunity for information and networking Editorial offi ce/Advertising information: Tel.: +41 22 730 5234/6303 Fax: +41 22 730 5935 E-mail: [email protected] Meeting with the Secretary-General Mailing address: 40 Offi cial visits to ITU International Telecommunication Union Place des Nations CH–1211 Geneva 20 (Switzerland)

Subscriptions: Tel.: +41 22 730 6303 Fax: +41 22 730 5935 E-mail: [email protected]

4 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Biometrics and standards Technology Watch Shutterstock

Biometrics and standards

Usually, we recognize people we know by looking at fi eld known as biometrics. This is the topic of a new their faces, sometimes by their voices or handwriting, Technology Watch report from ITU on “Biometrics or by the way they move. In times past, human scru- and Standards”*. tiny was the only way of checking the identity of trav- Biometrics are now applied in electronic pass- ellers moving from one country to another, visitors ports, as well as for fi nger-vein recognition in auto- seeking to enter private areas, or traders withdraw- matic teller machines (ATM) in banks, and even to ing cash from banks. This is no longer realistic, given prevent vending machines from selling cigarettes to the growth of international travel, the need for secu- children. In each case, some combination of inher- rity in workplaces, and the spread of electronic bank- ent characteristics is measured and automatically ing, among many other changes in our daily lives. compared with templates stored on a token or in a Nowadays, there is a new way of checking identi- database to fi nd a match. The measured characteris- ty, using automated methods and information and tics are often physical but may also be behavioural, communication technologies (ICT) to recognize indi- such as a pattern of keystrokes in entering a word or viduals based on physical or behavioural traits — a phrase. With the wide acceptance of biometrics for

* This article is based on the Technology Watch Report “Biometrics and Standards” issued by ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU–T) in December 2009. Technology Watch reports are prepared by the ITU–T Policy & Technology Watch Division. They evaluate emerging technologies to assess their implications for the ITU membership, especially developing countries, and to identify candidates for standardization work. The reports can be viewed and downloaded at www.itu.int/ITU-T/techwatch.

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 5 Technology Watch Biometrics and standards

identity verifi cation, especially in an open network Standards-setting organizations environment, the challenges of privacy, reliability and Although the earliest biometric standards were the security of biometric data become more compli- created by governments and law-enforcement agen- cated and demanding. cies in the 1980s to exchange fi ngerprint data, the Anyone who has queued at a check-in point at an current accelerated pace of standards development airport will appreciate the importance of speed and did not begin until 2002. Now, several national and accuracy in reading an electronic passport. Similarly, international players are developing these stand- when you draw money from an ATM, you expect to ards. They include the International Organization be the only person able to gain access to your ac- for Standardization (ISO), the International count. These uses of biometrics grew out of the de- Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and ITU’s velopment of measures to meet the need for accurate Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU–T). identifi cation in the fi elds of criminology and foren- Industry consortia also develop standards that sup- sics — the fi ngerprints and DNA samples that feature port the objectives of their membership, while so prominently in crime stories. There are now three United Nations specialized agencies, such as the main categories of biometric applications: forensic, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and governmental (passports, identity cards, voter reg- the International Labour Organization (ILO), develop istration, and so on), and commercial (for example, standards within their specifi c domains that might network login systems, ATM, credit-card processing, not have been addressed by other organizations. In and face recognition in photographic software). particular, ICAO is responsible for the standardization To ensure that biometric identifi cation systems of machine-readable travel documents, including are reliable, secure, interoperable and easy to use, electronic passports, while ILO has provided guide- there is an evident need for the development of in- lines on biometric identity documents for seafarers. ternational standards. Governmental authorities, in Over 30 international standards on biometrics particular, are unlikely to accept a non-standardized have been developed by the ISO/IEC Joint Technical system offered by a single manufacturer. There has Committee 1 (JTC 1) since the establishment of its to be general agreement on what biometric traits to Subcommittee 37 on Biometrics in June 2002. The measure, and confi dence that the chosen metrics will work of JTC 1 on biometric standards is also carried distinguish between any two individuals. Standards out in its Subcommittee 27 on IT Security Techniques are also needed to protect biometric data, both to (which covers template protection, algorithm secu- maintain personal privacy and to prevent attacks that rity, and security evaluation), and in Subcommittee would open the way for fraud or impersonation. The 17 on Cards and Personal Identifi cation. underlying objectives in standardization are to make Within ITU–T, work on biometrics began in 2001, biometric systems easier to install, cheaper to run led by ITU–T Study Group 17 which coordinates this and more reliable to use. work across all study groups. In particular, ITU–T Study Group 17 is responsible for looking at identity management; that is, technical methods for identifying individuals and protecting those identities.

6 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Biometrics and standards Technology Watch

Work is intensifying to meet current challenges for biometric trait should be invariant over a certain pe- more secure network infrastructure, services and ap- riod of time, and should be measurable. plications. Clearly, telecommunication applications Recommendation ITU–T X.1081 “The telebiomet- using mobile terminals and Internet services call for ric multimodal model — A framework for the speci- authentication methods that not only provide high fi cation of security and safety aspects of biometrics” security, but are also convenient for users. More than is the fi rst biometric standard to be published. It pro- 70 ITU–T Recommendations on security have been vides a model that can be used as a framework for published. identifying and specifying safety aspects of telebiometrics, and for classifying biometric technologies Biometric systems used for identifi cation. The multimodal model cov- All biometric systems have a storage compo- ers both the physical and behavioural interactions nent containing biometric data samples of individu- between a person and the environment, providing als linked to information on their identity. There is a taxonomy of over 1600 combinations of measure- also a sensor to capture the person’s biometric data. ment units, modalities and fi elds of study. The model The captured data sample is compared with a refer- is based on earlier theoretical work dealing with the ence template, and a decision is taken on whether it way humans interact with their environment, and matches. In telebiometrics, the communication chan- on the ISO/IEC 80000 series of international stand- nels between these components of a biometric sys- ards, specifying the quantities and units for all known tem may be wired or wireless telecommunications, forms of measurement of the magnitude of interac- or private or public networks, including the Internet. tions between individuals and their environment. Whether the biometric trait is physical (such as DNA) Over 50 countries issue their citizens with ma- or behavioural (such as a keystroke pattern), each chine-readable passports, which store biometric individual should have that trait uniquely. Also, the data that can be used to verify identity at the border.

Overview of some biometric methods Shutterstock

Fingerprints Iris recognition DNA Keystroke pattern

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 7 Technology Watch Biometrics and standards

A facial image, and perhaps a digital representation of ﬁ ngerprints or the iris, is stored on a tiny radio- frequency identiﬁ cation (RFID) chip, and this can be compared with information in a biometric database. The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), a Working Group of ISO/IEC and ITU, is responsible for the JPEG, JPEG2000, JPSearch and JPEG XR families of imaging standards. These are methods of image compression, and such methods are usually used to store a digital photograph on the chip in an electronic passport. The standards for the JPEG or JPEG2000 format are given respectively in Recommendations ITU–T T.81 and T.800, developed by ITU–T Study Group 16. JPEG XR (ISO/IEC 29199-2) is now an in-

ternational standard, reﬂ ected in Recommendation Shutterstock ITU–T T.832. It speciﬁ es a coded image format, de- More than 50 countries now issue passports with signed primarily for storage and interchange of con- stored biometric data tinuous-tone photographic content.

Keeping data secure Biometrics rely on highly sensitive personal infor- A key can be lost, stolen or duplicated. A pass- mation, but the security of an authentication sys- word can be forgotten. It is generally considered that tem cannot rely on the secrecy of biometric data. A biometric traits have the advantage of being virtually system must ensure the integrity and authenticity of impossible to steal or forget, and diffi cult to guess. biometric data in order to be operationally effective, Yet biometric systems are vulnerable to attack. Any and additional protective measures are needed to element of the biometric system could be the tar- safeguard privacy. get: the sensor, the feature extractor, the matcher, To allow for secure authentication, Recommenda- the stored biometric templates or the decision end- tions ITU–T X.1084 and X.1085 specify nine authen- point. An attack could also take place by bypassing tication protocols for telebiometrics and describe the biometric sensor, or by tampering with the fea- protection profi les, while Recommendation ITU–T ture extractor or template. X.1086 provides guidance on countermeasures to Biometrics are increasingly used to complement establish a safe environment and privacy. Recom- or replace traditional authentication schemes such mendation ITU–T X.1087 sets out procedures to pro- as personal identifi cation numbers (PIN) or pass- tect multimodal biometric data against attempts to words. But biometric data cannot be kept secret. intercept, modify or replace the data. The procedures Photographs of faces, recordings of voices and cop- include encrypting, watermarking and transforming ies of signatures, for instance, are all easily made. data. Recommendations ITU–T X.1088 and X.1089

8 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Biometrics and standards Technology Watch

provide respectively a framework for generating and of standards for applying biometrics and for testing protecting biometric digital keys, and a way of man- accuracy contributes to clarifying vulnerabilities and aging biometric authentication. guides the search for countermeasures to attacks. As well as being universal and unique, biomet- Commercial and government ric characteristics should be reasonably permanent applications to drive growth and easy to collect and measure. A biometric system Advances in ICT, increased performance and avail- should deliver accurate results under varied environ- ability of equipment at lower cost have smoothed mental circumstances, and should be diffi cult to de- the way for automated biometric recognition. Future ceive. Perhaps the most crucial aspect of a biometric e-commerce, e-health and e-government services system is its acceptance by the general public. For may require authentication with the help of biomet- obvious reasons, non-intrusive methods are more ac- ric personal documents issued by governments. For ceptable than intrusive techniques. Although DNA is example, some developing countries have already considered the ultimate biometric for identifying a started using biometrics for voter registration in the person (other than an identical twin), DNA match- run-up to elections in order to avoid outdated voter ing is too intrusive for extensive use in authenticat- lists and election fraud. ing identity. Facial thermography, which detects the Market forecasts on biometric spending are gen- heat patterns created by blood vessels and emitted erally positive. Growth is expected to come mainly from the skin, is non-intrusive but too costly. Among from commercial and government applications, the biometrics currently being considered for future where the biometrics and smart card chip industries deployment are blood pulse, body odour, skin com- will benefi t from government decisions to adopt position, nail-bed pattern, gait and ear shape. More electronic personal documents and biometrics. From research is needed to see whether any of these will an estimated USD 3 billion spent on biometric tech- emerge as the biometric of choice. nologies in 2008, market researchers now forecast Whatever system is used, it must be secure, en- investment of USD 7.3 billion by 2013. sure privacy and produce accurate results. A system Alongside fi ngerprints, which will remain the that is insecure, unreliable or invasive will undermine dominant biometric trait, face, iris, hand and speech public trust and may lead to a general lack of ac- recognition systems are expected to emerge and be ceptance of biometric recognition techniques. The widely adopted in biometric applications. development of international standards is a key strategy in guaranteeing the appropriate choice and use What next? of biometric methods. In less than a decade, huge Standards allow for the effective development progress has been made in improving biometric sen- of biometric systems by establishing common crite- sors, algorithms and procedures, but there remain ria and setting guidelines for the protection of pri- vulnerabilities that need to be addressed. The need vacy. Agreements on data formats and application to protect privacy and safeguard sensitive biometric software interfaces will help to reduce the cost of data remains fundamental. developing systems. Furthermore, the development

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 9 Arriving at the summit (left to right): ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré; President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev; President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev; President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko; President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan ITU/V. Martin ITU/V.

Connect CIS Summit Leaders debate the digital future

As part of its Connect the World series, ITU or- ways for these remarkable technologies to advance ganized a Connect CIS Summit in Minsk, Belarus, economic and social development.” on 26–27 November 2009. It brought together Noting that “it is now time to turn words into ac- some 350 participants from the Commonwealth of tion,” ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said Independent States (CIS) and neighbouring coun- that “this can only happen through a renewed com- tries, including fi ve Heads of State from Armenia, mitment to partnership — in particular partnerships Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as between the public and private sectors. It can only well as representatives of government, industry and fi nancial and development institutions. The summit was hosted by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, and was preceded by a ministerial The summit was organized in partnership with, meeting on 25 November. among others, the Regional Commonwealth in In his message to the summit, United Nations the Field of Communications; the Commonwealth Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “unequal of Independent States Executive Committee; the access to information and communication technolo- World Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction gies (ICT) impedes productivity and innovation”. This and Development; the European Investment Bank; directly affects efforts to achieve the Millennium the Islamic Development Bank; the United Nations Development Goals, he added, and so “we want to Economic Commission for Europe, and the United enhance digital opportunities for all, and fi nd new Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

10 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Connect the World Connect CIS Summit

happen if policy and regulatory frameworks are con- Investing in ICT ducive to doing business profi tably. And it can only The Connect CIS Summit offered a venue for ex- happen with the political will on the part of govern- changing ideas and forging new partnerships, with ments to make ICT a key priority in their development the aim of mobilizing the human, fi nancial and tech- agendas.” nical resources needed to support the region’s transi- Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s tion to digital infrastructure and services. Telecommunication Development Bureau, spoke The opening plenary session considered the im- about the increasingly impor- pact of the recent global fi - tant role of broadband Internet nancial crisis and the role of access for the overall economy. ICT in supporting a recovery He said “broadband is no longer and generating long-term a luxury. It has become the core Martin ITU/V. growth. Broadband access to infrastructure of the modern the Internet is one of the most economy, which is needed to powerful ways to achieve this. support advanced applications Most CIS countries have opened and services for governments, their markets, and incumbent businesses and consumers. If operators and new entrants we take the right steps together have invested in Internet proto- now, broadband networks will col (IP)-enabled next-generation serve as a platform in the com- networks (NGN). However, ad- ing years for innovation, growth vanced services, such as fi xed and development across the CIS “ Digital broadcasting will broadband Internet access and region.” revolutionize communication in the third-generation (3G) mobile The Director of ITU’s CIS region and set the stage for a rich telephony, remain limited to Radiocommunication Bureau digital dividend ” major cities. The summit’s fi rst Valery Timofeev focused on panel discussion, on the topic of the transition to digital broad- Valery Timofeev, Director of the ITU “Building a broadband-enabled casting, which will “revolution- Radiocommunication Bureau future”, examined the status of ize communication in the CIS broadband infrastructure and region and set the stage for a how it could be expanded. rich digital dividend,” and it is very important that a The second high-level panel looked at ways to smooth switchover takes place. “Digital broadcast- foster an enabling environment. It reviewed regu- ing media enables high quality delivery of multime- latory frameworks and considered measures that dia applications such as fi lms, books and data, while could be taken to harmonize them across the re- using less radio-frequency spectrum,” Mr Timofeev gion in order to attract investment. A panel discus- commented. sion on “Strengthening public service through ICT” introduced some of the new applications available

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 11 Connect the World Connect CIS Summit

Igor Shegolev, Minister of Telecom and Mass ITU/V. Martin ITU/V. Communications, Russian Federation, said that large-scale projects are needed to foster access to ICT. Also, appropriate regulatory frameworks are essential for promoting broadband

over high-speed broadband infrastructure, such as These included implementing the Transnational e-health, online education and e-commerce. In addi- Eurasian Information Super Highway project, as de- tion, it examined the issues involved in moving gov- scribed by Azerbaijan’s Minister of Communications ernment services online. and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov. The Super Another panel considered some of the essential Highway is expected to help supply 20 countries of ingredients for building a knowledge-based society, the region with high-speed Internet access and tel- and examined how CIS countries can best build upon ecommunication systems. their strength in highly skilled personnel. It also ex- A joint venture in Belarus will develop national amined how broadband connectivity for schools mobile payment systems based on wireless telecom- not only promotes ICT literacy and provides a plat- munication networks. Skylogic (part of the EUTELSAT form for lifelong training, but also means that Group), offers broadband Internet access via small schools can be used as ICT centres for their surround- and inexpensive bi-directional satellite dishes, known ing communities. ITU’s Connect a School, Connect as “Tooway”. It said that, with a new satellite (KASAT) a Community initiative was particularly noted in this to be launched at the end of 2010, higher-speed context, as well as the ITU Academy that promotes services can be provided to consumers in Eastern specialist training. Europe at no extra cost, helping to bridge the digital The risks and challenges associated with the divide for residents of rural areas especially. emerging information society were further topics of debate, in particular the need to protect data and Declaration of support privacy online, through such initiatives as the ITU- At a special session, the participating Heads of IMPACT Collaboration on Cybersecurity. Also, a ses- State and Government outlined their vision and full sion was held on the issues and the timetable for CIS support for the Connect CIS initiative. And the sum- countries in moving from analogue to digital broad- mit as a whole issued the Connect CIS Declaration, casting. And participants considered ways to use stating a “common desire to build an inclusive and the “digital dividend” of radio-frequency spectrum development-oriented information society, where that will be released when analogue broadcasting is people can achieve their full potential and improve discontinued. their quality of life.” Recognizing “the important contribution of ICT Commitment to the future in stimulating economic growth, employment and A number of partners announced commitments broader sustainable development in the region,” as to various initiatives during the Connect CIS Summit. well as “the essential role of governments in devising

12 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Connect the World Connect CIS Summit

Jan Kubis, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic ITU/V. Martin ITU/V. Commission for Europe (UNECE), said it has several ICT-related activities in the region. Infrastructure, content and connectivity are vital for achieving an inclusive information society, he added

national e-strategies and establishing an enabling A look at the region’s statistics policy and regulatory framework to foster ICT in- On the occasion of the Connect CIS Summit, vestment,” CIS leaders reaffi rmed their commitment a report was issued by ITU entitled “Information to achieving the goals of the World Summit on the Society Statistical Profi les 2009: Commonwealth of Information Society (WSIS). To this end, the decla- Independent States”. This describes how, over the ration calls on partners from the telecommunication past decade, key ICT services have increased through- and ICT sector, development banks and fi nancial in- out the region. Every year between 2003 and 2008, stitutions, international and regional organizations the number of fi xed telephone lines, Internet users and civil society, “to mobilize human, fi nancial and and mobile phone subscriptions grew twice as fast technical resources” for initiatives in the CIS region. as the world average. At the end of 2008, the CIS region stood out as having the world’s second highest

Pictured at the close of the summit are (left to right): Sami Al Basheer, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau; Nurudin Mukhitdinov, Director General, Regional Commonwealth in the Field of the Communications; ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré; Nikolai Pantelei, Minister of Communications and Informatization, Belarus, and Valery Timofeev, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau ITU/V. Martin ITU/V.

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 13 Connect the World Connect CIS Summit

Viktor Buruya, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, said his ITU/V. Martin ITU/V. country is building on the foundations for the information society laid down at WSIS, and signiﬁ cant efforts are being made to create an enabling environment in Belarus

mobile penetration rate at 113 for every 100 inhabit- the picture is changing with an increase in deregu- ants, just behind Europe at 116 (see Figure 1). lation, the emergence of competitors and a strong However, when it comes to fi xed access to broad- demand for high-speed Internet services. Mobile band Internet services, the region has a penetration technologies and services are expected to help over- rate of just 4.6 per cent, and 0.9 per cent for mobile come the broadband divide, particularly in areas with broadband, on average. This covers a wide dispar- limited fi xed line infrastructure. ity among countries, but, overall, it remains a major A number of recommendations are made in challenge to bring the benefi ts of broadband to more the report on ways to accelerate the expansion of people, especially in rural areas. Internet access and broadband in the CIS region. It The report suggests that policies targeted to- concludes that policy makers and regulators have a wards the development of the ICT sector are crucial major role to play in providing an environment that for encouraging the adoption of ICT in the region. supports the successful development of the market In many countries the market is still dominated by and which attracts operators and investors. incumbent operators that have not yet expanded The report is available in English and Russian at broadband services beyond major cities. However, www.itu.int/publ/D-IND-RPM.CIS-2009/en.

Figure 1 — ICT in the CIS region and worldwide, 2008 120 100 80 60 World 40 CIS

20 100 inhabitants Per 59.3 113.4 0 26.0 19.0 24.8 23.7 6.2 Mobile cellular 6.2 4.6 Fixed subscriptions 0.9 Internet telephone lines Fixed users Mobile broadband broadband subscribers subscriptions

Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database.

14 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 ITU/V. Martin ITU/V.

ITU Deputy Secretary-General CIS preparatory meeting Houlin Zhao spoke at the meeting for WTDC-10

During the Connect CIS Summit on 23–25 November The meeting received reports from BDT on the 2009 in Minsk, Belarus (see pages 10–14), a region- implementation of the Doha Action Plan, conceived al meeting was held in preparation for the World at WTDC-06. It also considered many contributions Telecommunication Development Conference, in on the status of ICT development in the CIS region, Hyderabad, India from 24 May to 4 June 2010 and several draft resolutions for WTDC-10. These (WTDC-10). It decided what to prioritize in promot- included resolutions on strengthening cooperation ing growth of information and communication tech- among ITU–D and the other Sectors of ITU, and on nologies (ICT) in the Commonwealth of Independent improving access to healthcare services through the States (CIS) region. use of ICT. Proposals were also put forward to hold The meeting was attended by around 200 rep- seminars on infrastructure sharing and on emergency resentatives of countries in the region; scientifi c communications, and to further the development of and industry bodies, and regional and international a Russian-language “centre of excellence” for train- organizations. Ivan Rak, First Deputy Minister of ing in ICT. Communications and Informatization, Belarus, was elected as Chairman. The Minister, Nikolai Pantelei, Regional priorities said at the opening of the meeting that the work of After considering proposals introduced by several ITU is vital to implementing national ICT strategies in delegations, the meeting identifi ed the following as the region, and thus spurring economic and social priority areas for the future work of ITU–D: development. Sami Al-Basheer Al-Morshid, Director of ITU’s ICT infrastructure Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT), Elimination of the standardization gap, and devel- said that ITU is ready to support Member States in opment of infrastructure to ensure universal access using ICT to further their development, and thanked to affordable broadband services; effective and har- CIS countries for their active participation in ITU’s monized use of telecommunication and ICT facilities Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU–D). ITU for emergency communications. Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao thanked the government of Belarus for hosting the meeting, and Cybersecurity and ICT applications identifi ed key issues, such as cybersecurity and cli- Ensuring cybersecurity, with particular atten- mate change, that it needed to consider. tion to the protection of children, including a pilot

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 15 WTDC-10 preparations

scheme to restrict access to inappropriate online con- Virtual laboratory tent in CIS schools; wide-scale implementation of ICT Countries to be helped to train specialists in test- applications for all activities under Action Line C7 of ing and implementing broadband access technolo- the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) gies, with a view to establishing a “virtual laboratory” Plan of Action. for training specialists from developing countries.

Enabling environment Power supplies in rural areas Implementation of the WSIS outcomes by ensur- A pilot project to be started on alternative energy ing universal access to affordable broadband serv- systems for telecommunication facilities in remote ices, especially in developing countries and with and rural areas, with the added objective of reducing particular attention to children, women, indigenous greenhouse-gas emissions. peoples and people with disabilities. Capacity building Capacity building and other initiatives Countries to be helped to increase their human Training in sharing passive infrastructure and in resources in ICT, and the level of specialist skills. implementing emergency communication systems. Broadband access Regional initiatives Countries to be assisted to introduce broadband The CIS regional initiatives address speciﬁ c ICT networks, including mobile ones. priority areas through partnerships to mobilize resources. The following initiatives were proposed: Changes to study Questions The meeting in Minsk also proposed changes to Electronic meetings the Questions considered by the ITU–D study groups: Establishment of a digital network, based at the  Revision of Question 19-1/1 “Implementation ITU area ofﬁ ce for the CIS countries, for the holding of IP telephony in developing countries”, to be- of videoconferences among administrations in the come “Economic and regulatory aspects of the region. implementation of IP telephony in developing countries”. Terrestrial digital broadcasting  Merging of Questions 18-1/2 “Implementation Countries in the region to be helped to make the aspects of IMT-2000 and information-sharing on transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in systems beyond IMT-2000 for developing coun- television and radio; implementation of the GE06 tries” and 20-2/2 “Examination of access technol- Agreement for terrestrial digital broadcasting in the ogies for broadband telecommunications”. region, as well as interactive multimedia applications  A new study group Question on the development and single-frequency digital television broadcasting. of national mobile payment systems based on wireless telecommunication networks.

16 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Andorra Telecom Andorra

Participants on the opening day of the meeting

Europe sets development goals ahead of WTDC-10

Delegates from around Europe gathered in the social and economic development.” The European Principality of Andorra on 1–3 December 2009 to region has its own characteristics and its own needs, discuss regional priorities for the development of he said, and the meeting was “a great opportunity” information and communication technologies (ICT). to assess those needs in order to determine future Their conclusions will be presented to the ITU World work plans for ITU. Telecommunication Development Conference 2010 The Director of ITU’s Telecommunication (WTDC-10), which takes place from 24 May to 4 June Development Bureau (BDT), Sami Al Basheer Al in Hyderabad, India. Morshid, said that “WTDC-10 is a landmark, global The meeting, held in the capital city of Andorra conference which will provide our Members and La Vella, was chaired by Jaume Salvat Font, CEO other stakeholders with an opportunity to assess the of Andorra Telecom. In opening remarks, Vicenç progress that has been made since we met in Doha Alay Ferrer, the Principality’s Minister of Territorial in 2006 for the last WTDC”. Since then, there have Planning, Environment and Agriculture, highlighted been many changes and new developments, and Mr the importance of ICT in job creation and raising the Al Basheer invited participants at Andorra “to em- quality of life. For Andorra, he added, ICT constitute brace this opportunity and get your voice heard.” He a very important component of national economic added that as well as identifying the needs of the development, and they must be innovative, afford- European region, the meeting could “go beyond to able and available to all. Mr Alay promised that look at global issues that may help shape the global Andorra will continue to contribute to the assistance ICT landscape, which can help the world develop and and activities that ITU coordinates with the aim of reduce poverty.” helping developing countries to deploy ICT and related services. Priorities for ICT ITU Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao noted The meeting reviewed the 2006 WTDC “Doha that “in spite of the global downturn, ITU has seen Action Plan” and its implementation, and endorsed over the last year that our Member States continue the proposal in a document presenting a “fresh look” to recognize the essential role that ICT play in all ar- at how BDT’s activities might be organized and con- eas of our daily lives and how important they are for solidated so that resources can be allocated in a

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 17 Europe sets development goals ahead of WTDC-10

more efﬁ cient way. The next task Regional initiatives was to establish priorities for fu- For the ﬁ rst time, the WTDC ture development of ICT, under preparatory meeting for Europe

the proposal’s headings. It was Markovsk Veni proposed a set of key regional decided that emphasis should be initiatives, under which projects placed on promoting the follow- will be implemented through ing areas: partnerships.

ICT infrastructure Accessibility for the Fixed, mobile, broadband visually impaired network development (including The meeting considered con- broadcast networks and spectrum tributions on this topic from management); rural communica- Bulgaria and Romania, which For Andorra, ICT constitute tions, and emergency telecom- “ proposed a regional initiative fo- a very important component munications and disaster relief. cusing particularly on Central and of national economic Eastern Europe. The goal is to development, and they must Cybersecurity and provide assistance to ITU Member be innovative, affordable and ICT applications States in enabling blind people to available to all Applications such as e-gov- ” use the Internet. It is envisaged ernment, e-health, and e-environ- that specialized national and re- Vicenç Alay Ferrer, ment; promotion of cybersecurity, gional libraries will be created of Andorra’s Minister of Territorial including the protection of young resources for those with visual Planning, Environment and people and children. impairments, and facilities estab- Agriculture lished to train instructors. Enabling environment Improving telecommunication Digital broadcasting and ICT policy and regulations, through such means Also in Central and Eastern Europe, ITU Member as market analysis and cost modeling, as well as States will be assisted to make a smooth transition compiling statistics and indicators. from analogue to digital broadcasting. Policy and regulatory frameworks for digital terrestrial broad- Capacity building and other initiatives casting (including mobile television) will be reviewed, Facilitating access to information and knowledge and help will be given in deploying interactive multi- for all, in particular to engage women, young people media services and applications. and children, indigenous people, underserved communities and other disadvantaged groups.

18 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 * * The informationsocietyinEurope E-health telephone lines,22percentofInternetusers world’s mobilesubscriptions,21percentof 2009 itaccountedformore than18percentofthe has around tenpercentoftheglobalpopulation,by Pro new report entitled and remote areas. plementing healthcare services,particularlyinrural reduced operational andadministrative costsinim- access tomedicaldataandhealthadvice,alongside jective isfasterandeasierstorage, transmission and across Europe inusinge-healthapplications.Theob- D-IND-RPM.EUR-2009/en. The report canberead onlineatwww.itu.int/publ/ fi In conjunctionwiththemeeting,ITUreleased a It wasagreed thatbestpractice shouldbeshared les 2009:Europe*. Information SocietyStatistical Europe setsdevelopmentgoalsaheadofWTDC-10 ItshowsthatwhileEurope fi xed balizing engineofourtimes,” he concluded. to otherregions, sothatICT canbecomeatrulyglo- work withyouallandtaketheexperienceofEurope Mr AlBasheer. “Iamready, andsoismyteam,to in promoting universalaccessisinnodoubt,” said “The in generation mobilenetworksin2000,” hecontinued. telephony intheearly1990s,andtointroduce next- fi new technologiesbefore manyothers.Itwasthe has foralongtimedeveloped,aswellembraced, the Internet,” commentedMrAlBasheer. “Thisregion and closetotwooutofthree Europeans are using passed the100-per-cent mobilepenetration mark, subscriptions. and 31percentof rst region toadoptauniformstandard formobile “The majorityofEuropean countrieshavesur- fl uence andleadershipoftheEuropean region ITU News  fi 1 |2010 xed andmobilebroadband  January | February 2010 19

Shutterstock Climate change Going forward from Copenhagen

Participants from governments worldwide, and many organizations, attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Australian Science Media Centre Australian

Going forward from Copenhagen

ITU attended the United Nations Climate Change Telecommunication Standardization Bureau Malcolm Conference, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Johnson. 7–19 December 2009. A high-level delegation from Dr Touré made an urgent plea to delegates not the Union succeeded in raising the proﬁ le of infor- to miss the opportunity of harnessing advanced mation and communication technologies (ICT) as technologies to dramatically reduce greenhouse- uniquely powerful tools for reducing greenhouse- gas emissions across all industrial sectors. “At gas emissions across all sectors of industry — while Copenhagen, we have a real and reachable oppor- also contributing to sustainable economic tunity to help save the planet through astute deploy- development. ment of modern ICT,” he said. “Studies clearly show The Copenhagen event is also known as that more effective use of ICT can deliver tremendous

“COP 15”, or the 15th Conference of Parties to the CO2 savings. I therefore urge delegates to look to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate high-tech sector, and take maximum advantage of Change (UNFCCC). It marked the culmination of a the power of ICT to reduce emissions worldwide”. two-year negotiating process to strengthen interna- The Secretary-General met with many world lead- tional cooperation on tackling this challenge. More ers at Copenhagen, including presidents and minis- than one hundred world leaders attended, as well ters in charge of environmental issues. At a meeting as some 40 000 people from all kinds of organiza- on 16 December, Dr. Touré held talks with United tion and representing many governments and inter- Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and with national bodies. Among them were ITU Secretary- the Directors-General of other United Nations organi- General Hamadoun I. Touré and Director of ITU’s zations. He also took part in a side event on “The

20 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Going forward from Copenhagen Climate change ITU/V. Martin ITU/V.

United Nations System deliver- Onwards to Bonn ing as one on climate change,” ITU’s delegation targeted the as well as in other activities. key players at the conference Malcolm Johnson participat- and raised awareness of the ed in the side event “Advancing fundamental importance of ICT work on adaptation to climate in the climate change issue — change: a United Nations system and how investing in it can also perspective” which showcased help narrow the digital divide good practice, as well as one and promote economic sustain- Interoperability and standardization on “The effective use of ICT and “ ability. There was strategic coor- are vitally important the intellectual property system ” dination with other key players, for mitigating climate change,” including other United Nations Malcolm Johnson, which was jointly organized by agencies. Representatives from Director of ITU’s Telecommunication ITU and the World Intellectual all stakeholder groups, and Standardization Bureau Property Organization (WIPO). both the public and private sec- At the latter he talked about tors, expressed interest in work- how a mechanism is needed if investment in smart ing with ITU in this ﬁ eld. technologies is to be stimulated in developing coun- However, as has been reported extensively in the tries in return for carbon credits. To achieve this, “a world’s press, the discussions at the conference re- common approach to measuring the positive impact sulted in a Copenhagen Accord — a political con- of ICT on greenhouse-gas emissions is needed. This is sensus on the long-term, global response to climate why ITU is developing a methodology in cooperation change, rather than a binding agreement. The next with many other organizations, governments and the step will be taken at Bonn, Germany, at the 32nd private sector,” said Mr Johnson. “Interoperability and session of the UNFCCC subsidiary bodies, held from standardization are vitally important,” he concluded. 31 May to 11 June 2010. ITU has observer status and Other ITU staff attended some of the many events will continue pressing for full recognition of the role held during the conference, and presented informa- of ICT in mitigating and adapting to the effects of tion on work throughout the Union on ICT and cli- climate change. mate change. The ITU programme itself also included Many people hope that at COP 16, scheduled for 11 sessions at the “iseeT@the Climate Change Kiosk,” 29 November to 10 December 2010 in Mexico City, within an exhibition organized by UNFCCC. These Mexico, a treaty can be concluded that can replace sessions featured a wide range of speakers from the the Kyoto Protocol at the termination in 2012 of the world of ICT, including those (such as Stephan Scholz period it set for committed reductions in greenhouse- from Nokia Siemens Networks — see article on pag- gas emissions. ITU will continue to take part in the es 25–26) who reduced their carbon footprint by ap- process and make known how vital it is to put ICT at pearing via videoconferencing. the heart of solutions to this major challenge of our times: climate change.

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 21 Climate change BT Group

Climate change: ITU must continue to act Chris Tuppen

BT Chief Sustainability Ofﬁ cer, BT Group

In the wake of the United Nations Summit on Climate "SMART 2020"1, a report I helped create, said new

Change, held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December applications of ICT could reduce global CO2 emis- 2009 (see article on pages 20–21), many will be ask- sions by 7.8 gigatonnes a year by 2020. That rep- ing whether the event was worth the cost — both in resents 15 per cent of what might be produced if money and in carbon. things continue as they are. Hopes for a binding agreement had been Huge opportunities await us in such areas as dashed long before delegates arrived at the summit. smart grids, smart cities, smart buildings, smart Nonetheless, many expected countries to promise in- transport and the replacement of older “gas guzzler”

creased cuts in CO2 emissions. In the end, they did ways of doing things with new energy- and carbon- not — while the Copenhagen Accord capped global efﬁ cient alternatives. warming at 2°C, pledges fell well short of what this Dematerialisation is one example: the replace- implies. ment of paper invoices with electronic ones, of music But nothing that came out of Copenhagen sug- CDs by downloads, and so on. Another is the use gests that efforts to tackle climate change should of videoconferencing instead of travel. There is no be scaled back. The climate is changing — fast. doubt that business habits are changing and carbon Countries accept the need to act. Regulations and emissions are being reduced as a result. Independent ﬁ scal interventions will follow. As they do, markets researchers estimate that the use of videoconferenc- for low carbon products will open up. ing in BT alone prevented the emission of more than 2 50 000 tonnes of CO2 in 2008. ICT can help But set against such opportunities are two key In the information and communication technolo- threats. gies (ICT) industry, we are fortunate that our products First, there is the impact on our businesses of and services can do so much to help businesses and changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and so individuals reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions. on. The equipment and cables on which our industry

1 “SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in 2 "Conferencing at BT 2008”, The University of the information age”, The Climate Group, 2008. Bradford and SustainIT, 2009.

22 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 BT Group per centofglobalCO and othersuchdevicesalready generates abouttwo that themanufacture anduseofcomputers,phones mate changethanworsenit. example. as theentire economyoftheUnited Kingdom,for sion ofagreat dealofCO common asourplanetheatsup. scientists saysuchincidentswillbecomeincreasingly their toll.Thecostofdamagequicklymountsup,and temperatures, droughts and them aswellwecan,butsevere storms,extreme depends are spread allovertheworld.We protect Efforts atBT the mostaggressive corporate emissions-reduction mit. We haddecidednotjusttoact,butsetoneof was compelling,wellbefore theCopenhagensum- that useslesspower equipment tocreate anext-generation network An engineerfrom BTWholesaleinstalls21CN Overall, though,ICT candomore toalleviatecli- Second, ourindustryisresponsible fortheemis- At BTwethoughttheevidenceforclimatechange 2 emissions—roughly asmuch 2 . Worldwide, itisestimated fl oods inevitablytake pect the fi bene ways ofworkingtoreduce ourcarbonfootprinthas investments. Theuseofnewtechnologiesand 1992, wehavereceived anexcellentreturn onour literally goupinsmoke. energy thanweneedto,pro sound businesscasefordoingso.Ifweusemore is therightthingtodo,butalsobecausethere isa reduce CO cent compared toitslevelin1990. the carbonintensityofourglobalbusinessby80per targets intheworld.By 2020,wehopetohavecut vent theemissionof75000tonnesCO reduce ourcostsbyGBP15million2011andpre- saving campaignwelaunchedin2008will,hope, ve yearsalone. As wedomore toreduce ouremissions,weex- Since settingour Our strategy isclear:weinvestinchangesto fi ted usbyaround GBP400millionoverthelast fi nancial bene 2 emissionsnotjustbecausewethinkit ITU News fi  rst carbonreduction target in Climate change fi 1 |2010 ts togrow. Theglobalenergy fi ts wecouldmakequite  January | February 2010 2 . 23

BT Climate change BT Group

Looking ahead, though, the challenges will get Follow ITU’s lead tougher and tougher — the law of diminishing re- Tough though such challenges are, we are deter-

turns applies as much to reducing CO2 emissions as mined to succeed. But our destiny is not entirely in elsewhere. our own hands. Many of the products we buy oper- The changes we have made so far — changes ate according to international standards, for exam- that have reduced the carbon intensity of our global ple. If their power consumption is to be cut, ITU and business by 43 per cent compared to our 1997 base- other standards bodies must act. Energy efﬁ ciency line — were relatively easy to introduce. Decisions must be paramount, just as it was when, in October made and implemented centrally had a big impact. 2009, ITU speciﬁ ed a standard for the new univer- In 2004, for example, we decided to get the major- sal charging solution for mobile phones and other ity of the electricity we use in the United Kingdom devices. from low carbon sources, such as wind farms and So, while some may use Copenhagen to argue for

combined heat-and-power schemes. Forty-one per delay, my view is clear: the amount of CO2 the world cent of the electricity we use in the UK now comes produces must quickly be reduced. When it comes to from renewable sources. Also signiﬁ cant was the de- tackling climate change, ITU must continue not just cision we made the same year to replace our existing to act, but to encourage others to follow its lead. networks with a next-generation network, 21CN. As ITU points out, next-generation networks use much

less power than their predecessors. They reduce CO2 emissions as a result. To go further, our energy consumption must be cut signiﬁ cantly. Everyone in our business will have to help, including those sceptical about climate change. With more than 100 000 employees spread across the world, this will be no mean achievement. And as time goes by, we know it will be harder and harder to Shutterstock identify cost-effective ways to cut energy use, reduce emissions and implement the changes required.

The ICT industry should work hard to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions — in all sectors

24 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Nokia Siemens Networks Climate change

ICT has a unique role in helping all sectors meet the challenge of climate change Stephan Scholz

Chief Technology Ofﬁ cer and Head of Research and Technology Platforms NSN Nokia Siemens Networks

The potential of information and communication For example, we are collaborating with Irish soft- technologies (ICT) to have a positive impact on cli- ware company ServusNet to help wind farm opera- mate change has been recognized by many global tors optimize generation and delivery of energy from studies, such as the work of The Climate Group on a renewable source. A customer of ServusNet might the “SMART 2020”1 report of 2008 with the Global have multiple wind farms distributed across Europe, e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), and “Mobile’s Green each comprising up to hundreds of turbines. As en- Manifesto,”2 produced in collaboration with GSMA ergy markets evolve, these operators face increased in 2009. However, this understanding has to be competition to supply national or regional grids, brought to the attention of governments so that they and must guarantee their prices and levels of sup- take the role of ICT into consideration when defi n- ply. ServusNet is carrying out customer trials of their ing environmental policies and those for sustainable solution, which is based on Nokia Siemens Networks development. Open Element Management System (OES) Suite, in order to raise the productivity and effi ciency of wind Energy effi ciency is a key focus farms. It also improves the predictability of their en- The ICT industry is taking serious measures to ergy supplies, thus optimizing energy generation. improve its own energy effi ciency, but it is impera- Bringing the intelligence of ICT networks into the tive that attention is also turned to the benefi ts that energy sector can bring such benefi ts as the manage- ICT can bring to other business sectors. In line with ment of energy consumption in real time, distributed this thinking, Nokia Siemens Networks recently an- generation using renewable energy sources, and nounced that it is using its existing portfolio, com- optimization of generation versus use of energy. For bined with new partnerships, to address opportu- this reason, we are involved in various research pro- nities in the energy sector. Energy producers can grammes and initiatives concerning smart grids. For benefi t from the technologies and expertise of the example, in the Nordic region the company is work- telecommunication sector and apply it to make pow- ing with fourteen others, including leading energy er grids more intelligent and effi cient — thereby ena- and network companies and a number of research bling whole economies to use less energy. institutions.

1 “SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy 2 “Mobile’s Green Manifesto”, The Climate Group, in the information age”, The Climate Group, 2008. 2009.

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 25 Climate Change Nokia Siemens Networks

Stephan Scholz spoke on the topic of ICT Expanding connectivity and climate change as part of the ITU Mobile telecommunication providers Telenor programme of business talks at the United Pakistan and Zain recently signed contracts with Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Nokia Siemens Networks to build off-grid solar-pow- Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009. ered sites for communication facilities in Pakistan and “ICT is fundamental to measuring — and in East African countries. So far, our company has de- directly improving — energy effi ciency across ployed more than 390 sites running on renewable en- all industries, including its own, which makes ergy in 25 countries in the Asia-Pacifi c region, China, it different from all other industry sectors”, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. he said. In a demonstration of one aspect of By 2011, renewable energy will be our fi rst choice this potential, Mr Scholz gave his presentation for powering base stations in remote and rural areas. at the “iseeT@the Climate Change Kiosk” via The potential investment in energy improvements telepresence from Finland (see pages 20–21). across the world’s telecommunication networks is of the order of many billions of euros — but with a return on investment measured in just a few years, not decades. All told, the telecommunication indus- We are also constantly working on minimizing our try has the key to uniting people and businesses to own and our customers’ carbon footprints. Around meet 21st century environmental standards. Now it 86 per cent of energy used by a mobile operator is also has the tools to play its own part in the energy consumed by its network, and energy is a signifi cant stakes. percentage of a service provider’s operating costs. In mature markets it accounts for up to 10 per cent of costs, while in developing markets it can range from 15 to 30 per cent. The solutions offered by Nokia Siemens Networks are designed to reduce network operating costs and lower the power consumption of Shutterstock telecommunication networks. The range of solutions consists of elements that target specifi c areas of network energy consumption, management and sourc- ing. They also allow for the profi table and effi cient expansion of networks in rural and remote areas by eliminating the need for diesel generators to power base stations, providing a more cost-effi cient and en- vironmentally friendly way to extend connectivity.

26 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 The digital dividend: opportunities and challenges

Alexandre Kholod John Lewis

Federal Ofﬁ ce of Communications Consultant in international (OFCOM), Switzerland spectrum management, Added Value Applications Limited

For several years, the digital dividend has been a channels of acceptable quality in the radio-frequency hot issue extensively discussed by broadcasters and spectrum previously used by a single analogue chan- operators of telecommunication and other services. nel. Typically, there are four or fi ve terrestrial ana- Apparently, there is a lot at stake for these industries logue services in a given region, so their digitization and, therefore, also for end-users. The crucial role of into a single digital television channel will consider- governmental bodies in this process is also evident. ably reduce the overall use of spectrum. Some important choices have been already made; A number of Recommendations from ITU’s however, further decisions are still to be taken. Radiocommunication Sector (ITU–R) dealing with This article considers hopes and concerns that coding, compression and modulation techniques for have been voiced in regard to the digital dividend digital terrestrial television broadcasting have indi- and looks at the activities of telecommunication ad- rectly contributed to the process that is fi nally yield- ministrations on this issue. ing the digital dividend. For example, the pioneer- ing Recommendation ITU–R BT.798 stipulates "that What is the digital dividend? digital television terrestrial broadcasting should fi t in Digital compression systems now available for the channels (6, 7 and 8 MHz) intended for analogue digital television systems allow the transmission television emission in the VHF/UHF bands”. This of several (up to six, depending on the coding and Recommendation, forbidding the bandwidth used modulation techniques) standard digital television for digital programmes to go beyond the analogue

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 27 The digital dividend: opportunities and challenges

channel bandwidth, paved the way for the develop- The range of users to which the digital dividend ment of sophisticated digital compression techniques. spectrum can be opened is wide and includes addi- The amount of spectrum in the VHF and UHF tional terrestrial broadcasting services, mobile mul- bands that is above that nominally required to ac- timedia applications, mobile communications, and commodate existing analogue programmes, and that wireless broadband access systems. Broadcasters can might be thus potentially freed up in the switchover signifi cantly expand their services to potentially in- from analogue to digital television, is defi ned as the clude delivery of new interactive and high-defi nition digital dividend. This is illustrated in Figure 1. television programmes. Mobile television, being a good example of a convergent service, Figure 1 — Digital dividend spectrum is also a promising potential user of the digital dividend spectrum. VHF/UHF New potential users that do not be- spectrum long to the broadcasting family of applications consider the dividend spec-

Existing Digital trum as an opportunity to respond to analogue dividend the growing demand for new wireless programmes communication services. These would include delivery of ubiquitous broadband Existing analogue Internet access to areas not yet reached programmes by landlines, thus helping to overcome Time the digital divide. Moreover, there might Analogue Switchover Digital transmission transmission also be a possibility for broadband access in the empty spaces between television channels in a particular region, for exam- How can the dividend be used? ple in white spaces (temporally and/or geographically The amount of spectrum to be released in the unused television channels). switchover depends primarily on national peculi- The digital dividend spectrum is located between arities such as the geography and topography of a 200 MHz and 1 GHz. These frequencies possess su- country, the degree of penetration of cable and/or perior signal propagation characteristics to those at, satellite television services, requirements for regional for example, 2.4 GHz. The industry has expressed in- or minority television services, and spectrum usage terest in using these lower frequencies to facilitate in neighbouring countries. The amount also depends provision of coverage and thus to achieve an optimal on the digital television technology being implement- balance between transmission capacity and opera- ed to replace analogue services. Therefore, the size tional range. This would mean that less infrastructure of the digital dividend will vary from region to region, would be required to provide wider mobile coverage, and from country to country. all resulting in lower costs for communication services, especially in rural areas.

28 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 The digital dividend: opportunities and challenges

Spectrum issues in accessing the The situation is quite different in Region 3, where beneﬁ ts of the digital dividend some countries have made their plans for the ana- If the digital dividend is to be utilized by mobile logue switch-off, while others are only considering services, a worldwide (or at least region-wide) fre- this possibility. Moreover, different analogue stand- quency harmonization is a required condition. Such ards and different channel rasters are used across harmonization would create enormous beneﬁ ts in Region 3. Another constraint is that broadcasting terms of social impact and increased productivity. In channels are scattered on a non-contiguous basis particular, mobile operators and equipment manu- across the whole UHF band. Though digital terres- facturers would be able to address a large market, trial television services have been introduced in some leading to economies of scale and preventing high countries of Region 3, they are based on different costs for handsets. standards (DVB-T, ATSC, ISDB-T, DMB-T), all using a The possibility of harmonization depends primarily different channel raster. In contrast, a single standard upon the timing and coordination of the analogue-to- (DVB-T) is chosen in the countries that are contract- digital switchover process; the digital dividend spec- ing members of the GE06 Agreement. trum will be fully available only after analogue switch- It should be noted here that parts of the UHF off. In this respect, the GE06 Agreement (adopted in band are also allocated to primary terrestrial services Geneva at the ITU Regional Radiocommunication other than broadcasting. Protection of other primary Conference 2006) calls for the transition to be com- services may limit the ability to use the digital divi- pleted by 17 June 2015 for the countries in Region 1 dend in some countries. (except Mongolia) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Europe, many countries will close down their analogue television transmissions by 2012.

The range of users to which the digital dividend spectrum can be opened is wide and includes additional terrestrial broadcasting services, mobile multimedia applications, mobile communications, and wireless broadband access systems Shutterstock

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 29 The digital dividend: opportunities and challenges

ITU activities ices to which this frequency band is allocated, and The World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 take appropriate action. (WRC-07) allocated the upper part of the UHF band In view of the complexity and importance of the (790–862 MHz) to the mobile service in Region 1 as issues related to Agenda item 1.17, a dedicated Joint from 2015, and allowed some countries of this re- Task Group 5-6 (JTG 5-6) was established. It studies gion to use this allocation immediately, under certain how the mobile service can share the relevant band conditions. These conditions include protection of with the broadcasting, aeronautical radionaviga- the GE06 Agreement and all its future developments. tion and fi xed services. Recognizing that there is a Countries that wish to implement mobile services lot at stake with respect to the future of the digital in the band 790–862 MHz are required to protect dividend, administrations are attaching much impor- broadcasting services against harmful interference. tance to the activities of the group, whose work is Also, before putting mobile services into operation, scheduled for completion in May 2010. agreements from neighbouring countries must be obtained. End of the story — or a new beginning? These ITU allocations open up the possibility The digital dividend arises from the ability of dig- (but not the obligation) of choosing for the digital ital compression systems to allow the multiplexing of dividend up to 72 MHz of spectrum (18 per cent of several television programmes and their transmission the UHF television band) currently allocated to the over the spectrum previously used by a single ana- broadcasting service. It should be said that 320 MHz logue television channel. It means that the process of (82 per cent of the UHF television band) is being re- gaining access to the digital dividend spectrum is still served predominantly for the broadcasting service in progressing, as more advanced digital terrestrial tel- Region 1. evision standards for infrastructure and for compres- Furthermore, WRC-07 identifi ed the UHF fre- sion (e.g. the second generation of digital terrestrial quencies allocated to the mobile service on a primary television broadcasting transmission systems), offer- basis in all three ITU regions for use by administra- ing higher bit rate capacity per Hz than existing sys- tions wishing to implement International Mobile tems, are being gradually developed and introduced. Telecommunications (IMT). This can be considered as The digital dividend spectrum can be used for in- a signal to industry to develop equipment for world- novative services, from improved and new interac- wide use. tive television broadcasting to mobile communica- However, recognizing the potential for interfer- tions and wireless broadband Internet access. Only ence between the mobile service and other primary a fair and well-balanced distribution of this spectrum services in the band 790–862 MHz, WRC-07 decided among different information and communication that ITU would conduct technical studies on sharing technologies will deliver the full social and economic among the mobile and other allocated services in the benefi ts of the digital dividend, thus maximizing its band in Regions 1 and 3. The results of these studies value for all users. This can only be achieved by ef- will be reported to the World Radiocommunication fi cient and effective spectrum management. All con- Conference 2012 (WRC-12) under Agenda item 1.17, cerned sectors need clarity on this issue when devel- in order to ensure the adequate protection of serv- oping their strategies for the coming years.

30 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Nigeria Country focus

Nigeria is increasingly connected Okoh Aihe

Special Assistant to the Executive Vice Chairman on Media and Corporate Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission

Nigeria has been one of Africa’s biggest success sto- regulator”. Nigeria, the Secretary-General said, has ries in its expansion of telecommunications and infor- met all those conditions. mation and communication technologies (ICT) — this Nigeria’s auction of spectrum for mobile com- was what ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré munications in 2001 was acclaimed as transpar- emphasized during his visit there in September 2009, ent and highly successful. In 2003, the Nigerian while attending the African Telecom Development Communications Act established a Universal Service Summit, held in the nation’s capital, Abuja. Provision Fund. Its objective is to subsidize service From a subscriber base of less than half a million provision in areas (especially the rural and unders- in 2000, Nigeria now has a total of over 73 million erved parts of the country) where ordinary service mobile and ﬁ xed connections, which is a teledensity providers would not do business. of about 50 per cent. Investment in telecommunica- The country has also beneﬁ ted from the re- tions has shot up to about USD 18 billion. Operators forms conducted by the Nigerian Communications are gaining generous returns, making the country Commission (NCC). It has set up structures and insti- an attractive environment for further investment. In tutions to help people gain knowledge and skills in addition, Nigeria added 11 million new Internet us- ICT, thus laying an important foundation for growth ers between 2000 and 2008 — representing close (see box on page 32). to 40 per cent of the total additions in sub-Saharan Africa during that period. The right environment It is perhaps the regulatory framework that Providing all the essential factors has contributed most to the remarkable growth in In addressing the summit, Dr Touré noted that Nigeria’s telecommunication industry by making it today, Nigeria has one-quarter of Africa’s phone easier for companies to gain licences and enter the subscribers. “You need to have all the conditions to- market. This success indicates what could be achieved gether for the telecommunication sector to thrive: a in development generally. Speaking at the summit in vibrant private sector, the technology, and a govern- Abuja, Minister of National Planning Shamsudeen ment that will take the right policy decisions. In ad- Usman said: “I often use the development of the tele- dition, you need a referee in the game, which is the com companies in Nigeria to highlight the possibility

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 31 Country Focus Nigeria

of change in Nigeria”. He added that progress “has broadcast high-defi nition television, complementing so far been achievable by the government creating the heavy studio investments by Daar. The fi rm is al- an enabling environment, establishing good regula- ready digitally compliant, far ahead of the country’s tions, and encouraging the private sector to invest switchover date. Commencing business in 1993 in an properly in telecommunications”. industry deregulated a year earlier, Daar has a chain of radio and television stations across Nigeria, and by Promoting broadband mid-2008 had added a digital satellite television serv- NCC is also looking at ways of making the ice that offers subscribers more than 40 channels. Internet accessible across the country. As well as a planned licensing of the 2.3 GHz band for broadband services, it is encouraging several licensees to push forward with ambitious projects. Phase3 Telecom and Suburban Telecom are taking fi bre-optic cables NCC programmes boost ICT in Nigeria into West Africa, while the Glo-1 submarine cable from Europe landed in Nigeria in September 2009 The Digital Appreciation Programme (DAP) is and the Main One Cable, also from Europe, landed aimed at encouraging the use of ICT in primary, in October. secondary and tertiary educational institutions. In addition, NCC is strongly promoting a project NCC, by deploying some of the Universal Service to roll out broadband services to all parts of the coun- Provision Fund, has been able to contribute try — and beyond — at an achievable cost. Called computers to a number of schools across the “Fibre Without Borders”, the project encourages the country, as well as very small aperture terminals creation of cross-border fi bre-optic links to build a (VSAT) for Internet access. platform across Africa. One result will be that African countries will not have to route calls through Europe The Advanced Digital Appreciation Programme in order to talk to their neighbours. (ADAPT) focuses on teachers (mostly in tertiary institutions), who must be computer literate Digital broadcasting ahead of schedule to gain the benefi ts of ICT and pass on their The deadline for moving from analogue to digital knowledge to students. Through this programme, broadcasting in Africa was set by ITU as June 2015. NCC has trained thousands of teachers across the In Nigeria, though, the target date has been brought country and has supplied some with computers. forward to June 2012 and great efforts to meet it are being made by broadcasting companies. The Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) was established While in Abuja, Dr Touré visited African to help overcome the shortage of skilled Independent Television (AIT), which is operated on personnel that resulted from the boom in the the platform of Daar Communications Plc. After mobile communications industry. Staffed by appearing on one of its fl agship programmes, he experts from different parts of the world, DBI has toured the company’s facilities and saw trucks that three campuses, in Abuja, Lagos and Kano.

32 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Nigeria Country Focus

Daar was the broadcaster for the football world a relatively quick return on investment. However, championship for players up to 17 years of age, the change cannot take place without new equip- FIFA U-17, staged in Nigeria from 24 October to ment being available, and the costs of this remain a 15 November 2009. AIT worked with the service pro- burning issue in the developing world. The Nigerian vider, Host Broadcast Services, to produce and send government has promised to look into ways of possi- clean feeds to the rest of the world. The Fédération bly subsidizing costs for less wealthy citizens, so that Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has very everyone can have access to the new broadcasting strict speciﬁ cations for equipment to cover its tour- system. naments, because audiences anywhere in the world must be able to watch the events. A Nigerian broad- Extraordinary growth caster’s ability to meet such rules has been hailed as Dr Touré said at the summit that “it has been an a landmark achievement. South Africa, too, is using extraordinary decade for Africa. Just ten years ago, its hosting of a football tournament — the 2010 FIFA virtually nobody in Africa had a mobile phone; today World Cup — to benchmark its digital switchover. mobile cellular subscription teledensity has reached Nigeria runs one of the most liberalized broadcast- 32.6 per cent, and more than 30 million people in ing sectors in Africa. Led by the National Broadcasting sub-Saharan Africa can access the Internet.” Nigeria’s Commission, in 2008 the industry started a phased developments are a shining example of what can transition to digital broadcasting by cable and satel- be achieved, and what should be the goals for the lite television broadcasters. Dr Touré noted that this future. can result in less use of energy resources, and thus

A high-deﬁ nition outside broadcast trailer used by African Independent Television

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 33 Country Focus Poland

Poland’s new law to support development of telecommunication services and networks Magdalena Gaj

Vice Minister-Undersecretary of State XXX Ministry of Infrastructure, Poland

For many governments, 2009 was a test to discover to take advantage of excellent and innovative regula- how well they could overcome the global fi nancial tions of our fellow members of the European Union. crisis — and the Polish Administration was no excep- The proposed Act on “Support for the develop- tion. The government of Poland created a so-called ment of telecommunication services and networks” “stability plan” which focused on new regulations in will help to achieve the goals of the Stability and many fi elds, but especially in telecommunications. Development Plan to enhance the Polish economy in The basis and main objectives were very simple: to the light of the world fi nancial crisis. One of the most help create a society based on technology and effec- important elements of the plan is encouragement of tive management. more investment in the telecommunication sector. Today we are witnessing shifts in our industrial Information and communication technologies (ICT) sectors: new trends are followed by new approaches, are one of the most important factors for stimulating infl uenced by the fi nancial crisis. To take advantage of economic growth and employment. the potential of new technologies, Poland is putting The main aim of the bill is to improve the invest- the emphasis on policy to support the development ment process, increase competition in the telecom- of telecommunication services and networks. munication market and, in consequence, help to eradicate digital exclusion, both social and geograph- The aims of the new law ic. Under the new law, local authorities would be On 3 November 2009, Poland’s Council of able to undertake economic activity in the telecom- Ministers approved a draft new law on supporting munication fi eld and to build their own infrastruc- the development of telecommunication services and ture, subject to certain conditions. Such activity by networks. A bill is likely to be considered by the Polish local authorities would not be permitted to disturb parliament by the end of January 2010. The new law competition in the telecommunications market. Also, was developed under the “Digital Poland” initiative the bill includes the regulation that local authorities established by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to must provide access to, and share, their infrastruc- promote Internet access for all citizens. It should be ture and networks on an equal and transparent basis emphasized that, in framing the law, Poland was able with all interested parties.

34 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Poland Country Focus

The bill regulates economic activity in telecom- A better future munications by utilities within the public sector, Thanks to the new law, it will be easier to invest in such as those that supply energy, water and sewage modern telecommunication infrastructure in Poland, systems. And it states that telecommunication busi- including the development of next-generation net- nesses must be given access to the relevant technical works (NGN). The expansion of broadband will en- infrastructure owned by the public utilities. The new able more people to use advanced online services regulations also enlarge the category of entities that such as e-commerce, e-banking, and e-education. can demand rights of way for access to real estate for Competition in the market will increase, and, as a the purpose of telecommunications. result, development of the Polish information society Regional broadband networks are another im- and eradication of the digital divide is expected to portant element of the proposed new law. It eases follow. the investment path so that funds from the European The Polish Government will work as much as Union can be utilized for broadband projects by local possible with the private sector in order to ensure authorities in Poland, within the ﬁ xed time limit for that the new regulations meet the needs of those spending the funds. who implement them on a daily basis. Our next step will be to promote the new law, as part of a coop- erative project between the private sector and gov- Promoted by the new law, the expansion of broadband will enable more people to use advanced ernment at all levels, national and local, called the online services “Communication and education plan to promote the development of telecommunication services and networks”. This plan is dedicated to all interested parties, in-

Shutterstock cluding the general public. Conferences, workshops, and seminars will be organized, and guidance published for future investors. The overall aim will be to exchange ideas and solutions for the development of broadband infrastructure and ICT throughout Poland. We look forward to a great success, and a great future!

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 35 ITU

The ITU Library and Archives Service Guardians and disseminators of information

Are you reading ITU News to keep up-to-date with as well as copies of ITU Recommendations and of what is happening in telecommunications in gen- course the Union’s publications and offi cial docu- eral and the Union in particular? What if you would ments. Through the library you can also gain access like to look at the magazine’s forerunner, the to collections in the cloud of online information, such Telecommunications Journal, dating back to 1934, as e-journals, e-conference proceedings, e-books or even to view the original Journal télégraphique, and other digital resources. founded in 1869? You can do either of these things, Even if you are not in Geneva, you can still visit and many more, by turning to the ITU Library and the library through its website at www.itu.int/library, Archives Service. or access the catalogues of its holdings. The librar- ians will respond to requests for information from In Montbrillant and in the cloud anywhere in the world. The ITU Library is on the sixth fl oor of the ITU Montbrillant building in Geneva, and welcomes users Institutional knowledge from within and outside the Union. There are open In the rapidly advancing world of telecommuni- stacks, reading places, workstations connected to cations, information is being created every day. The the Internet, as well as a corner where you can read activities of ITU, including conferences, workshops newspapers and drink coffee. and studies, generate treaties, decisions, guidelines On the Montbrillant shelves you can fi nd the and standards. These publications are all available paper collections: books, journals, magazines, peri- through the library. But along with the published doc- odicals, dictionaries, directories and encyclopedias, uments, there is a fl ow of correspondence, internal

36 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 tem forthemanagementofITU veloping anef Management (RIM)project, withtheobjectiveofde- has beeninvolvedinaRecords andInformation historical archives, andwhichcanbe destroyed. which records needtobepreserved inde is todeterminehowlongrecords shouldbestored, so thattheycanberetrieved andused.Thesecond main challenges.The to managethis medium. Itistheresponsibility oftheArchives Service day addsyetmore records, whatevertheirformor right peopleatthetime. to ensure thattherightrecords are availabletothe knowledge istheArchives Service,whosemissionis or abandoned.Theguardian ofallthisinstitutional a particularcourseofactionispursuedorputonhold ITU, thathelptoexplainwhattheUniondoes—why memoranda andotherrecords, sentorreceived by including fragile historicdocuments A specializedbookscannercandigitizematerials, Since 2009,theLibrary andArchives Service Because oftheburgeoning activityinITU, each fi cient andtransparent electronic sys- fl ood ofinformation.There are two fi rst istoorganize therecords The ITULibrary andArchives Service fi cial records. The fi ntl as nitely however, provide copies,onrequest. cluding thegeneral public.TheArchives Servicewill, able forconsultation(on-siteonly)byanyone,in- historic collections.Thecollectionsare avail- this storage facilityhousessemi-active records and Montbrillant building.Initslongbanksofshelves, a secure storage facilityinthebasementofITU plying retention policiesandsecurityrules. search tools,anda shared accesstoelectronic documents,powerful reliable work comprehensive electronic repository ofdocuments,a sion-making byITU. Thebene goal istoprovide forbetterandmore timelydeci- collective letters,inanunbroken seriesdatingback ference andmeetingdocuments,circular and to record. TheLibrary andArchives Serviceholdscon- History andmemory For thephysicalrecords, theArchives Servicehas A pioneeringorganization suchasITUhasmuch fl ITU News ow forthetreatment ofdocuments, fi le classi le  1 |2010 fi fi  cation schemeforap- ts includeasingleand January | February 2010 37

ITU The ITU Library and Archives Service

to 1865. There is historic correspondence from the Customer services: research period 1869 to 1947, and a collection of world and assistance and facilities regional maps of telecommunication networks from The Library and Archives Service responds to around 1875 to 1930. The service also holds the pro- requests for information by e-mail ([email protected]), ceedings of ITU seminars and colloquia, regulatory telephone (+41 22 730 69 00), fax (+41 22 730 53 26) publications, Recommendations, manuals and hand- or in person in the Reading Room on the sixth ﬂ oor books, photographs and posters. of the Montbrillant building. Copies of documents To keep the memory of history alive, the Library can be made and — since 2008 — a specialized book and Archives Service has embarked on an ambi- scanner designed to prevent damage to bound and tious programme to make unique ITU records widely fragile documents can be used to digitize materials. available to ITU staff and all kinds of researchers. The Reading Room provides photocopying facilities, This activity, the Historical Documents Digitization WiFi and workstations with Internet access for re- Programme, has the dual objective of improving ac- search purposes. cess to ITU information and ensuring the long-term preservation of historic documents. So far, more than 15 500 pages of conference documents have been scanned. These documents will be available on the new History of ITU portal (see box).

The History of ITU — a new web portal

Founded in 1865, ITU is the world’s oldest international organization. On its website a new portal is being launched on “The History of ITU”, which offers links to the many documents, landmark dates and important ﬁ gures that chart the Union’s history and its contribution to connecting the world. The portal will be open in February and can be accessed at www.itu.int/history

38 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 www.itu.int/ITU-D/membership/portal ITU/V. Martin ITU/V. BDT Director launches web portal for Sector Members Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid

Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

It was a great pleasure to launch the ITU–D Sector invaluable means to enhance their visibility and take Members Portal at ITU TELECOM WORLD 2009, which advantage of networking opportunities. took place in Geneva in October. With more than Besides presenting an external source of infor- 150 guests attending the launch, it was a lively event. mation, the portal offers a useful new tool for con- It was also an opportunity to express my apprecia- sulting data on Sector Members. The logo of each tion for Sector Members’ participation in the activi- entity is displayed, linking to a short profi le and the ties of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector Sector Member’s own website. There is also a facility (ITU–D), and to encourage those who had not yet for subscribing to RSS feeds of news from the wide done so to join the fi fty companies already represent- range of companies and others that use the portal. ed in the portal. I am pleased to say that the number To facilitate networking, fi lter and navigation tools has now risen to more than sixty. make it possible to search for information by such The portal’s aim is to showcase information on parameters as region, country, or type of activity. ITU–D Sector Members and to strengthen commu- The Partnership, Promotion and Membership nication between them and the Telecommunication team of BDT is continuing to update and improve Development Bureau (BDT). It provides them with an the portal, and I strongly encourage ITU–D Sector Members to contact us and participate. I believe the portal is an important element in achieving the BDT’s goal of serving the interests of Sector Members and providing them with the services they deserve. The ITU–D Sector Members Portal is accessed at www.itu.int/ITU-D/membership/portal/index.asp

To participate in the portal, contact Fernando Lagraña, Head of the Partnership and Promotion Division, at the following e-mail address: [email protected]

ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 39 Meeting with the Secretary-General

Ofﬁ cial Visits

During December 2009, courtesy visits were made to ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré by the following ambassadors to the United Nations Ofﬁ ce and other international organizations in Geneva, and other important guests.

Pablo Guzmán Laugier, Juri Seilenthal, Kshenuka Senewiratne, Bolivia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Ambassador of Estonia Ambassador of Sri Lanka Trade and Integration

Swashpawan Singh, Hans Dahlgren, Ambassador of Sweden (left) and Uglješa Zvekiæ, Former Ambassador and Permanent Eckart Guth, Ambassador of the European Union (right) Ambassador of Serbia Representative of India

All photos are by V. Martin/ITU.

40 ITU News  1 | 2010  January | February 2010 Magazine

Tells you what’s happening in telecommunications around the world

Every time you make a phone call, use a mobile, use e-mail, watch television or access © vario images GmbH & Co.KG/Alamy Philips the Internet, you beneﬁ t from the work of ITU’s mission to connect the world. Stockxpert Fotosearch

For advertising information, contact: International Advertise in ITU News and reach the global market Telecommunication Union ITU News Place des Nations CH–1211 Geneva 20 Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 730 5234 Committed to connecting the world E-mail: [email protected] www.itu.int/itunews