The Malta Communications Authority Annual Conference – Malta’s

Dr Austin Gatt, Minster for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications during his opening address at the MCA Annual Conference held last week commented “Today, as we look back to 2001 when the Malta Communications Authority was established, we can justifiably say that Malta has capitalised on the leading position it has enjoyed in this field as from the very start of the history of telecommunications some 150 years ago ... It is therefore truly a pleasure for me to be here today celebrating this Authority’s 10th anniversary, and in so doing, looking forward at the future of this vital industry.”

In accordance with the European 2020 Strategy, in 10 years’ time, all Europeans will have access to internet speeds of above 30 Mbps, while 50 per cent or more of European households will subscribe to internet connections above 100 Mbps. The question remains as to what all this will mean to the man in the street as well as industry players and enterprises. What are our future challenges?

Addressing the multi-national audience was a highly respectable line-up of internationally acclaimed speakers that included Chris Fonteijn, chairman of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications; Dr Yong Kyung Lee, an expert on the world leading, Korean telecoms market and also a member of the Korean Parliament; Niculae Cantuniar vice-president, EMEA at Cable and Wireless Worldwide; Alessandro di Salvo, head of Network Systems Sales, South Europe at Nokia Siemens Networks; Falk Wohler-Moorhoff, consultant, Competence Practice Strategy and Marketing, Business Innovation at Detecon; Andrea Montoli, Communications and Media Solutions, Practice Principle at Hewlett Packard; Guillaume Declerck, Strategy and Marketing director, Italy and Central Mediterranean Countries at Alcatel Lucent and Nigel Hickson, Head of EU and International Policy at the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, UK. In addition, Mike Rosner, on behalf of the Malta Internet Foundation, presented the annual prize in support of academic work making a significant contribution to Internet technologies.

Moderated by Prof. Dr Nico van Eijk from the Institute for Information Law, the topics covered generated a healthy discussion among the varied audience and gave an interesting insight into the future of this thriving sector.

In his closing address, the executive chairman of the Authority, Ing. Philip Micallef posed a number of questions challenging current precepts on the role of authorities such as the MCA, the future of regulation and where this is heading as well as the impact of developments in technology on our social interactions. “Notwithstanding the global economic crisis and other challenges ahead, the future of ICT remains a truly exciting one, promising a world of previously undreamt of opportunities,” he said. “The race is on to exploit the benefits, while recognising and addressing the risks associated with this exciting revolution.”