Telecommunications
Broadband issues to dominate PTC
Global Broadband/Global Challenges”—That’s the theme of this year’s 25th annual five-day Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) conference, which gets underway in Honolulu on January 19.
PTC president, Hansuk Kim says the continued growth of the Internet and broadband, both wireline and wireless, has been the most upbeat development over the past year in the area of telecommunications.
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Although Asia is seen as the hub of much of this amplification of the Internet, the Pacific region also has a lot of interest in broadband issues.
The Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) manager, Fred Christopher says broadband issues are equally pertinent for small Pacific Islands countries even though “our bandwidth is currently limited”.
High cost and insufficient available capacity (satellite) are challenges that the islands face in their quest to get a bite of the superhighway deal.
“It’s crucial because it allows capacity for growth, now that the region is focusing on tourism, for instance,” Christopher said.
“Broadband is the solution. It provides more opportunities for the region such as online marketing.”
It is the norm for PITA’s discussion sessions at PTC (www.ptc.org/ptc2003) meetings to hinge on PTC themes.
The Roundtable One sitting is devoted to the Pacific-Broadband and Universal Service: Complimentary Goals for Small Islands States in the Information Age.
There is also a session titled “The Pacific Islands and the Economic Viability Challenge.”
PTC 2003 will be held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawai’i.
Here’s an outline of the PITA programme at the PTC 2003:
January 18: Members Meeting
Morning: from 9am
* Administrative affairs
* Regional reports
* Growing telecom business issues.
Afternoon:
* Commercial presentations
January 19
Morning
* PTC 2003 Registrations
Afternoon: 1pm-3:30pm RTB
* PITA Rountable-Broadband & Universal service: Complimentary Goals for small islands states in the information age.
January 21:
Morning: 10:30am-12pm
* PITA-managed session T 2.1 - The Pacific Islands and the Economic Visibility Challenge.
