30 July 2007 - Senior ICT policy makers and regulators from developing countries are in Singapore to attend a five-day executive programme on information and communication technology (ICT) development, entitled “Enabling Frameworks for ICT Development - The Singapore Experience”.
Singapore, 30 July 2007 | For Immediate Release
Singapore Shares ICT Development Experience
Senior ICT policy makers and regulators from developing countries are in Singapore to attend a five-day executive programme on information and communication technology (ICT) development, entitled “Enabling Frameworks for ICT Development - The Singapore Experience”.
The programme, offered by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), will provide an opportunity for participants from Asia Pacific, Africa and Arab States to study and analyse Singapore’s model as a means to catalyse ICT progress in their own countries. The participating countries include Bhutan, Brunei, Kenya, Kiribati, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
This follows an agreement reached between ITU and IDA in June 2007 to provide a training programme for senior ICT and telecom officials that would foster the development of ICT frameworks in their countries to enable fair, effective and sustainable competition in a multi-operator, multi-network environment.
The Executive Training Programme is one example of action taken to implement the ITU Regional Initiative on Telecommunication/ICT Policy and Regulatory Cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region, which was adopted by the 4th World Telecommunication Development Conference held in Doha, Qatar in 2006.
Liberalising The Telecom Sector
Participants will engage in an interactive learning experience led by practitioners from the IDA and featuring guest speakers from ITU and the ICT industry. They will learn about Singapore’s experience in ICT policy-making and regulating in a fully liberalised, multi-operator telecom sector. This includes covering topics like competition management, licensing frameworks, dispute resolution procedures and interconnection.The five-day programme, the first of a series, will be conducted at Singapore’s e-Government Leadership Centre. The programme aims to train at least 30 participants annually over the next three years.
“We appreciate IDA’s response to ITU’s call for cooperation through this Executive Training Programme,” said Mr Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “Singapore has one of the best regulatory models in the world, an experience which can be shared by other regulators. This is particularly relevant in developing countries, which are coping with a number of current policy and regulatory issues.”
Deputy Chief Executive and Director-General (Telecoms) of the IDA, Mr Leong Keng Thai said, “Singapore embarked on its ICT development journey 25 years ago, and ICT has contributed greatly to Singapore becoming the confluence of business, culture and advanced infrastructure today. We are truly pleased for this successful collaboration with ITU that allows us to share the Singapore model with developing countries and facilitate their efforts in harnessing ICT for economic and social growth. We look forward to conducting more of such sessions.”
During their stay, participants will get first-hand experience with Singapore’s recent ICT initiatives, such as Wireless@SG.
Wireless@SG is the Singapore Government's wireless broadband programme that aims to extend broadband access to all public places. Since its launch in December 2006, the Wireless@SG network has 3,400 hot spots spread across the island and 428,000 subscribers. It is part of the Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure that Singapore is building, which is expected to be completed by 2012 and will also comprise an ultra high-speed wired network.
ISSUED SIMULTANEOUSLY BY THE INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
AND THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
Related Link:
About ITU
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services. For more than 140 years, ITU has coordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and established the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems.ITU also organises worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums bringing together the most influential representatives of government and the telecommunications industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology for the benefit of the global community, and in particular the developing world.
From broadband internet to latest-generation wireless technologies, from aeronautical and maritime navigation to radio astronomy and satellite-based meteorology, from phone and fax services to TV broadcasting and next-generation networks, ITU continues to play a central role in helping the world communicate.
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is committed to growing Singapore into a dynamic global infocomm hub. IDA uses an integrated approach to developing infocommunications in Singapore. This involves nurturing a competitive telecoms market as well as a conducive business environment with programmes and schemes for both local and international companies. For more news and information, visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/.About Singapore e-Government Leadership Centre
The e-Government Leadership Centre was set up in August 2006 as a partnership of three key institutions in Singapore: IDA, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the Institute of Systems Science. It is an educational centre set up to provide executive development programmes to train leaders responsible for driving e-Government initiatives in their respective countries. See: www.egl.sgFor media clarification, please contact:
For ITU
Dr Kim Eun-Ju
ITU Regional Office (Bangkok)
Tel.: +662 574 8565/85 72/93 26
Fax: +662 574 93 28
Email: aspregion@itu.int
For IDA
Angeline TAN (Ms)
Assistant Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6211 0640
Fax: +65 6211 2227
Email: angeline_tan@imda.gov.sg
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