Bahrain
Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 May 2009

Kindly hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, King Faisal Highway, Diplomatic Area, Manama 5831, Bahrain

Building Digital Broadband for the Future:
Market and Policy Implications

There is now considerable evidence about the role that information and communications technology can play in economic and social development and growth, and indeed, as countries around the world grapple with the effects of the global financial and economic crisis, many are including broadband investment stimulation in their recovery plans. However, the evidence shows that, while broadband speed and reach is a necessary condition for widespread effective deployment and use, it is insufficient on its own for creating a dynamic and widely used broadband environment.

Drawing on the experience of countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, the IIC’s Telecommunications and Media Forum will analyse the market, regulatory and public policy components and strategies required to achieve widespread availability and use of high speed broadband. In particular it will examine the elements required to create a virtuous circle of supply and demand which feeds telecommunications and media revenues and investment models and which will in turn deliver greater economic and social benefit.