Policy Statement
Italy

Let me first thank and congratulate the Mexican Government and the ITU Secretariat for hosting and organising our Conference in Guadalajara.

Italy supports the ITU since its foundation and firmly believes in its mission devoted to bring the benefits of ICT to all and recognizes ITU’s ability to play this important role in a changing environment of continuing innovation. This ambitious purpose requires an effective coordination of shared objectives at international level, to develop strategies and integrated solutions, and win the challenges of media convergence and technological evolution.

We are all aware that the economic crisis requires a greater effort to avoid dispersion of resources and the ability to focus on some key issues that are deemed crucial to the future of ICT. Amongst them national and international strategies to overcome the digital divide, to avoid exclusion, to ensure the deployment of faster, more powerful broadband and ultra-broadband infrastructure. Italy is engaged at public and private level to extend the new advanced technologies, with the Government promoting the construction of a public, open access, technology neutral, interoperable broadband communications network enabling telecom operators to provide broadband services on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis.

Convergence is another key issue, as is the optimisation of radiospectrum use, where Italy is gaining a valuable experience - given the complexity of the situation on the ground - -  experience that we are ready to share with our partners within ITU and bilaterally in the formulation and implementation of national digitalisation plans. Standardisation is area where Italy have been and is contributing to some of the best success-stories of ITU.

Italy was very strongly in favour of the realisation in ITU of a Data Base of Emergency Frequency, and we are ready to assist Member States in the formulation and management of national emergencies plan, thanks to the good performance of our National Civil Protection Services and Humanitarian Assistance.

Cyber security is another crucial issue. The Secretary General of ITU has worked hard during this last four years, in a multi-stakeholder approach, to promote a safe cyberspace. Italian institutions and Companies have responded to his call for support, offering innovative and technologically advanced solutions. The Government considers of critical importance the issue of security and calls for a shared approach in the definition and implementation of adequate strategies.

Italy strongly believes that the development of ICT needs to be human-centered, allowing access to all in a free, user-friendly, competitive and secure cyberspace, with specific attention to those who are disadvantaged and in need of protection. We will keep it at the core of our action together with our partners of ITU and the Secretariat, investing human and financial resources in all the areas involved, promoting policies and the marketplace, investment and regulation, training and research in a shared effort, to make ICT freer, more robust, secure and accessible to all.

As regards the WSIS IGF process, Italy favours a fully representative approach to Internet governance, internationally inclusive and also ensuring that the countries facing challenges in terms of resources and language skills are enabled to take part; the global character of the Internet requires that all governments are in a position to fulfil the responsibility in relation to Internet governance and growth.

Our high-profile commitment in ITU is in the numbers of our financial contribution, one of the highest, to its budget and in the preparation of the strategic and financial plans for the period 2012-2015;  in the value of the Italian participation to the activities of the Union and new initiatives promoted by the Secretary-General, through experts and companies that provide their know-how in all the areas of competence of ITU.

Italy is ready to serve ITU in the new mandate and is grateful for your support to its candidatures at the Council and at the Radio Regulation Board.  We strongly believe in ICT is an essential enabling factor in improving  social and economic development and in making the people citizens of the world.

Thank you, Chairman