'Open digital opportunities via innovation sharing'

International delegates to ITU's 12th Global Symposium for Regulators recognised the enormous potential of cloud computing for promoting wider, lower-cost access to information and communication technology (ICT), while stressing the importance of close collaboration between governments, industry and consumer groups in promoting data security and privacy and greater confidence in cloud services.

The annual regulatory meeting, which welcomed 446 participants from almost 100 countries, sought to forge a common vision around strategies to promote digital opportunities through new broadband-based platforms, while getting to grips with the often complex regulatory implications of cloud-based service provision.

At the close of the final session yesterday, delegates endorsed a set of regulatory best practice guidelines designed to provide a framework for innovation, investment and competition in cloud infrastructure and services while at the same time ensuring protection of consumer interests.

They also emphasised the benefits of innovative infrastructure sharing models based on public-private partnership in driving broadband roll-out in emerging markets and developing countries.

Ubiquitous broadband was recognised as the essential platform for the growth ofcloud services which, by combining low costs and global scalability, can generate substantial economic returns and improved efficiency for government, businesses and individuals. Successful innovations at this year's symposium included a two-day Global Regulators-Industry Dialogue (GRID) and a pre-event day featuring specialised side meetings, including sessions organised by the International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (ITSO) and by the GSMA, as well as an exclusive meeting of Chief Regulatory Officers (CROs) from the private sector. Speaking to GRID delegates on Wednesday, ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) director Rahima Sanou said the key to the success of this new component lay in its unique ability to promote open dialogue and facilitate contact between top decision makers working in a very specialised field on both sides of the market - government and industry.

In his closing remarks to delegates on Thursday, Sanou said the positive response to this year's GSR confirmed the event's continuing relevance to those whose decisions shape today's and tomorrow's global ICT markets, and affirmed ITU's central role as a platform for sharing knowledge and building consensus among an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders.