Largest Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Global Summit to be attended by nearly 300 top level regulators, leading academics, technology pioneers and policy makers

Bogota, Colombia, 27 April 2016: The Colombian Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, David Luna, will give the opening keynote address today at the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance’s (DSA) 2016 Global Summit, in Bogota, Colombia. The minister will present the ‘Plan Vive Digital, para la gente’, the Colombian national communication program for improving broadband and connectivity across Colombia.

The Global Summit is being held in the Americas for the first time and is co-hosted by Agencia Nacional del Espectro (ANE), the Colombian spectrum regulatory agency and is sponsored by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America. This will be the biggest DSA Global Summit, with attendance limited due to the rapid growth of interest in spectrum sharing throughout the Americas and around the world.

Senior officers from regulatory and spectrum policy agencies from across the Americas and around the globe will attend the Global Summit including the Agencia Nacional del Espectro (ANE), Colombia; Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (SUTEL), Costa Rica; Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL), Brazil; Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), Mexico, the Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones (SUBTEL), Chile; the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), Botswana; Spectrum Management Authority Jamaica (SMA), Jamaica; and Afghanistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ATRA), Afghanistan. They will be joined by executives from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Microsoft, Broadcom Limited, and Google amongst many others.

The exceptional level of international regulators and policy makers attending the event illustrates the recognised need to share spectrum best practices and discuss the challenges and necessary actions required to connect the next four billion consumers and to enable the Internet of Things (IoT) in the Americas and around the world. The issues discussed during the two day conference will act as a catalyst to bring about real momentum to achieve global connectivity.

The DSA hosted its first seminar for regulators yesterday which brought together 15 regulators from around the world. This number of regulators in attendance emphasises the importance of placing spectrum sharing best practices in the spotlight on an international level.

“The 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference identified frequencies below 700 MHz for IMT in several countries, including Mexico and the United States,” commented Ricardo Castañeda, General Director, Spectrum Engineering and Technical Studies, Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), Mexico. “This workshop has shown stakeholders how, through innovative mechanisms like spectrum sharing technologies, countries can maximize the social benefits of these new IMT bands, to reach their connectivity goals and drive more spectrum efficiency across Mexico and other countries that take advantage of these opportunities.”

The Day One agenda will cover a wide range of spectrum issues including the challenges to universal and affordable connectivity in the Americas and beyond. Countries from the Americas region will also give their viewpoints on the analogue to digital switch-over. Discussions on new developments in spectrum sharing policies and the next opportunities for dynamic spectrum access will also take the spotlight on the first day of the summit.

“This is the first time the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Global Summit is being held in the Americas,” commented H Nwana, Executive Director, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance. “We are very pleased to see nearly 300 top level regulators, leading academics, technology pioneers and policy makers from around the world join us in Bogota, Colombia. Their attendance demonstrates clearly the importance of working together to enable the Internet of Things, alleviate the spectrum crunch and to achieve global connectivity.”

Platinum sponsors of the Global Summit include Google, Microsoft, and Adaptrum and Gold and Silver sponsors are Mawingu Networks and Internet Society, respectively.

For further information about the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance and the 2016 Global Summit, please visit www.dynamicspectrumalliance.org/ or follow @dynamicspectrum on Twitter. Alternatively join the Alliance on Facebook or LinkedIn.

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