As mentioned in the most recent previous NIA e-Newsletter, NIA President Seang-Tae
Kim was invited and accepted an invitation from the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) to be a founding Commissioner of the Broadband Commission for Digital
Development. The Broadband Commission was formally launched on May 10, 2010 in
Geneva.

President Kim participated in the first of the Broadband Commission's high
level meetings that took place in Geneva, Switzerland on July 11, 2010. The Commissioners
met in private session to set about defining a vision for accelerating the deployment
of broadband networks worldwide, with the aim of improving the delivery of services
across a huge range of social and business sectors, and accelerating progress
towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Commission is co-chaired by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Mr. Carlos
Slim Hel?, Honorary Lifetime Chairman of Grupo Carso, with ITU Secretary-General
Dr. Hamadoun Tour? and UNESCO Director-General, Ms. Irina Bokova, serving as
joint vice chairs.

It will deliver its outcomes to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 19 September
2010 at an official side event of the UN MDG Summit in New York, which starts
on September 20. These outcomes will be presented in the form of two reports,
the first of which will reflect expert input from the Commissioners, and the
second of which will comprise in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities
in deploying broadband across a range of different types of economies.

The first report will also include a series of top-level Recommendations designed
to serve as a global blueprint for rapid broadband development worldwide, while
the second report will take into account local needs, financing constraints and
technical hurdles, and make practical proposals on possible routes towards deployment
of ubiquitous high-speed networks at reasonable prices in every country worldwide.

"The global deployment of broadband networks will be as powerful a transformational
force for the 21st century as the progressive installation of electricity networks
was in the first decades of the 20th century," said Dr. Tour?. "Just
as connection to the power grid is now seen as a basic element of social and
economic empowerment, so ubiquitous connectivity to broadband networks will be
vital to the ongoing development of every nation worldwide."

"The latest information and communication technologies (ICTs) have created
new opportunities for the creation, preservation, dissemination and use of information,"
said the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, who was represented at the meeting
by Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information Mr. Janis Karklins.
"We aim to go further, towards the construction of inclusive knowledge societies
in which people can transform information into knowledge and understanding that
empowers them to improve their livelihoods and contribute to their social and
economic development. Universal access to broadband-enabled applications will
be vital for achieving this goal."

Source: ITU (Press Release)

Source: ITU