Telecommunication leaders at a UN-sponsored conference said Tuesday a collaborative approach is necessary for building stronger broadband infrastructure network to accelerate growth in the developing nations.
The leaders also urged governments and regulators to turn their focus on sectors like health, education, agriculture and financial service through use of information technology as countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh are thriving for sustainable growth.
The call came at the opening session of the ITU Telecom World 2013 being held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN body, has organised the high-profile summit at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani conference centre.
The four-day summit that ends tomorrow (Friday) would discuss issues such as building cyber security capabilities in the developing world; social and mobile app world; and convergence of regulations.
The leaders said social change is becoming complex day by day, so the mobile communication industry should embrace the changes by transforming its business from mere mobile communication to other services that impact people's lives in a greater way.
Information and Communication Minister of Thailand Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap inaugurated the event with Chairman of the ITU Telecom Board Dr A Reza Jafari conducting the opening event as the chairman of the forum conservation.
President and CEO of Telenor Group, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Vice President of Intel World Ahead Program, USA, John E Davies, CEO of Ooredoo, Qatar Dr Nasser Marafih and Secretary General of ITU Dr Hamadoun I Toure were the panelists in the event.
The president and CEO of Telenor Group, which runs the largest cellular phone operator Grameenphone in Bangladesh, said that telecom operators should build a "sustainable business model" that would attract more and more customers who are hungry to have local contents as more countries in Asia have recently issued licences for 3G (third generation).
He said the companies must evolve around local contents for their growth and security of their investment.
"Local contents will play a tremendous role in the sector in the coming years," he said drawing attention of his competitors as well as regulators.
Agreeing with Baksaas, other leaders said telecommunication companies even need to collaborate with competitors by the way of sharing some infrastructures to ensure "affordability" of their businesses.
Baksaas mentioned about Grameenphone's success in rural Bangladesh that began with issuance of the now-dissolved Palli phone for rural women.
He said that was the triggering point for the growth and the demand for getting information through mobile phone services is increasingly growing in rural Bangladesh, which has more than 110 million subscribers.
Dr Hamadoun I Toure said flexible regulatory measures could ensure right environment for the growth of the telecom sector as "changes are taking place too fast".
"This is interesting that technology has always been ahead of regulation," he said.
He urged the regulators in developing countries to see information technology and broadband as a tool for other sectors' growth. "Governments in developing nations should now push hard for the development of services like e-health and e-education," he said.
About cheaper frequencies, the ITU secretary general said they do not call for free frequencies but a reasonable price so it does not become a burden for investors.
John E Davies said that the operators should change the business model and accommodate it with the current trend to enjoy benefits of the broadband.
Dr Nasser Marafih said infrastructure for broadband connectivity is the big challenge to connect the unconnected people. His company is planning to roll out 3G services directly in Myanmar.
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