The ITU promoted Regional Development Forum for Europe took place on 20-22 April in Bucharest, Romania, and focused on regional initiatives regarding broadband and sustainable development.
Results from last year’s World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC) indicated that the following areas should be considered priorities for Europe:
- spectrum management and transition to digital broadcasting;
- broadband access and adoption;
- access to telecommunications/information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly for people with special needs;
- trust and security when using telecommunications/ICTs;
- entrepreneurship, innovation and youth.
Portugal had pledged to contribute to the ‘spectrum management and transition to digital broadcasting’ and ‘broadband access and adoption’ initiatives, so it presented its proposals in those areas. It particularly stressed efforts to monitor quality of the digital terrestrial TV (DTT) network by means of a pioneering project which allows real-time quality verification.
Regarding broadband access, Portugal above all highlighted the importance of the plan for telecommunications infrastructures in buildings (ITED) and telecommunications infrastructures in housing estates, urban developments and groups of buildings (ITUR).
