Increase in mobile phone penetration ups GDP
by Gamini WARUSHAMANA
[email protected]
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Dr. Hamdoun Toure |
 A ten per cent increase in mobile phone penetration contributes to a
1.2% increase in the annual GDP growth and this shows the power of
mobile communication, said the Secretary General of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Dr. Hamdoun Toure.
He was addressing the 29th GSM Asia Pacific Conference held in
Colombo last week. Dr. Toure said that by following the principles of
mutual benefit, open standards and a competitive market, mobile
technology has developed as an essential communication tool and a
vibrant industry in its own right and churning billions of dollars in
revenue each year. The ITU endorses these principles in its every day
standardisation work, where it is committed to developing open and
accessible standards drawing on the expertise of its diverse public and
private sector membership.
“ITU is pleased to work closely with the Global System for Mobile
Association (GSMA) and our partners to strengthen cooperation and
improve access to mobile phone services and bridge the digital divide in
least developed and developing nations.
ITU is committed to connecting the world and let us work together,”
he said. Dr. Toure said that the mobile communication technology can be
used to achieve the millennium development goals. Today, we are in an
information society and we are entering a knowledge society. Knowledge
is something that can change the lives of people. Today, mobile
technology has connected 3.5 billion people around the globe to the
knowledge society.
As our daily lives are evolving we should ensure the security in
cyber space. He said that as in a conventional war there is no winner
and the best way of winning is to avoid wars, there are no super powers
in cyber space and the nation which uses the brain power of people will
be the winner. The only difference in people is the brain power and the
education they receive.
Dr. Toure emphasised the need of ensuring cyber security and added,
“as we are putting our children in cyber space we should ensure that it
is safe. Technological advancement gives us many opportunities. However,
at the same time technology is also used in crimes.
Dr. Toure also said that technology should also be used to make the
lives of people safer by setting up emergency communication systems on
natural disasters. No country is free of natural disasters and we have
to work together to protect our planet, he said.
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