ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY: SEPTEMBER 4 INFORMAL

UNCLAS ROME 003916 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS IT EUN SUBJECT: ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY: SEPTEMBER 4 INFORMAL MINISTERIAL ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS ¶1. (U) ACCORDING TO THE GOI'S DRAFT AGENDA FOR THE INFORMAL MINISTERIAL ON TELLECOMMUNICATIONS, THE MINISTERS WILL ASSESS THE STATE OF BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT AT THE EUROPEAN LEVEL, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION PAID TO DELAYS IN CERTAIN AREAS. THE MINISTERS WILL ADDRESS THE USE OF EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS FOR DISADVANTAGED AREAS OF THE EU (E.G. BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE) AND WILL PRESENT NATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BROADBAND, INCLUDING INCENTIVE MEASURES. THE MINISTERIAL WILL ALSO FOCUS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF INDUSTRY BROADBAND OPERATORS, SPECIFICALLY TELECOM ITALIA, FRANCE TELECOM, BRITISH TELECOM, AND TISCALI S.P.A., ALL OF WHICH WILL BE REPRESENTED AT ONE OF THE SESSIONS. ¶2. (U) A BACKGROUND INFORMATION PAPER ON BROADBAND AND THE MINISTERIAL PROVIDED BY THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT REQUESTS THAT ATTENDING MINISTERS ADDRESS SEVERAL QUESTIONS IN THE PRESENTATION OF THEIR NATIONAL ACTION PLANS FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT: - THE STATUS OF NATIONAL BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT, OBSTACLES TO ITS DEVELOPMENT, THE MAIN INITIATIVES STATES PLAN TO ADOPT TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION BETWEEN INCUMBENTS AND NEW ENTRANTS IN THE BROADBAND INDUSTRY; - THE PREFERRED WAY TO USE STRUCTURAL FUNDS, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION ON REDUCING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN BOTH MEMBER AND APPLICANT STATES. THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT HOPES TO GATHER INFORMATION TO ENABLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES GOVERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE IN EUROPE AND THE INITATIVES TO UNDERTAKE AT THE EUROPEAN LEVEL. ¶3. (U) EMBOFFS WILL ATTEND AND REPORT ON THE SEPTEMBER 4 MINISTERIAL. ¶4. (U) COMMENT: THE INFORMATION PAPER IS VAGUE IN ITS DEFINITION OF BROADBAND, A TERM THAT IS USED TO REFER TO A RANGE OF TECHNOLOGIES OF DIFFERENT CAPACITIES AND SPEEDS FOR THE DELIVERY OF DATA COMMUNICATION SERVICES, INCLUDING HYBRID FIBER COAX TECHNOLOGY (HFC) AND DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL) SERVICE, AS WELL AS WIRELESS DATA TRANSMISSION. GIVEN THE DIVERSE SET OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES, THE RAPID PACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, AND THE VARIETY OF ENTITIES PROVIDING VARIOUS BROADBAND SERVICES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF EU-WIDE BROADBAND INITIATIVES, POLICIES AND REGULATIONS IS LIKELY TO BE A LENGTHY PROCESS. END COMMENT. SKODON NNNN 2003ROME03916 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED