A PTC’07 Report
by: Stephanie Rolfe

[Editor’s note: In addition to the review provided in the February Members Bulletin by Trisha Lin, another graduate student, Stephanie Rolfe, has contributed the following report that takes a look at the value of the PTC’07 conference for her research focused on the Pacific Islands.]

I am a student in the Communication and Information Sciences (CIS) PhD program at the University of Hawaii.  My dissertation research involves looking at how developing Pacific Island countries conceptualize the role, use and impact of ICTs for development, within the wider context of ICT initiatives from aid donors. I attended PTC '07 on a scholarship from the PTC-Hawaii Foundation and was fortunate also to attend the Pacific Islands Telecommunication Association (PITA) members' meeting on January 13. 

This year's theme of "Beyond Telecom" was relevant to my studies because it dealt with issues that countries in the Pacific Islands are currently facing. The ICT industry in many of these countries is still nascent compared with elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, and although many places are still struggling with basic service provision, cost and regulatory issues, the reality of "Beyond Telecom" technologies and services also has to be addressed.

Ken Zita's remarks at the Opening Plenary gave a comprehensive overview of changes in the industry today, and highlighted the idea of the rise in importance of content and the shift in the balance of power from industry 'push' to consumer 'pull'. Larry Keeley took up the theme in what I considered to be an inspirational address, where he reiterated the point that consumers / customers are driving change - demanding in effect that technology be subordinate to what people want to do in their lives - and that innovation comes from the periphery.

I was particularly interested in the Policy and Regulators' Roundtable (Keynote 2) as this is part of the focus of my study. I was interested to hear the speakers' thoughts on and experiences of how to best regulate the ICT market while keeping the balance between a national ICT agenda and keeping all players viable. Many of the countries in my study are in or recently have been through the process of writing ICT policies and regulations and opening up their markets to competition, and I think a representative from one of the small Pacific Island countries, where the issue of whether to introduce competition in extremely small markets has not yet been resolved, could perhaps make a thought-provoking contribution to the panel.

I attended the session on ICT for Development and was particularly interested to hear the presentations by the Chair, Joe Mertz, and Fonongava'inga Mangisi as they dealt directly with aspects of my own research, namely sustainable development in Tonga, which is one of the countries in my study. This was a session that stimulated a lively debate that continued for more than 40 minutes after the session. There is an obvious interest in the many aspects of this topic, and the session was attended not only by academics but also regional experts and telco operators. I think that the level of interest is such that a second ICTD session at PTC could be supported.

A related session that I attended was the "Birds of a Feather" session on a Global Access Plan [organized by PTC Board of Governors Executive Secretary Robert Walp] for developing ICTs in less-developed regions. While this is an innovative plan which may have some promise, I think it raises many issues and there are many potential impediments. I will follow the progress of this plan with interest.

Among the other sessions that I attended was Keynote 5: Global Satcom companies take aim at the Asia-Pacific. Satellite is crucial to the countries of the Pacific, so it was a useful update on the challenges facing the industry. The ICTD session also spilled over into this session as one of the attendees questioned the panel about their commitments to and activities in the region.

I also attended Keynote 3: The Future of Voice, Keynote 8: Strategic Challenges of Converged services and the session on Carrier Hotels. I would have been interested to go to the session on WTO / Trade issues - as once again this is a topic that has enormous effect on the countries in my study - and was disappointed that it was canceled. However since that session was to be held at the same time as the one on ICTD, I was not forced to make a choice and miss one of two closely-related sessions.

I found PTC'07 to be stimulating on many levels and am grateful for the opportunity to attend on the PTC Hawaii Foundation scholarship.