On October 24-25, 2011, the Broadband Commission for Digital Development jointly hosted a Broadband Leadership Summit with ITU TELECOM preceding the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 event. The Summit convened a number of Heads of State, leading CEOs, senior policy-makers and visionaries from across the ICT sector to debate the issues that matter in the deployment of broadband infrastructure and services. This fourth meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development was held just prior to the Broadband Leadership Summit, which welcomed over 250 government and industry leaders from around the world to exchange views on the challenges and opportunities of || chr(39) || || chr(39) || a future built on broadband || chr(39) || || chr(39) || .

The Opening Plenary featured a number of top CEOs and Ministers debating the benefits of broadband. It explored the role of broadband as critical infrastructure for promoting economic growth, trade and productivity, especially in view of today || chr(39) || || chr(39) || s challenging economic climate. As broadband infrastructure

is rolled out in different countries around the world, the information, knowledge and education that can be provided via broadband services are fast becoming global public goods.



NIA President, Seang-Tae Kim proposed that Korea could take a main and central role with regards to directions of broadband since it has much experience in the ICT industry. He went on to add that Korea a lot of experience to take the role of the moderator to reduce the digital divide between developed

and developing countries and practices this through Information Access Center and IT Cooperation Centers that it has established over the last decade.



There were two Plenary Sessions dedicated specifically to content issues. Recent events have seen social media used as a tool for real-time reporting from earthquake zones or as a powerful catalyst for social transformation. However, the speed and scale of online social media have proved difficult

for authorities to match, in both the Arab uprisings and recent UK riots alike. NIA President Kim took part in the Plenary that focused on social media as it explored the lessons learned from recent events.



During this Plenary Session, President Kim explained about the innovative change on effects of Social Media through society and role of the Government. Social Media has revolutionized the communication process between government and citizens, companies and consumers, and between individuals. He went on to explain that due to side effects of the Social Media, one of government || chr(39) || || chr(39) || s

role is to control the outcome, but regulations without considering the characteristics of the media such as participation, communication and sharing, would bring more conflicts to the society.



During the final session on Tuesday, October 25, a high-level roundtable took place with officials from the Broadband Commission taking part. NIA President Kim emphasized the importance of creating new vision on ICT beyond just spreading ICT infrastructure, in the era of Smart society. There is a need to construct a Smart Era based on || chr(39) || || chr(39) || creativity and humanism || chr(39) || || chr(39) || to realize the happiness of the people, mutual development, creative nation, and sustainable development through ICT.



The Broadband Leadership Summit took the pulse of the global broadband industry at this pivotal time for the global economy.

NIA President and Broadband Commissioner, Seang-Tae Kim at Broadband Leadership

Summit in Geneva, Switzerland (October 2011)