Opening a day of intense collaborative debate on how connected technologies can and should shape the future of urban living for the good of city-dwellers the world over, the Digital Cities conference began by examining what is meant by a smart city, and how public, private and NGO sectors need to work together to foster its development.

 Presenting an overview of the different perspectives of key stakeholders in next-generation city life, the panel itself both reflected the diversity of interest groups involved and the imperative for partnership between them: Gabrielle Gauthey of Alcatel-Lucent, Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU, Weiguo Ma, Vice Director of Datang Telecom and Peter Pitsch of Intel from the private sector, plus Dr. Seang-tae Kim of the National Information Society of Korea from the public sector and Mrs Suvi Linden, envoy to the Broadband Commission, speaking for the voluntary and NGO sector.

 Half of the world's population are already city-dwellers, and the trend towards increased urbanization is accelerating rapidly. The future of the majority of the world's citizens is undeniably urban - 70% will live in cities by 2050 - but how exactly that city of tomorrow will look, and how smart living will be implemented and experienced remains largely uncertain.  

 Mr Zhao and his fellow panellists speculated on the advantages of smarter living in the application of the transformative power of next-generation networks, services and applications to all areas of city life. Public transport will become more efficient and predictable, cars will drive and park themselves, carbon emissions will be reduced as electric vehicles replace current models; and houses will be energy-efficient, with self-cleaning carbon-neutral buildings tapping into an array of renewable energy sources and sending power back to the smart grid.

 Smart cities will be green cities, Mrs Gauthey said, with e-generators routing power efficiently in response to demand "allowing real-time interactive exchange of information with customers and reducing carbon emissions by 27%", tele- and video-conferencing replacing business travel and electrical appliances automatically switching off in response to demand. Smart healthcare and home automation will offer higher quality health care and enable elderly people to stay at home; smart governance will reduce costs whilst increasing safety and efficiency.

 The limits of smart applications are the limits of our imaginations as citizens of the future digital city, as Mr Wei noted, with personal health applications fixed to clothes or beneath the skin sending back constant streams of data to medical centres and providing for real-time alerts or diagnoses; biometric identity devices, always-on mobile access to social networks, and people-to-object digital connections. Smart education will empower the educationally disenfranchised through e-learning and m-education; devices and services targeted at the elderly and disabled will increase inclusion.

 This will only be possible through digital inclusion, according to Mrs Linden, which is dependent upon the cooperation of NGOs and volunteers with public services, demonstrating the use and application of products and services to groups such as the elderly who are often digitally excluded.

 Appealing to the leaders and decision makers currently in power, Mrs Gauthey called for modesty with respect to imagining a future that will be shaped and lived in by younger generations in ways we cannot yet imagine.

 Turning even the digital dreams of today into reality, not just in the privileged developed world but also in the developing world, is clearly dependent on one critical element, however, summed up by Mr Zhao: "I believe we will succeed in making cities better to live in because we have the power of ICT on our side"- in the form of ubiquitous broadband access.

 Ubiquitous, universal broadband access can be achieved in a number of ways:  through spectrum management to free up  this ever scarcer resource in an increasingly data- and video-hungry mobile world, or the creation of a new investment model based on infrastructure-sharing; or next-generation wireless technologies. The early collaboration of all stakeholders, from industry, government, regulators, urban planners, research companies and civic society alike is vital.

 For Peter Pitsch, "the city is essentially a form of cooperation, in that alone we can do nothing completely, but together we do, make and accomplish anything". As discussions, debates, sharing of case studies, collaborative thinking and knowledge exchange continued throughout the Digital Cities day, the importance of cooperation and partnership between all stakeholders in the digital dream became increasingly central.

 For many consumers, in the developed markets of the west in particular, social media is viewed as a trivial distraction. However, recent events such as political uprisings in Egypt and the Middle East and natural disasters such as the catastrophic earthquake in Japan earlier this year, prove that social media channels can be a genuine and powerful force for good.

 Dr A Reza Jafari, the Chairman and CEO of e-Development International, chaired the forum session, The Perfect Storm, on day two of ITU Telecom World 2011, proving attendees with a firsthand account of events in Egypt and Japan from H.E. Dr Mohamed Salem Minister of Communications, Egypt and Satoshi Miura, CEO, Japanese carrier NTT.

 "The former dictator in Egypt had a saying 'let them say what I want, but I will do what I want'. This caused major frustration among the people," said Dr Mohamed. "People turned to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter - the regime did not understand social media until it was too late. The regime tried to cut the communications means on the internet and this was the straw that broke the animal's back."

 Subsequent events in Egypt are well documented, of course, and the number of Facebook users in that country has increased from six to ten million in six months. All of the government ministers are now using Facebook, explained Dr Mohamed.

 In Japan, events were somewhat different. In March the world witnessed a chain reaction from the earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdowns and power outages that brought chaos to the economic powerhouse Japan. About 400 base stations or nodes were sucked away by the tsunami meaning there was a time when even social media could not work. NTT also saw massive surges in traffic as people tried to call loved ones, unfortunately the surge meant NTT needed to restrict flow to protect the network, so people wanting to make phone calls could not always get through. Circuit switching was hit harder than packet switching, meaning data traffic was more reliable.

 "As the national carrier, NTT made an effort to repair services as quickly as possible this was done by end of April. ICT was vital to this rapid recovery," said Satoshi Miura. "Social media played a key role sharing updates quickly and it enabled collaboration. But we also saw information being distorted by person to person. There was good and bad, and we were also confronted my limitations of social media. It was hard to find information due to that fact that there was too much information.

 "We soon realised we rely on networks every day as well as emergencies. We could not use social media where the infrastructure was down, so we need to develop resistant networks. ICT needs to be even more integrated into society. When I visited disaster areas I saw problems that could have been avoided by ICT. Finally, the more social media becomes widespread the more it increases its influence."

 Also sharing the stage was Juliana Rotich, CEO, Ushahidi was on hand to explain how the open source platform she helped establish in Kenya to help share local news via mobile become a vital help in technically advanced Japan. "Ushahidi was developed openly to enable collaboration. Now it is available in 16 different languages. People want to help, they want to assist. You can donate money, but what else can you do We had people translating into Japanese after the earthquake. This was done by the community in Japan with virtual support. We are interconnecting the goodness of people, the cognitive surplus."

 Finally, Florie Brizel, CEO, Brizel Media explained how she sees mobile communications as a new social science, not just an engineering science and that her view is shared by many other academics across the globe.

"I have been looking at mobile not as a technology, but as a driver of profound change and innovation. I am looking to establish a new social science, 'mobilology', it is not a technology but a social science, since it affects, education, entertainment, economics, healthcare. I would like to see academics around the world create a matrix of cross cultural influences due to globalisation," she said.

 A wide and varied selection of panellists took to the stage on day two of ITU Telecom World 2011 to discuss further one of the key themes of the event, the delivery of broadband connectivity on the move. Brahima Sanou, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, chaired a group of seven individuals with strong experiences and opinions during the Forum session Connected on the Move.

 Perhaps it was no coincidence then that one of the key challenges identified by Brahima Sanou at the outset was that of how to bring so many stakeholders together. "The issues must be addressed by policy makers, regulators and service providers. It is a multi-stakeholder issue and needs to be solved by multiple stakeholders," he noted.

 Affordability, he said, is dropping pointing to recent ITU findings that show the cost of connecting to the Internet dropped by 52% between 2008 and 2010. "But the prices are still more than the average income in some 33 countries worldwide for mobile broadband. How can we make it more affordable and how do we create incentives for investment"

 Echoing these concerns was Christopher Mulley, Principle Business Consultant, ZTE who pointed out that telecoms equipment providers, such as ZTE, have a major role to play in lowering investment cost of mobile broadband throughout the world. "We're developing technology and equipment that enables mobile network operators to reduce total cost of ownership in their networks. We look at network architectures, so in the radio access network and consider using a more centralised management of the baseband, we're looking to eliminate power consuming feature and bring down power consumption to improve efficiencies."

 Staying with technology, was John Finney, executive VP of innovative service provider O3b. His company aims to connect 'the other three billion' via the use of satellite communications where fibre is simply too expensive or challenging to deploy. Making satellite an affordable alternative would rely on a range of hurdles being overcome. "We're aiming to slash the price of satellite connections around the world where fibre fears to trench. Our core of the mission is the democratization of the internet since we believe access to information is a fundamental global right."

 Large geographies can be overcome with satellite communications of course. Two service providers on the panel, Mr Amaru Chavez, Pujol, Group CTO Etisalat and Nikolaenko Oleg, Director of Intersectoral Projects Department, OJSC 'Megafon', outlined how difficult it was for carriers with large footprints to achieve widespread coverage.

 Etisalat's challenge is faced by the diversity of its operations with cover 18 different countries covered. Whereas Megafon has just one country to worry about, but it is the biggest in the world - a challenge compounded by the fact that its population density is one of the lowest. Megafon recently benefitted from a 50% investment (on a Euro100 million project) to provide connectivity into remote areas showing PPP initiatives are a key part of the financial mix. For Etisalat, coverage is not an issue in the RAN, but due to the rapid uptake of smartphones and tablets, congestion in the backhaul has become one of the burning issues.

 Beating the governmental drum was Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer, GSMA and also Robert Pepper VP global technology, Cisco. The former highlighted how much of a problem tax can be in some countries where it can sometimes account for up to 60% of the cost of connectivity. Additionally, he argued that governments need to act responsibly in licensing spectrum. Recognising the fact that radio spectrum is an important sovereign asset, Tom Phillips warned against trying to derive so much revenue out of spectrum that it would make investment unattractive.

 With a lack of available spectrum being one of the main inhibitors for the uptake of mobile broadband,  Cisco's Robert Pepper suggested that the telecoms community must be much more aggressive with broadcaster in demanding equitable access to valuable spectrum.

 The final challenge to overcome in the uptake of mobile broadband was that of awareness, argued Ernest CA Ndukwe former regulator and chairman, Openmedia Group. "We need to raise awareness about how important broadband is. Those messages need to get to the leaders, especially in developing countries. There is still a debate about where the money will come from, either subsidised, tax breaks or incentives. In many countries the service is not available even though people can pay for them. Many leaders require awareness creation - this is critical - to catalyse development of the economy."

 ICTs and climate change were the subject of  the second Ministerial Roundtable at ITU Telecom World 2011 which brought together Ministers from countries across the world including from Bangladesh, H.E. Dr Mohamed Abdel Kader Mohamed Salem, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) Egypt, H.E. Mrs Jasna Matic, State Secretary for Digital Agenda, Ministry of Culture, Media and Information Society Serbia, H.E. Mr Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Uganda, H.E. Mr Radhakrishna Padayachie, Minister of Communications South Africa, and the Hon. Eng.  Philip  Okundi,  Chairman, Communications Commission of Kenya  and H.E. Mr Salifou Lao Bouché, Minister of Communication and New  Technologies & Information, Niger to share thoughts on issues and strategies relating to the role of ICTs in climate change.

 Introducing the session, ITU Deputy Secretary General, Mr Houlin Zhao highlighted the crucial role of ICTs in reducing, monitoring, mediating and responding to the effects of climate change, noting that "Business as usual is no longer an option if we want to ensure the right approach for our planet," and that ICTs need to be part of the solution.

 Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) appear to be driving climate change, hence the need to urgently reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. A clear message from today's session was that here, developing countries must face the consequences of their actions. Developing countries, noted  Minister Rugunda, and H.E Mrs Jasna Matic, did not contribute to the cause of greenhouse gas emission, but are being forced to face up to its unwanted consequences. Minister Rugunda called for international action which would put pressure the developing world who are "squarely responsible for the highest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, where developing countries face the floods, hunger and starvation," to come and help and support developing countries deal with these issues.

 Recycling and disposing of e-waste is a major concern particularly given the rapid increase in ICT uptake worldwide. Don't use developing countries as a dumping ground for obsolete technologies noted a number of Ministers, including from Serbia, Bangladesh and Uganda, with Uganda warning of the "danger" that they face as a potential dumping ground for old and obsolete technology, and calling for increased international cooperation and assistance on this issue. Minister Matic of Serbia noted that although the choice not always easy , developed countries must avoid "offloading their dirty and bad technologies onto developing countries."

 Some other core issues faced by developing countries were highlighted during the session, with Bangladesh, Niger and Uganda outlining the importance of technologies such as solar power in providing connectivity to their populations, and drawing on their own experience of utilizing the technology.

 Ministers also cited the need for increased international cooperation and collaboration, thanking the ITU for the important role it was playing in helping facilitate this.

  In the first of a new style of Forum sessions, six industry experts shared short stories of successful approaches to innovation in the real world, offering dynamic examples of sustained or localised change within government and corporate bodies, before opening the floor up to questions from the audiences both online and on-site.

 Constant and integrated innovation may be the key to moving forward in today's fast-moving and at times unpredictable marketplace, but achieving the right conditions, culture and corporate structure to implement innovation, particularly within large, traditionally-configured companies and organisations, is at times far from straight forward.

 Citing the example of Edison, who created and discarded 10,000 trial versions before successfully finalising the revolution that was the electric light bulb, session moderator Morgan Holt of Wolf Ollins, stressed five core behaviours necessary for effective innovation: being connected  to the outside world to enable the creation of useful , user-relevant products and services; corporate social responsibility; the willingness to go beyond internal hierarchies and boundaries; understanding that being experimental often involves a high failure rate; and focusing on adding value to existing core business.

 Establishing the right corporate culture to foster innovation was a central theme to many of the stories told. "Thinking of new ideas and radical solutions, and showcasing that with real innovations for our technology is a true discipline", said Anuraj Gambhir, Innovation Evangelist at Steadworks, one which depends upon the right mind set to inspire, monitor and reward.

 Getting it right, and getting it right soon, may be particularly important to successfully exploit as yet untapped market niches such one identified by Dan Salmons, CEO of What if: the intersection between mobile and money, where the slower-moving, more traditional financial services model is coming face-to-face with the quickly-evolving, innovative mobile sector.

 The single most important factor in bringing about innovation was universally recognised as leadership - "evangelical leadership" to use the phrase of Dan Salmons. Sharing her success in bringing a digital strategy to regional politics by engaging with a new public (and the old public in a new way) through social media, Elizabeth Lloyd, Head of Media at the Scottish National Party, focused on the need for a successful leader or moderator: "To turn the tanker, you need someone at the wheel".

 The message is clear: be it the chair of a forum session here in Geneva, the moderator of an online discussion or Dr Toure at the wheel of the ITU, leadership is fundamental to change.

 Radio frequency spectrum is a precious and vital resource. Every wireless technology depends on it and governments continue to allocate this valuable commodity in response to the competing needs of different users. But space in the airwaves is getting increasingly scarce. This session convened participants spanning regulators from Switzerland and Germany and the DVB (European Broadcasting Union), with Alcatel-Lucent, RIM and Qualcomm providing perspectives from the industry.

 The panel addressed core issues relating to the scarcity of spectrum, noting the need to ascertain exactly who is using what, and if it is efficiently used. Mrs Elizabeth Migwalla, Senior Director, South Africa Government Affairs, Qualcomm International asked "Are we using what we have effectively and efficiently". The panel responded to questions from the floor on issues such as "what happens when the Internet runs out of spectrum" - a question tweeted from the metaconference from the children following the event, which prompted a debate on how, according to DVB's Phil Laven, most internet is not delivered by spectrum and over wireless but down cables. Members of the panel voiced concerns over unrealistic consumer expectations that "everyone can have a tablet to watch tv on demand, on wireless" noting that transferring everything onto wireless would not be feasible, and could cause spectrum to run out in 10 years time.  Solutions proposed by the panel included having other ways of watching on demand, such as hard disc recorders or utilizing fixed networks where possible, extending this by using technologies such as wifi.

 On the topic of military spectrum use, the panel noted its importance as well as the need for spectrum for emergency and aeronautical services. Phil Laven of the DVB called for a "truly dynamic use of spectrum from minute to minute and hour to hour" which indicated exactly which frequency was free at what hour, to help mitigate the scarcity issue.

 The question was raised of how developing countries who might not have infrastructure on the ground can balance the need to allocate spectrum and the time it takes to do so with the cost of building out the required quantity infrastructure in time and within budget in order to meet the expected data tsunami in 2020, with the panel pointing to sharing infrastructure as a solution. Alcatel-Lucent's Gabrielle Gauthey cited examples of rural areas where no duplicate networks exist and where stakeholders are increasingly agreeing to share costs, access and even spectrum. Mr Marc Furrer, President, Swiss Federal Communications Commission asked "Do we need 4 or 5 operators to build parallel networks- surely it is better to just build one network and offer competition on services to help cut costs."

 "In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too), those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed," is the Charles Darwin quote that AT&T's VP International External Affairs, Eric Loeb, used in summing up developments in the evolution of ICT eco-systems while speaking at Forum Changing Ecosystems. It is a sentiment that has come up time and again at ITU Telecom World 2011.

 "Significant changes are coming from the traditional telecoms environment, including how people communicate, how they pay, how they work together," said Eric Loeb. "Two-way traditional, voice and email now co-exists with social media that enables many to many communications. It is not always supplemental, it is sometimes an alternative. Service providers need to be agile and forward-looking in terms of the platforms they provide. The policy maker also needs to look at this with a new lens."

 Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter described what he sees as a virtuous circle that exists between service providers, infrastructure and device manufacturers, and application developers,  a circle that drives innovation, revenue creation and investment.

 He described four key trends he sees that are driving the virtuous circle: "The steady revolution of man's interaction with machine and the permanent search to make interaction easy; mobility which has democratized knowledge sharing; the integration of the TV world;and virtualisation of storage."

 There is no doubt that e-government, the provision of advanced government solutions and services electronically, is strategically desirable for governments throughout the world. The challenges inherent in implementing the concepts and frameworks of e-government formed the topic for one of the key Technical Symposium sessions taking place today in Geneva.

 These challenges range from the physical to the technical, legal and political. Establishing broadband infrastructure is fundamental, as without a broadband backbone, there can be no e-government. Once this is in place, quality of service assurances need to be put in place to ensure sufficient capacity and the ability to prioritize spectrum for public service usage; the privacy and security of governments and citizens alike must be ensured; technical and organisational interoperability factored in - and legislation in the wider political sense.

 Mr Alan Horne, the Telecoms Regulator of Vanuatu, shared his valuable experience in rolling out broadband network to enable ICT connectivity for all in the face of challenges familiar to many others in the developing world. Vast geographical distances, low teledensity, remote populations and limited education, transport and electricity services were complicating factors. The solutions to successful broadband deployment in Vanuatu include market liberalisation, stimulating competition in urban areas and drawing from the universal access fund to subsidise rural and remote take-up. Broadband services are supplied through a mix of satellite, mobile, Wifi, ADSL and submarine cable.

 Echoing the comments heard elsewhere within the Technical Symposium and at ITU Telecom World 2011 as a whole, Mr Horne stressed the need for government and private sector partnership, with the government providing "the drive and the vision", in addition to the last-mile connectivity in remote areas on networks built out by private investment. He noted the importance of concession funding through the universal access policy fund to roll out networks in under-served areas, remarking that, "In terms of economics, we can't justify roll-out right now, but I am looking forward to seeing the socio-economic growth when connected", in particular in terms of education, allowing equal rights to "grey matter in Vanuatu as much as in New York or Europe".

 Once a broadband infrastructure is in place - in the case of Vanuatu, with a private government network connected to the commercial networks - issues of public safety and interoperability become important. Sharing a case study of public safety nationwide broadband network from the -USA, Suresh Borkar of the Illinois Institute of Technology saw next-generation wireless with LTE and Enhanced Packet Core Solution as the key to a dedicated safety network allowing public and commercial users to share increasingly spectrum.

 Sharing spectrum enables maximum exploitation of capacity that might otherwise lie redundant, but must be managed appropriately to allow priority to public safety users such as firefighters and police in emergency situations. Private and public sector partnership, one of the key themes of this year's event, is essential in schemes such as this, where radio access network resources are shared to the benefit of both parties. But private sector expertise and investment is also necessary to ensure government operability frameworks are in place in both commercial and technical contexts. Partnerships are crucial to e government in developed and developing nations alike.

 Video views from CEOs, Ministers and key stakeholders

 Speaking in today's video interviews on issues central to the future of ICT,  Ministers, CEOs and leading industry figures discuss deliver their key messages from ITU Telecom World 2011.

• H.E. Mr Moussa Benhamidi,  Minister of Post,  Information Technology and Communication, Algeria talks on cybersecurity
• Mr Gift Buthelezi, Deputy Director General of Communication in South Africa, discusses national broadband initiatives
• H.E. Mr Sergey Nesterovich,  Deputy Minister of Communications and Information, Belarus, on his country's digital migration
• Mr John Davies, Vice President of World Ahead, Intel,  discusses equitable universal access
• Mr Ryuji Yamada, President and CEO of NTT DOCOMO  talks about smarter living
• Mr Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister of Communications in South Africa, on hosting the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference in Durban
• H.E. Mr Joel Kaapanda, Minister of Communication and Information Technology in Namibia, talks about extending connectivity to rural areas
• Mr Bob Kahn, President and CEO of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives discusses identity management
• Mr Wim Elfrink, Executive Vice President of Cisco, contributes to the discussion on smarter cities

 Working together towards 2015, governments, private sector, civil society and international organizations are striving to ensure that ICTs play a significant role in achieving not only the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) goals but also other internationally agreed goals and processes like the MDGs, UN Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20) amongst others.

 There has been considerable progress in the implementation of the WSIS goals worldwide. ITU has played a key role in the WSIS Process since its inception, and has led the implementation of several WSIS activities, particularly in the area of ICT Infrastructure, cybersecurity and enabling environment.

 During ITU Telecom World 2011, the ITU recognized the commitment of WSIS Stakeholders towards strengthening the Implementation of the WSIS Related Activities by honouring countries that have contributed to the ITUs WSIS Fund in Trust. Certificates of Recognition were awarded to United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sultanate of Oman, Republic of Paraguay, Republic of Zimbabwe, Belgium- Liege, United Mexican States and Republic of Tanzania. Contribution of the Private Sector partners to the WSIS process in particular , Intel, was also recognized during this ceremony.

 Nearly 1,000 of our 10,000 ITU Telecom World 2011 students joined at some point today to challenge, provoke and ask questions of the expert panels in Palexpo, Geneva. Highlights of the past 24 hours include teens in Indonesia probing the potential of smartphones to become heart monitors, peers in an Ohio High School asking if video games could provide a mind-engaging prevention tool for Alzheimers and Grader 6s from Poughkeepsie asking leading futurists what the life of a nine year old will look like when they're nineteen.

 Key to this is not simply that the MetaConference has expanded the audience of the VIPs and Ministers - young people aged 8-18 are setting the agendas. In a debate about the ever-increasing challenges of opening up Spectrum, it was a question from #world11kids that kicked it off and set the tone for the first third of the debate: what will happen to us when the internet runs out Many of the students' own ideas on solving these fundamental challenges can be read, viewed or heard on the MetaConference website: http://world2011.us

 Beginning tonight, key speakers are responding on YouTube to even more questions co-created between the ITU team and our class of 10,000 across every continent. Tune in from 9pm Geneva time on youtube.com/itutelecommunication and look for the MetaConference playlist

 After 36 hours of intensive design thinking and workshops with the ITU's innovation competition, our 60 young innovators, geeks and not-for-profits can now be seen online, delivering their investment pitches on the ITU YouTube channel. Young Innovators (http://www.youtube.com/itutelecommunication#g/c/9AC007DA3D2D904B) and Not-for-Profits (http://www.youtube.com/itutelecommunication#g/c/C7ABF6EA80F7F7F2) are seeking your views to count towards the jury's decision tomorrow afternoon. Get online now to see how the next generation of innovators are looking to solve key challenges in their regions and worldwide.

 Adeya, the Swiss mobile security company, has announced today that its Adeya for Voice and Adeya for Data encryption solutions are ready for the new generation of BlackBerry smartphones.

 These solutions guarantee secure voice, data transmission and messaging over all wireless public networks, including WiFi, EDGE, 2G, 3G, and satellite.

 The security community has known for years that mobile communications are at risk what has changed recently is the ease with which such hacking can take place. GSM calls can be intercepted using consumer--‐level equipment costing less than $5'000 with freely available software. This will mean that mobile phone security is no longer just a problem for celebrities and chief executives: anyone whose personal information could have a cash value is at risk. And, as people increasingly use their smartphones as an extension of their office, the risk to our financial and personal information will only grow.

 "Adeya is a software solution that installs in minutes on unmodified mobile devices," said Leo Bolchanine, founder and CTO. "It provides an end--‐to--‐end security layer, ensuring voice and data privacy using the proven public encryption standard, AES--‐256. We strongly believe in open standards, not proprietary algorithms, because they are rigorously tested by the security community. AES--‐256 is shown not to be breakable in practical use."

 Of the many issues discussed at ITU Telecom World 2011 few if any can be as universally emotive as child protection. In Workspace #2 a group of World 2011 delegates took part in a workshop to discuss how best the ICT community can join together for this vital cause.

 The session opened with an introduction from Ms Deborah Taylor Tate, ITU COP Special Envoy. Ms Tate set the context for the session before introducing a video message from H.E. Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica. This welcome message clearly illustrated the priority that this country gives to the issue of online child protection and the need for public/private partnerships to develop solutions into the future.

 Mr Alejandro Cruz, Minister for Science and Technology, Costa Rica, Mr Philip Victor, Director Training, Skills and Development Outreach, IMPACT and Ms Susie Hendrie, Direcotr of Public Policy, GSMA then summarized on the issue.

The Secretary General, Dr Hamadoun Touré then gave his own welcome to the attendees and delivered an impassioned address illustrating:

 The original opposition that there was to the development of Child Online Protection (COP) from cultures, religions, industry bodies  etc

The key issue of parental guidance and basic education for their children

The Champions around the world involved in COP

The levels of trust that we need to give to our Children

The common denominator that we all share - our Children

The concept that the framework that will protect children will also be able to work for issues

Global nature of this issue requires a global solution and awareness/involvement of all parties

 The feedback/output was as follows:

• 1. Agree on a global standardization of 'what is child exploitation'
• 2. Gather and share best practices from around the world into one place, one forum at one time
• 3. The need for Education - this fell into a number of areas:
• 4. Parents. How to create awareness and education for parents. What tools and 'training' can parents be given/have access to that will enable them to then educate and involve their children. Agreed by most groups that Parents have the primary responsibility.
• 5. Children. How to involve and educate children with the issues. Use National Curriculum Need smarter kids. Better Codes of conduct.
• 6. Cybersecurity. How to improve Greater collaboration between agencies, Interpol, ITU etc. Challenge of using tech to solve the issues (eg Firewall approach would not work in many countries)
• 7. Are there some issues of regulation that would ensure safer environment // to Nuclear industry which accepts some restrictions in the interest of greater good
• 8. Create Children's Conference -online forum and live event(s) that would achieve the following:
• Bring together the global perspective of Children across all technologies
• Give Children a say on shaping their future
• Bring together all levels
• Share best practice

 The world's first Broadband Forum certified G-PON products were announced today at ITU Telecom World 2011 in Geneva. The seven vendors whose products have achieved the first G-PON certifications are: Alcatel-Lucent, Broadlight, Cambridge Industries Group, Huawei, PMC-Sierra, PT Inovacao and Tecom. The Global Registry of certified products is available on the Broadband Forum website.

 The Broadband Forum G-PON Certification Program verifies the conformance of G-PON products and their adherence to the ITU-T G-PON standard and to Broadband Forum specifications.

 Robin Mersh, CEO of Broadband Forum, said: "This robust compliance certification programme is the bedrock on which to expedite interoperability and fibre market penetration. It will ensure strong future network development for superfast broadband. We have today taken an important step for vendors and for their service provider customers."

 As G-PON becomes increasingly the choice for high bandwidth and multiple broadband services, manufacturers and service providers are already looking beyond the current generation to new architectures with XG-PON and more. The advent of certification will provide the breakthrough step in accelerating deployment now and creating the platform for future-proof development in new fiber networks.

 Malcolm Johnson, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU, commented: "We welcome and applaud BBF's G-PON certification programme. Conformity to ITU's internationally agreed standards will foster an environment where service providers can pick and choose equipment from a variety of vendors, and will greatly increase the probability of interoperability. This will increase competition and bring down costs... something especially important in developing countries."