Europa
This is the speech made by Commissioner Giancarlo Innocenzi Botti (Broadband Commission, United Nations) yesterday during the presentation of the Report The State of Broadband 2012
Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Since last spring a vibrant international debate arised between ICT industry and institutions on the future of internet as well as on ITRs and how to ensure a new ecosystem for the revolution of the last two decades. A revolution involving all the countries and all the people, gaining more than 500,000 users daily.
In December, the UN World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai will set out a new broad framework of regulations for internet (ITRs).
The previous Conference on the same topic was held in 1988 and approved an ITRs that played a very important role. But, of course, it was another world and nobody could imagine what was going to happen.
In the last two decades market liberalization, emerging of multimedia and the revolution of mobile requested a new approach to ICT industry. And after 25 years global policies and regulatory framework need to be updated in line with the new reality.
The ITRs debate, the core of the Dubai Conference, must reflect the tremendous changes in the market and in technologies, including Internet market. But this debate causes some fears.
Some observers, journalists and industry representatives, especially from the big web companies, fear that clauses concerning national sovereignty and security could be used as a tool for censorship, monitoring and blocking of websites, infringing therefore the freedom of speech.
But the agenda of Dubai does not include topics on the governance of Internet.
We expect the debate will focus on ways to ensure sustainability and on new business models for Internet. In other words: on issues related not to democracy, but to economy. As well as on the viability of telecommunications industry, an industry searching new business models through a new concept of the value chain of ICT. And this is necessary to ensure future developments of Internet.
Let me remind that the international debate is now mainly marked by the proposal of ETNO, the Association of European Telco operators.
The ETNO thesis is that: “The revised ITRs should acknowledge the challenges of the new Internet economy and the principles that fair compensation is received for carried traffic and operators‘ revenues should not be disconnected from the investment needs caused by rapid Internet traffic growth“.
The reference is to the Over-the-Top companies for their very intense use of the network, without any contribution to needed investments. The ETNO proposal is that new business models should be based exclusively on free commercial agreements between parties.
The European Commission is still considering its position on such a vision based on commercial arrangements.
Neelie Kroes, the EU telecoms commissioner, said that there was scope for commercial negotiations to underpin investments that will allow all players in the value chain to benefit from the massive growth potential of the online economy.
All of us we have to take care of the future of Internet.
I think that the discussion on this issue as well as on others strategic ones will be of paramount importance in Dubai, where countries and companies will have the opportunity of exchanging views and taking decisions.
The last crucial question is: Why ITU?
Because, as Secretary General Hamadoun Tourè said, “we need a place where to address global issues and there are no other place able to offer a global platform for all governments to debate these issues“.
Internet is global. Therefore it does not belong to just one country or to a group of selected countries.
The ITU is the only truly global telecoms organisation and the ITRs is the only treaty involving all countries.
This is really a key opportunity for addressing the global challenge ahead of us . And it should not be missed.
Thank you for your attention.
