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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  March  18,  2002  Emily  Willeford  at  (202)  418-  2100 
 FCC  COMMISSIONER  KEVIN  MARTIN  ADDRESSES  WORLD  TELECOMMUNICATION  DEVELOPMENT  CONFERENCE 
 IN  ISTANBUL,  TURKEY  “Seizing  Digital  Opportunities” 


 Washington,  D.  C.  --  Today,  Commissioner  Kevin  J.  Martin  addressed  a  special  session  of  the  2002  World  Telecommunication  Development  Conference  (WTDC)  in  Istanbul,  Turkey  on 
 “Bridging  the  Digital  Divide.”  While  recognizing  the  challenges  that  developing  countries  face,  Commissioner  Martin  encouraged  developing  and  developed  countries  to  “seize  digital 
 opportunities”  to  bring  the  education,  health  and  economic  benefits  of  telecommunications  development  to  their  citizens. 


 In  his  remarks  to  the  WTDC,  Commissioner  Martin  outlined  three  strategies  for  maximizing  the  benefits  of  new  digital  technologies  worldwide:  (1)  policy  makers  should  rely 
 on  good  governance  –  including  a  transparent,  reliable  and  speedy  regulatory  environment  –  to  promote  investment;  (2)  the  private  sector,  which  has  the  agility  and  expertise  to  create 
 development  solutions,  should  lead  the  pursuit  of  new  telecommunications  infrastructure  and  services;  and  (3)  countries  should  invest  in  themselves  in  partnership  with  the  global  community 
 by  making  digital  opportunities  available  through  education,  training  and  regulatory  policies  that  attract  capital. 


 Commissioner  Martin  recognized  that  benefits  from  new  digital  technologies  are  growing  in  the  United  States  with  2  million  new  Internet  users  per  month.  He  also  recognized  successes 
 in  the  developing  world,  attributing  the  rapid  rate  of  deployment  of  mobile  and  Internet  services  to  sound  policy  decisions  by  government  leaders  and  private  sector  involvement.  Commissioner 
 Martin  encouraged  developing  countries  to  play  an  even  greater  role  in  their  future  growth,  and  urged  both  developing  and  developed  countries  to  seize  the  opportunity  to  extend  the  benefits  of 
 the  information  age  to  all. 
 The  International  Telecommunication  Union  (ITU)  holds  WTDCs  every  four  years.  The  WTDC  brings  together  the  ITU’s  189  Member  States,  including  the  United  States,  as  well  as 
 hundreds  of  private  sector  members  of  the  ITU  Development  Sector.  The  2002  WTDC  seeks  to  establish  objectives  and  strategies  for  balancing  worldwide  and  regional  telecommunications 
 development,  focusing  on  modernizing  and  expanding  networks  and  services  in  developing  countries. 


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