By Telecom Lead Team: ITU has urged governments to cut
tax on mobile equipment and services in order to speed up the growth of
IMT-Advanced-compliant mobile broadband networks.
ITU wants mobile operators to move quickly to deploy IMT-Advanced-compliant
mobile broadband networks.
ITU warned against unfair taxes levied on ICT goods and
services by governments hoping to take advantage of the technology sector.
Governments who have committed to following best-practice ICT regulation are
now reducing or even eliminating some sector-specific taxes. ITU would like to
see all governments follow their lead.
ITU’s recent Radiocommunication Assembly endorsed the two
selected technologies that will form the basis of IMT-Advanced next generation
high-speed cellular broadband. LTE-Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advanced both
qualified as IMT-Advanced-compliant, capable of supporting speeds of 1 Gbit/s
while stationary and 100 Mbit/s while in motion.
If we are to translate the ‘mobile miracle’ of the past
decade to wireless broadband, we need to take full advantage of the faster
speeds IMT-Advanced will bring, ushering in the next exciting wave of
innovation through creative new applications and services,” said ITU
Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure.
Operators who move fast to deploy IMT-Advanced
technologies, and who price their services competitively, will reap the full
benefit of the next wave of explosive growth.
We must keep the Internet open for business to sustain
growth in today’s massively inter-dependent global digital economy. True to
ITU’s long tradition of building global consensus on the issues that shape
tomorrow’s networks and services, we’ll be looking for win-win outcomes that
give our industry the strength and resilience to flourish for many years to
come,” Touré added.
Toure will be making his case for rapid broadband mobile
roll-out coupled with a more rational approach to ICT taxation in a keynote
speech to Chief Regulatory Officers at the Mobile World Congress event in
Barcelona on Saturday 25th March. He will also outline the topics likely to be
debated at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12),
which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 3-14 December.
