The International Institute of Communications’ annual telecommunications conference takes place in Johannesburg in a month’s time and this year’s event is crammed full of high-level speakers from business, government and regulatory agencies.

The event, for which TechCentral is a media partner, will feature presentations from, among others, communications minister Roy Padayachie and Brazil’s vice minister for communication, Cezar Avalerez.

The focus of this year’s conference, which takes place on 3 and 4 October at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton, is on finding ways to take digital communications technology to everyone.

The conference will host senior industry, government and regulatory representatives and other experts from around the world to debate issues such as:

The extent to which economic and financial limitations in many countries undermine the social and economic benefits of broadband development and digital services.
Overcoming the impediments both to widespread broadband roll-out and consumer take-up. Can this be achieved without hindering or distorting competition.
How realistic is universal broadband access?
In what ways the traditional model of separate media and telecommunications regulators is challenged by the new communications environment.

Other keynote speakers at the event include Linus Gitahi, CEO of Kenya’s National Media Group, and Fabio Leite, deputy director of the Radiocommunication Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union.

Other confirmed speakers include Alison Gillwald, executive director at Research ICT Africa; John Kotsaftis CEO DStv Online; Ernest Ndukwe, chairman of Nigeria’s Openmedia Group; Ory Okolloh, policy and government relations manager in Africa at Google, William Stucke, councillor at the Independent Communications Authority of Sal; and Peter Ulanga, CEO of the Universal Communications Access Fund in Tanzania.

For details of the IIC Annual Conference programme, the full list of confirmed speakers and how to register, visit www.iicom.org. — Staff reporter, TechCentral