Opening Keynote
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
Asuncíon, Paraguay
Sr Juan Carlos Duarte Dure, Presidente de CONATEL, y Vice-Presidente del CCP1
Sra Nilda Romero, Ministra de la Mujer de Paraguay
Embajador Diego Joe Pas Bustamente, Representante de la OEA en Paraguay
Sr Augustin Garzon, Director del Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones de Argentina y Presidente Alternp del COM/CITEL
Sr. Oscar León, Secretario Ejecutivo de la CITEL
Distinguidos delegados,
Amigos, Amigas
Permítanme tomar un momento para reiterar las gracias que di ayer en la inauguración del Foro Regional de Desarrollo de la UIT, por la cálida bienvenida que recibí aquí en la hermosa ciudad de Asunción, y por la generosidad de Paraguay al ofrecer ser anfitrión de estas importantes reuniones regionales. Quiero tambien agradecer Paraguay por la recepcion que tuvimos ayer en donde pude compreder que la carde de Paraguay es deliciosa.
Este gesto demuestra una vez más el compromiso del Gobierno paraguayo con el desarrollo de las TIC y con la colaboración e intercambio internacional.
A medida que todos miramos hacia los desafíos que se avecinan para conectar a la mitad restante de las personas del mundo, debemos hacer un esfuerzo más activo para escucharnos y aprender unos de otros, y esforzarnos aún más por desarrollar y adherirnos a las mejores prácticas internacionales. Reuniones internacionales como esta, son el primer paso esencial hacia una cooperación más estrecha entre las múltiples partes interesadas.
Esta es mi primera reunión de la CITEL desde que fui elegida Directora de la Oficina de Desarrollo de las Telecomunicaciones de la UIT. Me gustaría agradecer a la CITEL no solo por el apoyo, sino por el trabajo de coordinación regional que la organización lleva a cabo para desarrollar posiciones de consenso que abarquen los tres sectores de trabajo de la Unión.
Esta creación de consenso se encuentra en el corazón del mandato de la UIT.
Con 193 Estados miembros y más de 900 miembros de los sectores privado, académico y científico, alcanzar ese consenso, que es tan vital para promover el desarrollo de las TIC, no es tarea fácil.
Es solo a través de los esfuerzos incansables de organizaciones, como la CITEL, que podemos avanzar en nuestro trabajo de manera eficiente y efectiva. Así que una vez más aplaudo el trabajo de la CITEL en las Américas y el Caribe, y espero una larga y fructífera colaboración con ustedes.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I know that, within CITEL, discussion of radiocommunication issues falls under the remit of PCC II, rather than PCC I. But with ITU's four-yearly World Radiocommunication Conference set to take place in Sharm el Sheikh , Egypt, from October 28, spectrum issues deserve a mention.
Mobile cellular is overwhelmingly the dominate technology in all emerging and developing economies, and it will be the platform we need to leverage in our efforts to connect the second half of the planet. Radiofrequency spectrum has become one of the most coveted natural resources of our era, because of the huge economic and social impact that connectivity brings. ITU's World Radiocommunication Conference is where the world's policymakers will attempt to reconcile the sometimes conflicting interests of all stakeholders.
This year's conference will be particularly critical to global ICT development, and I am sure we will all be closely following the negotiations over what promises to be a very intense four weeks.
Dear colleagues,
Last week, as I mentioned yesterday, I was in New York for the UN General Assembly and the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.
The focus at the Commission's meeting was centred around the notion of universal meaningful connectivity. What does that mean for the people of the Americas and the Caribbean?
We know that this region is still home to a proportion of the 50% still unconnected. But we need to go further than that. The notion of “meaningful connectivity" means getting people connected in a way that is available, accessible, relevant and affordable, and also that is safe, trusted, user-empowering and leads to positive impact.
"Meaningful connectivity" also means moving beyond our reliance on concepts such as simple indicators like teledensity. Such figures, showing mobile penetration at over 100% in most regions, renders those who do not have access invisible.
In the same way, talking about mobile network coverage of 90% tells us nothing about whether services are affordable, or accessible to those who need them. Increasingly, other factors like lack of digital skills are becoming major barriers to access, and need to be factored in to governments' national broadband strategies.
Universal meaningful connectivity to underpin digital transformation plans, as governments seek to find new ways to finance network roll-out and reach unconnected populations.
In the Americas region, our Regional Initiative 3 specifically focuses on accelerating the deployment of broadband infrastructure in rural and neglected areas, and a project to support community networks to connect the unconnected is in the works.
Ladies and gentlemen,
ITU just recently held its Policy and Economics Colloquium – IPEC 2019 – in the Dominican Republic. The focus of much of our debate was, of course, the implementation of 5G, and the structural and regulatory adjustments the advent of this technology will demand.
But success in the adoption of these technologies should not be measured by figures quantifying the deployment of networks and equipment. It should be measured by evaluating the degree to which such deployments improve people's quality of life. In connecting the second half of the planet to the power of ICTs, our policies need to get a lot more people-centric.
In all this, I again emphasize the important work of CITEL. Just yesterday, the Mercosur countries that have recently concluded an agreement to create a single market zone free of international roaming charges met in this very same venue.
These kinds of collaborative approaches will be the foundation of the next phase of ICT development. This new era will be based around cooperation, around resource-sharing, around win-win-win arrangements that benefit governments, industry and users. And CITEL is the natural forum to advance this new vision, region-wide.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Technologies are advancing today at breakneck speed. While our policy frameworks may never be able to keep pace, we do need to be increasingly proactive in ensuring they continuously evolve.
In closing, let me quickly mention two important ITU actions:
The first is the Emergency Telecommunication Alternate Network using Winlink, which has just concluded its successful implementation in Central America. This is one of our Regional Initiatives for the Americas, and looking ahead to 2020, we will be working on emergency telecommunication Early Warning Systems and new strategies for disaster reduction and management.
The second action I wish to mention is the Accessible Americas event, which will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from November 20-22. This will be the 6th edition of an event dedicated to promoting that inclusiveness, and to bringing the power of ICTs to the growing number of persons living with disabilities. We hope many of you can join us there.
Thank you.
