Overview:
The UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) an entity of the Organization of American States held a major conference Aug. 21 in Costa Rica on technology convergence.  Their Forum was preceded by the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two bodies to implement throughout the Western Hemisphere goals developed by the bodies to help countries benefit from the emerging “Information Society” and bridge the Digital Divide.

Co-hosts of the event were Costa Rica’s utilities monopoly service provider the Institute of Electricity (ICE), which is in the process of deregulating from a government-run provider to one more reliant on market forces.   

Forum materials are excerpted below, including a presentation by WCA President Andrew Kreig, who appeared on a panel entitled, “The Outlook for the Wireless Industry.”  Other participants on his panel moderated by ICE were leaders of the WiMAX Forum, the CDMA Development Group, 3G Americas and the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Dr. Hamadoun Touré of Mali, who was elected last November to a four-year term as Secretary General of the 191-nation ITU, spoke eloquently about his determination to push for results-- not resolutions.  He was echoed in these themes by leaders of CITEL.  They included CITEL Executive Director Clovis Baptista and Pedro Pablo Quirós Cortés, who is the chairman of CITEL’s Permanent Executive Committee COM/CITEL and also Executive Chairman of Costa Rica’s ICE.

Background:
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies.  As the global focal point for governments and the private sector, ITU's role in helping the world communicate spans 3 core sectors: radiocommunication, standardization and development. ITU also organizes TELECOM events and was the lead organizing agency of the World Summit on the Information Society.  The ITU is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and its membership includes 191 Member States and more than 700 Sector Members and Associates.:

CITEL, an entity of the Organization of American States, is the main forum in the hemisphere in which the governments and the private sector meet to coordinate regional efforts to develop the Global Information Society according to the mandates of the General Assembly of the Organization and the mandates entrusted to it by Heads of State and Government at the Summits of the Americas.

Costa Rica’s Institute of Electricity (ICE) is the monopoly telecommunications and electricity provider for the country.  

The Outlook for the Wireless Industry:
WCA President's Speech
WCA's Slide Presentation