To cap this series marking the 50th anniversary of ITU Telecom, the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) looks back at developments over the past decade – and forward as the world's digital transformation accelerates.
I first came to ITU Telecom as an exhibition visitor in 1979, when mobile telephony was just entering the commercial area and e-mail remained an intriguing novelty. Before long, I attended as a conference delegate and then went on to witness these events as an ITU staff member and ultimately Secretary-General.
ITU Telecom has formed the backdrop of my career, providing a window onto the world of technological developments, sharing knowledge and perspectives, offering a powerful platform for the international ICT community to come together with the common goal of expanding connectivity.
I have witnessed first-hand great change across the industry through the course of those years. In the last decade in particular, the world's uptake of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has accelerated to an unprecedented – perhaps previously unimaginable – pace. So has connectivity, with more than half the world's population now using the Internet.
Mobile services are moving up through successive generations in ever shorter steps, from 3G to 4G and then the first commercial launch of 5G services in 2018.
The industry keeps rolling out new networks, exploring use cases from smart factories to automated vehicles, and seeking investment opportunities in both B2B (business-to-business) and consumer services.
Even as 5G becomes mainstream, research is well underway into the next generation of mobile networks.
Still, despite all this progress, how can we do better to connect the unconnected and extend the benefits of the latest services and technologies to everyone?
Questions at the heart of digital transformation at ITU Digital World 2013.
Growing data consciousness
Explosive growth in mobile broadband services has brought data and video services of previously inconceivable quality and quantity into our hands, wherever we are. More people now access the Internet on mobile devices than via fixed terminals, particularly in developing nations, where difficult terrain or remote locations can make fixed line deployment impractical or economically inviable.
Data has come to be recognized as a raw asset of enormous value. But the flow of data across borders, inevitably, raises questions of jurisdiction and regulation.
Increased data use brings security, privacy, and trust issues to the fore.
Our awareness of the dangers – as individual consumers, as companies, and as governments – has grown. Data protection remains a central, complex issue for regulatory bodies, intensified, of course, by the rise of social media.
Exhibition floor during ITU Telecom World 2017.
Digital technologies are integrated into our daily lives and continue to transform how we work, play, communicate, and consume information and entertainment.
In the past ten years alone, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, software-defined networks and other technological advances have made their mark, opening up new sectors, markets, industries and opportunities.
ITU has evolved in step with the telecommunication industry. Recent years have proven similarly dynamic for Telecom.
Faster pace, broader scope
Following the 2011 edition in Geneva, our flagship conference and exhibition became annual, hosted by a different ITU Member State each year. In 2015, we repositioned it as a global platform to connect not just governments and corporates, but also, crucially, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from across in the ICT sector.
Tech SMEs have a key role to pay in driving innovation and development worldwide.
Telecom now includes services to foster SME growth, and I am proud to champion its awards competition for innovative tech start-ups and small businesses with social impact.
ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao (right) poses with SME Award winners during ITU Telecom World 2018.
The meetings have moved between the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe – until last year's unprecedented shift online, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
ITU Digital World 2021 – now underway as a hybrid event in collaboration with co-hosts the Government of Viet Nam – features online debates, ministerial roundtables, and a virtual exhibition, along with the popular ITU Digital World Awards. I am delighted to be attending the formal Opening Ceremony in Ha Noi, Viet Nam to mark the 50th anniversary of ITU Telecom.
In the face of COVID-19, connectivity has become essential in every aspect of our work and lives. The crisis, meanwhile, has highlighted the profound digital inequalities between and within countries.
Digital connectivity – combined with relevant content and services, speed, reliability, and quality – can drive social and economic development on a scale never seen before.
Transformative technologies like 5G, which could form the backbone of tomorrow's healthcare, public safety, manufacturing, and education, must be deployed equitably, across urban and rural areas alike, to be a force for good, for everyone. Improving investment conditions – and incentivizing rollout in underserved areas – will be key to creating a brighter digital future for us all.
Calling all stakeholders
Only by working together can we close the divide, bring online the estimated 3.7 billion unconnected, and achieve progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations, ensuring opportunities for everyone, everywhere.
As ever, the Telecom series offers unique value as a UN platform open to all.
This is a value I appreciated as a delegate to ITU 30 years ago, and a value that still stands in our new era of hybrid conferences.
ITU Digital World 2021 virtual networking
As ITU Telecom events move beyond their 50th anniversary, I am confident they will keep on fostering dialogue and cooperation to create a sustainable global digital transformation.
Houlin Zhao will attend the ITU Digital World 2021 Opening Ceremony in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 12 October, marking the start of Ministerial Roundtables, the opening of the Virtual Exhibition, and the 50th anniversary celebration for the Telecom conference and exhibition series.
See it livestreamed at digital-world.itu.int.
Read the highlights of earlier Forum Debates on future networks, 5G, satellites and spectrum harmonization – or explore the full event calendar.
