INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
ITU WORKSHOP ON
Document: UNS/02
6 April 2005
UBIQUITOUS NETWORK SOCIETIES
Original: English
ITU NEW INITIATIVES PROGRAMME — 6-8 APRIL 2005
ROOM A, CENTRE DE CONFERENCES VAREMBE (CCV), GENEVA
OPENING REMARKS
PREPARED FOR MR. YOSHIO UTSUMI
ITU SECRETARY-GENERAL
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Colleagues,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this workshop on “Ubiquitous Network Societies”, hosted by the
International Telecommunication Union. This workshop is the fifteenth in the series of expert meetings
conducted under the ITU’s New Initiatives Programme. Thank you for coming to Geneva to participate in
this event.
The notion of “ ubiquitous communications” has been receiving increasing attention over the last two or
three years. No one can deny that technology has already permeated most aspects of human life. Mobile
phones and the Internet—the biggest success stories our industry has ever seen—are only the beginning. The
subsequent stage in "always on" communications seems to be the appearance of new ubiquitous technologies
and networks (such as RFID) that promise a world of networked and interconnected devices providing
relevant content and information to users whose location is no longer restricted. This is the vision of
communications “anywhere, anytime, by anything and anyone”.
In particular, the combination of broadband networks with next generation mobile services may emerge as
the key means for providing communication and monitoring capabilities to future users. Ubiquitous networks
are both “fixed” and “mobile”; allowing users to shift from one location to another in a seamless fashion.
The ubiquitous nature of information and communications will have a significant impact on the
telecommunication landscape and current business practices. Imagine a future in which not only people, but
also things, are connected and contactable. This is far from science fiction - the day is fast approaching when
virtually every item (from remote controls to razors) will be tracked using tiny radio transmitters, or tagged
with embedded hyperlinks. Moreover, a user’s ICT environment will no longer be dependent on location, but
universally available, through a wide variety of platforms. Technology (and network access) will become an
afterthought in our daily activities—an invisible part of them rather than an external tool. As the late Mark
Weiser said over ten years ago, these technologies will “weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life
until they are indistinguishable from it”.
Over the next couple of days, we will explore the technologies and applications that make this vision of a
ubiquitous network society possible. We will delve into the impact it will have on the telecom industry and
the evolution of business models. We will also survey the challenges ahead for policy-makers and the impact
of technological ubiquity on end-users, both as individuals and in society as a whole. We will explore the
future, with the opportunity to hear from many experts whose job it is to turn science fiction into fact.
While it may be tempting to focus only on the wonders of the new technology, we must also acknowledge
the need for consumer safeguards. It will be important to consider, for instance, how long service providers
should retain information about users’ calls, messages and location. And while tiny radio tags may be
helping retail businesses track inventory, it is crucial to discuss whether these will continue to be active after
purchase and if so, what kind of information will be collected and how it will be distributed.
The development of social norms is yet another sphere that demands attention. ICTs are meant to save us
time and to promote and facilitate intercommunication. But we should ask ourselves whether social practices
are developing hand-in-hand with technological development, and what policies may be required to
discourage the growth of any undesirable side-effects, such as a loss of privacy, or a sense of technological
alienation. It has often been argued that the beginning of a new technological development is the right time
to consider its effects, social and otherwise. New technologies ought to be studied early in this context, both
in national and international forums.
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To kick-off this workshop, and to inspire its discussions and deliberations, the ITU has prepared three
background papers. These thematic papers cover the following topics:
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The impact of ubiquitous ICTs on the traditional telecommunication industry,
Privacy and Ubiquitous Network Societies, and
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
In addition, a detailed website on ubiquitous networked societies has been created as a resource for our
membership. The website provides a portal to relevant information from around the world, including
country-specific information on the key themes of this workshop. We have also researched and posted a
series of case studies on Italy, Japan, Singapore and the Republic of Korea. I am sure that a detailed study of
these documents will serve to inspire, direct and enliven your discussions.
The main objective of the workshop is to serve as a forum for the exchange of information. To this end, it
will draw from international experience in the field of ubiquitous communications and their impact on
industry and society.
Indeed, we look to participants to provide guidance as to how regulators, policy-makers, operators,
technologists, journalists and individual citizens should respond to the challenges raised by the increasingly
pervasive, ubiquitous nature of information and communication technologies. It is expected that, during the
workshop, key areas for further international study and co-ordination will be identified. We hope to learn
how we can, as a society, better adapt to our rapidly evolving technological environment, thereby leading to
the development of the inclusive and people-centred information society of the future, as called for in the
Geneva Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society. This Workshop will also
help to prepare for the WSIS Thematic Meeting “Towards the realization of a ubiquitous network society”,
jointly organized by MIC Japan, ITU and United Nations University, to be held next month in Tokyo.
I wish you a stimulating and fruitful discussion over these next couple of days on what bears the mark of a
most challenging and fascinating topic. The success of this workshop depends on you, the participants.
Please do remember that this is meant to be an informal gathering of experts. You have been invited here in
an individual capacity, which should facilitate and encourage the free expression of your opinions.
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In order to help steer and guide our deliberations, we need a good chair – a particularly challenging role in
this multi-disciplinary setting. I would thus like to nominate Professor Robin Mansell of the London School
of Economics.
Professor Robin Mansell holds the Dixons Chair in New Media and the Internet in the
Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and
Political Science. Her research is concerned with the social, economic and policy
issues arising from innovations in information and communication technologies. She is
particularly interested in issues of governance of the new media and in measures to
achieve improved coordination of policy institutions. Her most recent book is Trust and
Crime in Information Societies (editor/contributor, Edward Elgar Publishers, 2005).
I hope you will join me in welcoming Professor Mansell to chair the meeting.