GITEX 2012 INTERVIEWS ITU TELECOM World 2012 - Teletimes

Future remained the key themeareas for ITU World Telecom2012. The event was proudlyhosted by TelecommunicationsRegulatory Authority (TRA) ofthe United Arab Emirates.Day 1, October 14The day started with theconference opening ceremonywhere Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré,Secretary-General, InternationalTelecommunications Union,extended his thanks to the hostcity of Dubai. During his speech,Dr Touré reiterated the ITU’saim to roll out broadband toevery corner of the world, usingthe transformative DNA of ICTsolutions for a better, brighter,more prosperous world.“The future that lies beforeus is promising, characterizedonly by change as the onlyconstant,” said Dr Touré. “Ihave not met anyone whoquestions the dynamic of thetime. Mobile broadband, M2M,fiber optics and social networksdefine today’s networks. Withsix billion mobile subscribersand 2.3 million internet users,the stage is set for a technologydriven life.”Mohamed Bin Ahmed Al Qamzi,Chairman, TelecommunicationsRegulatory Authority, UAE,Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar,CEO, Etisalat Group, SheikhAbdullah Bin Mohammed SaudAl-Thani, Chairman, Qtel Groupwas among the other speakersduring the opening ceremony.The day also staged anumber of workshops onemergency communications,next generation broadbandnetworks and LTE. Theparticipants offered anumber of actions that,in their experience, haveproved effective in leveragingtechnology to mitigate withprevent natural disasters, bringhigh speed data connectivityand enhance mobile services.The Leadership Summitfocused on future of ICT. Theattendees agreed that globalinteroperability remains vitalto ensure that multiple devicescan continue to communicatewith each other, to enablenew systems, applications andservices and drive innovation.The emergence of closedecosystems based on newbusiness models may place thisinteroperability in jeopardy:balancing competition andregulation calls for a “lighttouch”regulation.Mohamed Al-Ghanim,Director General of theTelecommunications RegulatoryAuthority from host countrythe United Arab Emirates, UAE,pointed to an upcoming ITUevent that his country will hostas a possible opportunity toadvance the future discussion.“WCIT in December is anopportunity to put these issueson the table, said Ghanim, weneed a global solution to theseproblems.’’Maximizing shareholder valueshould be obtained by keepingin mind the long- and shortterminterests of society, byestablishing customer-centricmodels and by treatingemployees fairly, accordingto Mr Khalid al Ghoneim, CEOof Saudi Arabia’s STC Group.Acknowledging the needto engage with the currentdisruption of the industry, hesaid, “If you are not part of thischange, you will be eaten by thechange.”On the first day of ITU TelecomWorld 2012, the finalists of ITU’sYoung Innovators competitionalso met up with their patronsNovember 2012www.teletimesinternational.com11