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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  FCC  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  November  16,  2004  Jennifer  Manner  at  (202)  418-  2530 
 Jennifer.  Manner@  fcc.  gov 
 ITU  Development  Bureau  Director  Hamadoun  I.  Touré  and  FCC  Commissioner  Kathleen  Q.  Abernathy  Urge  International  Regulator  Consensus  on  Low  Cost  Internet  Access; 
 FCC  Commissioner  Abernathy  to  Chair  Global  Symposium  for  Regulators  in  December 
 Washington,  D.  C.  -  International  Telecommunications  Union  Development  Bureau  Director  Hamadoun  Touré  and  FCC  Commissioner  Kathleen  Q.  Abernathy  today  said  the 
 upcoming  ITU  Global  Symposium  for  Regulators  in  Geneva  is  a  “unique  opportunity  for  regulators  from  countries  all  around  the  world  to  work  together  to  develop  a  regulatory  regime 
 that  encourages  low  cost  broadband  and  Internet  connectivity.” 
 Abernathy  has  been  named  the  Chair  of  this  year’s  conference,  which  will  be  held  December  8-  10,  2004,  at  the  World  Meteorological  Organization  in  Geneva,  Switzerland.  This  is 


 the  fifth  regulators’  symposium  convened  by  the  ITU.  To  date  the  heads  of  more  than  50  national  regulatory  bodies  have  registered  to  attend  the  conference.  The  overall  general  theme  is  licensing 
 in  the  era  of  convergence. 
 Touré  and  Abernathy,  in  a  joint  statement,  said,  “A  major  objective  of  this  year’s  conference  is  to  achieve  worldwide  progress  in  promoting  the  development  of  low  cost  access  to 


 broadband  and  Internet  connectivity.  To  this  end,  we  are  confident  that  the  regulators  at  the  Conference  will  work  to  reach  consensus  on  a  statement  of  “Best  Practice  Guidelines”  to  utilize 
 in  achieving  this  goal.” 
 Abernathy  said,  “It  is  a  great  honor  to  be  asked  to  chair  such  an  important  conference  of  my  peers.  I  have  represented  the  FCC  and  the  United  States  at  previous  international 
 conferences,  and  look  forward  to  the  further  challenge  of  leading  this  symposium  next  month.  We  will  be  encouraging  the  same  level  of  candid  discussions  that  occurred  at  past  ITU  Global 
 Regulator  Symposiums.  I  am  confident  that  all  of  my  fellow  regulators  from  around  the  world  will  make  significant  contributions  to  the  Best  Practices  Guidelines  that  will  be  produced  on  the 
 subject  of  low  cost  broadband  and  Internet  access.” 
 The  Global  Symposium  for  Regulators  is  an  annual  ITU  event  bringing  together  the  heads  of  national  regulatory  authorities  from  developed  and  developing  countries.  It  has  earned  a 
 reputation  as  the  global  venue  for  regulators  to  share  their  views  and  experiences  as  part  of  the  worldwide  community  of  regulators.  The  meeting  fosters  an  open  dialogue  between  regulators 
 and  key  stakeholders  including  the  private  sector,  investors  and  consumers. 


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 This  year’s  GSR  will  also  include  a  technology  demonstration  by  equipment  vendors  and  service  providers  to  showcase  new,  low  cost  broadband  and  Internet  telecommunications 
 equipment.  Announced  exhibitors  include:  Cisco,  Ericsson,  IIT  Madras  University,  Intel,  Intrado,  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  NextNet  Wireless,  Nortel  Networks  Corp, 
 Qualcomm,  Telecom  Somalia,  Texas  Instruments,  and  Vivato. 
 The  GSR  will  be  held  at  the  World  Meteorological  Organization  in  Geneva,  Switzerland  from  December  8  th  through  the  10  th  .  The  first  day  of  the  GSR,  December  8,  2004,  will  be  open 
 to  regulators,  policy  makers,  ITU-  D  Sector  Members  and  other  invited  guests.  December  9  and  10  will  be  reserved  for  regulators  and  policy  makers. 


 For  further  information  on  the  GSR,  visit  the  Symposium  webpage  at  the  following:  http://  www.  itu.  int/  ITU-  D/  treg/  Events/  Seminars/  2004/  GSR04/  index.  html. 


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