Global thrust to achieve universal broadband connectivity

ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference opens in Dubai, United  Arab Emirates

MEDIA ACCREDITATION OPEN

Dubai, 30 March 2014 – The sixth ITU World Telecommunication  Development Conference (WTDC-14) opened today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,  with a call to achieve universal broadband connectivity. Under the theme  ‘Broadband for Sustainable Development’, the conference will focus on  development priorities in telecommunications and information and communication  technologies (ICT) and agree on the programmes, projects and initiatives to  implement them.

Mr Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General of the Telecommunication  Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates and Head of the UAE delegation  was elected Chairman of the Conference. He noted that the focus on the theme  ‘Broadband for Sustainable Development’ brings attention to the critical aspect  of leading edge ICT in enhancing a nation’s development. “Since the beginning of  this Millennium, mobile cellular subscriptions have continued to rise, social  media usage has rocketed, and an ever increasing number of people across the  globe have been able to access the Internet, making use of the immeasurable  quantity of information that greater connectivity provides,” said Mr Al Ghanim.  “Yet one of the most persisting concerns that face us all is the ‘digital  divide’. Serious practical solutions are required to close the gap and stem this  endemic inequality of access.”

For full text see:
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2014/11.aspx#.UzfYO9r8LDc