Sheffield, UK, August 08 2003 /The Wi-Fi Technology Forum/- The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is pleased to announce its sixth Regional Telecommunications Exhibition and Forum for Africa, ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004, to be held in Cairo, Egypt, from 3 to 8 May 2004.
The Forum at ITU TELECOM Africa 2004 will examine and discuss telecommunications policy, development, economic and investment issues, as well as their technology and applications aspects. The event will also include a Telecom Development Symposium (TDS) and a Youth Forum. Recognising the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in bringing about economic development, African leaders have identified telecommunications development as a high priority area. Many African countries have embarked on efforts to establish the necessary conditions for the deployment of efficient and affordable telecommunications networks, in particular, through policies that promote investment and competition in the sector. Nevertheless, with a total teledensity of 55 lines for every thousand people and an Internet penetration rate of only 8.5 users per thousand, the challenges facing Africa are enormous.
Despite these difficulties, advances in technology and the increasing affordability of telecommunications solutions continue to hold great promise for the development of telecommunications on the continent. Africa is poised for a rapid growth in mobile communications and Internet. Wireless technologies in particular are making a significant contribution in this respect. African countries now represent some of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world with the number of mobile users in some countries rapidly overtaking those using fixed-lines.
Conscious of the opportunities that new and affordable telecommunication technologies have brought about, the Forum at ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004 will focus on the following themes:
1. Creating successful business models
New infrastructure financing strategies
Case studies of successful business models
Attracting local and foreign investment
Promoting network diversity
2. Policy challenges
Has liberalization gone to far, or not far enough?
Is the African market large enough for facilities-based competion?
Local loop unbundling, collocation and rights of way
Interconnection
Licensing
Spectrum management
Regulatory independence and transparency
Promoting universal service
Infrastructure sharing
3. Appropriate technologies
Is Africa ready for broadband?
Do we still need fixed-line networks?
Voice over IP: Ban it, implement it or ignore it?
Wireless and satellite solutions
Third-generation mobile (3G) networks
4. Using ICTs to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals
Eradicating poverty
Extending access to education
Improving the lives of women and girls
Tackling urban problems
E-government
Improving healthcare
ICTs and job creation
Case studies of ICTs for Development
5. Africa and the world
Trade in telecommunications and the WTO
New regime in international communications
International Internet connectivity
Telecommunications development assistance
International and inter-regional cooperation
Please note that this is neither a comprehensive nor an exhaustive list and that all contributions focusing on the African telecommunication and ICT market will be considered.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS:
ALL ABSTRACTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT AND BE BASED ON CURRENT RESEARCH.
ABSTRACTS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DEADLINE WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REJECTED.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT
Instructions for WWW submission are available at the following URL
http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/TELECOM/scripts/forum/abstracts/call.for.abstracts?event=aft2004
Requests for assistance on submitting your abstract should be addressed to:
cfa.africa2004@itu.int
Authors who are not equipped to submit their abstracts via the WWW may send their contribution by e-mail or by mail (PC-formatted diskette) no later than : 18 August 2003 at midnight, Geneva time.
If you submit your abstract by email the following information is mandatory (otherwise your abstract cannot be accepted).
Author’s name:
Co-author(s):
Address
Company/organization
Telephone number:
email address
Title of the paper or presentation
Relevant topic (from the five broad areas listed above)
Three keywords (relating to the subject of the abstract)
Please note that there is no submission of abstracts for the Youth Forum.
AUTHOR SHOULD NOT SUBMIT MORE THAN ONE ABSTRACT
Authors are requested to submit a 500-word abstract of their proposed paper, or a 500-word description of their proposed tutorial, workshop or demonstration, along with a short professional biography (200 words maximum);
Companies or institutions are requested to coordinate their submissions of abstracts so that only one copy of each abstract is received by the ITU;
Contributions must be unpublished and based on original research, developments and approaches;
Contributions must be submitted in English or French;
Papers treating overtly commercial or military subjects will be rejected;
Papers on detailed theory and specific products or company presentations are outside the scope of the event and will be rejected;
For practical reasons the ITU will correspond only with the principal author according to the abstract form.
HOW YOUR ABSTRACT IS EVALUATED
All abstracts received are submitted for evaluation. The following criteria are used in the evaluation process:
CONTENT: does it reflect excellence of vision, research, approach etc.?
SCOPE: how well does the content address the specific needs of the region?
ORIGINALITY: does it provide a novel approach?
TIMELINESS: does it treat current ‘hot’ issues?
CLARITY: is the abstract structured in a way that would assure a clear on- site presentation?
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If, on the basis of your submitted abstract, you are selected to make a contribution to the ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004 Forum, you may be invited to participate in one of the following roles: Keynote Speaker, Speaker, Panelist, Moderator, Rapporteur or Workshop/Roundtable Participant.
Please note that only an invitation to act as a Keynote Speaker or Speaker will authorize a standard presentation of a full paper.
However, ALL participants will be invited to submit a full-length (5,000-6,000 words) paper in electronic format for publication in the Forum proceedings on the ITU TELECOM website, open to all registered Forum delegates, Forum participants and the press before the Forum on-line and to all participants afterwards.
Sales/product promotion papers will not be accepted.
Material must be original and previously unpublished.
International Telecommunication Union
ITU TELECOM
Place des Nations
CH – 1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 730 61 61
Fax: +41 22 730 64 44
E-mail: telecominf@itu.int
http://www.itu.int/itutelecom
Source: The International Telecommunication Union
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