ITAHK Luncheon - The 4A vision: "Anywhere,
anytime, by anyone and anything"
Luncheon
Fixed-Mobile Convergence
The 4A vision: "Anywhere, anytime, by
anyone and anything"
Dr
Tim Kelly,
Visiting scholar, HKUST Business School and Head, Strategy
and Policy Unit, ITU
8 December 2005
Concord Room
I, 8/F. Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Organized by
ITAHK & WTIA
Dr
Kelly's presentation
Click here to download.
Luncheon at a
glance.....
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From left
to right: Mr Yok Mok, Dr Tim Kelly, Dr |
Mr
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Dr Kelly was delivering his keynote speech |
Group photo |
About the
Speech
An ubiquitous network society is
one in which information is available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime and from
any anything. The ubiquity of networks is a key element in the future of the
Information Society, which was addressed at the recently-concluded World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS). The concept of an Information Society is an
evolving one. While the goal of ubiquity is unlikely to be achieved in all parts
of all countries within our lifetimes, nevertheless, it is important to
elaborate the vision, because it helps to anticipate the opportunities it will
present, for social, economic and cultural development, as well as the
challenges posed.
The concept of "anyone, anywhere", are long-standing elements of universal access policies. Also "anytime" access is now familiar, at least to users of always-on services, such as broadband or 3G mobile. But "from anything" is new. It implies a world in which things, as well as people, can inter-communicate, providing messages about their status and location. This is the subject of a new ITU report, specially prepared for the Tunis Phase of WSIS, entitled "ITU Internet Reports 2005: The Internet of Things".
With continuing developments in miniaturization and declining costs, it is becoming not only technologically possible but also economically feasible to make everyday objects smarter, and to connect the world of people with the world of things. The key technologies for the "Internet of Things" are likely to include Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors, smart technologies and nanotechnology.
Building this new environment however, will pose a number of challenges, notably in the areas of standardization, privacy, data protection and user awareness. But whatever the challenges, one thing remains clear: scientific and technological advances in these fields continue to move ahead at breakneck speed. It is only through awareness of such advances, and the challenges they present, that we can reap the future benefits of an ubiquitous network society.
About Dr Tim
Kelly
Dr Tim Kelly is Head of the
Strategy and Policy Unit of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
where he has worked since 1993. Before joining ITU he spent five years as
a Communications Policy Analyst with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) and three years with Logica Consultancy Ltd. He has
an MA (Hons) degree in Geography and a Ph.D in industrial economics from
Over the last twenty years, Dr Kelly has specialised in the
economics of the telecommunications industry. He has written or co-authored
more than 20 books on the subject including the ITU's "World Telecommunication
Development Report" and "ITU Internet Reports". He was in charge of the "content
team" for the recently-concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).