 | Issue: | Global-ICT 2005 |
| Article no.: | 10 | |
| Topic: | Building the Information Society – the role of telecommunications | |
| Author: | César Alierta Izuel | |
| Title: | Executive Chairman and CEO | |
| Organisation: | Telefónica | |
| PDF size: | 384KB |
About author
César Alierta Izuel is the Executive Chairman and CEO of Telefónica. Previously, he served as Chairman of Tabacalera, and then of Altadis and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Logista, a subsidiary of the Altadis group. He remains a member of the Altadis Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Mr Alierta is a member of the Colombia Business School Board of Overseers. As a member of the Board of Directors of Telefónica, since 1997, he joined the Boards of Telefónica Internacional (TISA), Plus Ultra and Iberia. He was the Chairman and founder of Beta Capital, Chairman of the Spanish Financial Analysts’ Association, General Manager of the Capital Markets division at Banco Urquijo in Madrid and a member of the Board of Directors and Standing Committee of the Madrid Stock Exchange. César Alierta Izuel holds a degree in Law from the University of Zaragoza and earned an MBA at the University of Columbia, New York.
Article abstract
It is Telefónica’s policy to help integrate all the countries in which it is actively present into the Information Society. As a participant in the ITU’s Connect the World initiative, Telefónica sponsors projects such as Llaqt@red, which helps integrate rural areas in Peru via public Internet access booths.
Full Article
During the first decade of the 21st century, the world has witnessed an accelerated process of change characterised by such trends as globalisation and the increasing implementation of new technologies involving all types of businesses. Many players are influential, to a greater or lesser extent, in this process of change. Amongst them, telecommunications operators play an important role as the providers of networks and services that have become the backbone of the Information Society. Operators have gone from offering basic telecommunications services, such as fixed telephony, to providing integrated and convergent solutions for various facets of our life: communication, business, health care, leisure, security, etc., thus contributing to the sustainable economic development of regions and countries. With the digitisation of services, the development of fixed and mobile broadband and the convergence of telecommunications with content, computers and consumer electronics, it has managed to popularise these new networks and services, facilitating their access to all citizens, companies and Public Administrations and promoting new digital opportunities. In the new convergent environment, these opportunities increasingly result when telecoms operators satisfy user needs by developing new services based, fundamentally, upon broadband. Generally speaking, users demand more personalised content and services, better quality images and sound, greater interactivity with television programming, easier ways to exchange multimedia content and better, user friendly, management of all the devices at home. To satisfy these demands, operators have to develop creative new applications adaptable to the individual needs of each subscriber. Since these new, personalised, multimedia offerings require more bandwidth than most current networks can deliver, operators will be migrating towards access networks based upon newer technologies. In order for this entire process to be possible, major investments are required in research, development and innovation, and especially in the implementation of networks and services. With these investments, new technologies act as a catalyst for productivity and for sustainable economic growth, so that the various players in society mutually benefit from the advantages of the Information Society. Telecommunications make it possible for citizens to access services and content that improve their quality of life, from any location, at any time and via any platform. Public Administrations benefit from telecommunications, with the improvement in services they provide to citizens and the greater degree of trust between citizens and the Government, as well as through cost savings in public spending. In the case of companies, the benefits are obtained through an increase in productivity, greater competitiveness in world markets, irrespective of their location or distance, and through the creation of employment opportunities with greater added value that are less likely to be moved abroad. The cycle of technological development and applications that should lead us to a genuine Information Society requires a new period of major investment by players in the telecommunications sector, mainly equipment manufacturers and operators. For the time being, investments in telecommunications should focus on fixed-line and new generation mobile networks, in order to obtain greater access speeds for fixed-line as well as mobile broadband and on integration platforms for solutions that facilitate access and use of new technologies. This cycle of new investments entails various technological and business risks and a definite progress in the deregulation of the sector is needed so that the industry can invest at the necessary speed and volumes. Telefónica, an operator that is actively present in 17 countries with over 145 million customers, is aware of the major role it can play owing to its business as a provider of services and applications. Therefore, it is committed to the development of the Information Society in them all. An example of this commitment is Llaqt@red, a project included in the ITU’s Connect the World initiative, that allows the integration of rural areas in Peru via public Internet access booths. The connection to the network is guaranteed by VSAT satellite terminals that are connected to public telephone facilities, which provide full time Internet access, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, at a flat rate. The project, designed as a self-sustaining means of bridging the digital divide, provides access to the Information Society and uses the Internet as a vehicle for fostering local culture and folklore. At the same time, it will help boost the local economy by promoting local products and tourism. Initiatives such as these demonstrate Telefónica’s clear vocation to invest in social inclusion and its commitment to all citizens irrespective of their profile or location. Telefónica wants to become an important catalyst for the economic, technological and social development for all the countries in which it is present, making the Information Society a reality for all of them.
