Addressing the "digital divide". (World).

The recent 10-day "World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC02)," organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), gave focus to telecommunications access issues facing the developing world.

Held in Istanbul in late March, the conference sought to address the so-called "digital divide," the span between the extensive technological integration of the developed world and the deficient technological infrastructure of the developing world.

Wanting to establish a common set of strategies and goals aimed at bridging this divide, the ITU prepared the "Istanbul Declaration and Action Plan," which was adopted by 1,150 delegates from 152 countries at the close of the high-level function. It is hoped that the plan will guide the ITU into becoming a leading player in telecom expansion throughout the underdeveloped world.

The plan draws attention to the varied technical, social and economic factors that have created the digital divide and that must be transformed to bring about its elimination. It also prescribes a number of possible routes to reducing access costs, including the development of technology scaleable to broadband applications, and workable at low operating and maintenance costs, and the creation of a viable and controllable universal access funding mechanism.