LONDON, September 3, 2010 – A selection of high profile delegates and conglomerates from across the Commonwealth are expected to meet at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation’s 8th Annual CTO Forum 2010 scheduled to be held from the 13-15 September, 2010 at the Hilton Colombo Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Gracing the occasion as the Special Guest of Honour, The President of Sri Lanka, H.E. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is expected to open the conference with the theme “Broadband Connectivity for All.”

A diverse group of ICT stakeholders comprising Ministers, regulators, telecom operators and leading ICT global brands convened at the 5th Annual Connecting Rural Communities (CRC) 2010 conference in Accra, Ghana to discuss and explore potential future solutions for bridging the digital divide in Africa. Organized by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications, Ghana, National Communications Authority and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), the three-day conference was formally opened by Ghana’s Minister for Communications, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu.

Ghana’s search for effective and sustainable connectivity solutions for its rural populations gathered momentum on Monday, in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo region, during a workshop of key stakeholders which included the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), Ghana’s Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), members of parliament from the region, as well as operators, ISPs, CSOs, academia, traditional and community leaders.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at promoting international cooperation on cybersecurity has been signed between the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the Malaysia-based International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT). The document, signed at the end of a two-day Cybersecurity forum in London, paves the way for two organisations to work towards the facilitation of information flow and resources, capacity building and the setting up of robust cybersecurity frameworks for protection against cyber crime.

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) announced today that Rt Hon Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism in the UK, will deliver the keynote address at the Cybersecurity Forum 2010.

The CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, today called on global ICT stakeholders to join forces to ensure that ICTs are utilized in a way that enhances development. In his words, “whether the importance of ICTs are measured by voice and data penetration rates, by percentage contribution to GDP, to national taxes, to employment, empowerment, or to per capita income, there is a worldwide consensus on the contributions of ICTs to development.”

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has confirmed that The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), an institutional consultative body that represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society in Europe, has endorsed its Cyber Security Forum 2010.

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the Department of Communications (DOC) in South Africa today re-affirmed their commitment towards playing a lead role in ensuring that the continent of Africa passes through a smooth transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Ministers, heads of ICT implementation agencies, ICT regulators and operating company executives are meeting at an African e-Governance Forum in Maputo, Mozambique from 23^rd- 25^th March to discuss the latest trends and benchmarks for using ICTs to improve governance in Africa. Organised by the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), the event is under the auspices of the Government of Mozambique and has attracted more than 100 high-level officials and experts concerned with e-Governance initiatives within Africa and beyond.

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is to join forces with Africa’s foremost ICT Magazine, IT & Telecom Digest, to organise the 2nd Annual West African ICT Congress 2010 (WAFICT 2010).

Dr. Marianne Treschow, the former Director General and member of the Board of the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) was appointed as the CTO Associate for the Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland) on 4 February 2010.

Operators and ICT stakeholders take advantage of a two day workshop, organised by the CTO and CANTO, to draw on key learnings and focus on the actions they must take to release the power and potential of mobile content and VAS in the Caribbean.

Following on from its admission to the Commonwealth as the 54th member in November 2009, the Republic of Rwanda has gained Full Member Country status of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). The membership will provide the Republic of Rwanda the opportunity to utilise CTO’s existing networks and capabilities to the maximum, with the ability to shape the organisation’s future through its seat at the CTO Council.

Fellows from developing countries in Africa benefit from the Commonwealth Fellows Programme at CTO, taking home added knowledge and experiences gained in the UK

Exigy, a software solutions and consulting firm, entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), an organization focused to socio-economic development in the Commonwealth, to promote e-Governance in developing Commonwealth countries.

A two-day conference on ICT Investments in emerging economies has just concluded in London with participants adopting a common position on the need to promote effective partnerships to speed up investment-enhancing processes in developing markets. 

The Commonwealth Telecom Development Fund (CTDF), a new initiative of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) will be presented this week in London to the financial and investment community to begin the mobilization of resources for ICT investments in emerging markets.

More than 100 delegates made up of policy makers, ICT regulators, universal services fund agents, investment bankers, management consultancy and law firm representatives, heads of telecom operating companies, infrastructure developers, equipment manufacturers and technology vendors from over 25 countries will be meeting from 8th to 10th December in London to discuss and take advantage of opportunities, and also appreciate the challenges of investing in information and communications technologies in emerging economies. The occasion will be the 2nd annual “Investing in ICTs in Emerging Markets” conference organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) at the Inmarsat Conference Centre in London.

A three-day global conference on  human resources management aspects of ICT development under the theme “Technology Evolution, Market Changes and the Challenge for HRM” is to set the stage for discussions on new HR strategies for telecom operators to remain competitive in the face of network technology evolution, privatisation and market changes. The conference, which will be attended by Heads of Human Resources Management and other key industry stakeholders from the telecoms industry, takes place from 16-18 November in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, under the auspices of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).

CTO, the international body that facilitates partnerships between Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries, today announced a successful joint venture between US-based CellCast Technologies and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel. CellCast Technologies, a company that provides emergency and commercial notification solutions, will partner with Mobitel (Private) Limited, one of the largest mobile operators in Sri Lanka, to provide and test its mobile broadcast solutions in Sri Lanka, which will help minimize communication gaps during natural catastrophes.

Top officials from Governments and ICT stakeholder institutions in the Asia Pacific region will be meeting next Monday August 17th to discuss various strategies towards intensifying efforts to deploy ICT solutions for effective governance. These crucial deliberations will be taking place in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, at the 2nd annual Asian e-Governance Forum 2009, organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and hosted by the Government of Brunei. The conference which is under the theme "Developing Efficiency and Empowerment through Better e-Governance" will officially be opened by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince of Brunei Darussalam.

More than sixty key stakeholders from across the Asia Pacific region gathered in Apia, Samoa, for the CTO’s 6th Regional Using ICT for Effective Disaster Management Forum.  The Pacific forum, the 2nd to be held in the region, was organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO) in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat, International Telecommunication Union and UN-APCICT.

Over 150 delegates from 25 countries met last week in Colombo, Sri Lanka to discuss standardization and regulatory issues relating to next generation networks (NGN).

Port Louis: Global experts have begun work to come up with an ICT-based Action Plan for Mauritius on how ICTs can be effectively used to better manage disasters. The experts are taking part in a 3-day Forum organized jointly by the Mauritian sector regulator, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority and the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation which will culminate in an ICT-based Action Plan for disaster management in Mauritius and similar small island states in the Indian Ocean region.

Over 50 telecom operators around the world are expected to benefit from new capacity-building programmes this year, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has announced.

African telecoms specialists see collaboration for knowledge sharing and government leadership as critical to success of Africa's digital switchover
 
Africa's telecommunications decision makers, assembled in Johannesburg today for the last day of the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation's (CTO) 4th Annual Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum, highlighted the importance of government leadership, regulatory clarity, and greater knowledge sharing about risks and challenges as being key to the success of the digital switchover process. 

Africa's leading broadcasting event returns to South Africa

Over 150 delegates including policy makers, regulators, financiers and industry experts from across Africa will be meeting in Johannesburg next week to participate in the 4th annual Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum, organised by the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).

The last of the 2008-2009 Commonwealth Professional Fellows (CPFs) has returned home after completing a three-month Professional Fellowship Programme at the CTO headquarters in London.

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has reiterated its call on governments and other key ICT stakeholders to pursue rural connectivity initiatives that are founded upon strong business models, which are developed in collaboration with the private sector, and therefore have the greatest chance of being sustainable The call, made at the inaugural meeting of the African Universal Services and Access Funds Association (AUSAFA) in London, was based on the key findings presented in the Commonwealth African Rural Connectivity Report, which the CTO launched this year, and which advocates what the organisation terms Public Private Peoples Partnerships (PPPPs) in promoting rural connectivity.

Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), has justified further foreign and domestic investment in ICTs in Africa, notwithstanding the global economic recession and cautionary attitudes amongst investors.

Officials from fifteen of Africa’s Universal Service and Access Funds (USAFs) convened last week at the inaugural meeting of the African Universal Service and Access Fund Association (AUSAFA). Held at the headquarters of Inmarsat, in the City of London, the association’s historic inaugural council meeting preceded the CTO Investing in ICTs in Emerging Markets Conference, which took place from the 11th to 12th December 2008.

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has started the roll-out of highly specialised professional training programmes for 2008-09. These programmes will include highly specialised workshops and seminars aimed at over 1,000 professionals predominantly from ICT operators, regulatory agencies and governments in developing countries.

A communiqué issued by representatives of numerous African governments and ICT regulatory agencies has called on development partners, the private sector and funding agencies to work more closely with African policy-makers and regulators to ensure faster connectivity for Africa's rural populations.