[Chapter-delegates] Press release: Design visions of past ensure future generations of networking

[Gerard Ross]

Hello all

For your information, below is a press release that we shall issue  
shortly regarding Lynn St.Amour's speech to the ITU WTPF.

Regards
- Gerard

--
Gerard Ross
Senior Manager, Outreach and Coordinated Communication
Internet Society
Email: ross at isoc.org


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Press release - for immediate release
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DESIGN VISIONS OF PAST ENSURE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF NETWORKING

- Internet Society urges ITU to protect Internet's unique
   development model for future evolution and expansion


Lisbon, Portugal, 22 April 2009 - As delegations from around the world  
gather in Lisbon this week for the International Telecommunication  
Union's (ITU) World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF), the  
Internet Society has issued a clear reminder of the need to respect  
and preserve the unique development model responsible for the  
Internet's unprecedented growth and success.

"The 'Internet Model' of collaborative development continues to  
underpin the Internet's contribution to innovation and creativity,  
supporting global deployment of innovative and often surprising  
applications," said Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of the Internet  
Society, a member of the ITU's Informal Expert Group.

The Internet Model, which arose from a need for collaboration and  
knowledge sharing is characterised by inclusive multistakeholder  
processes, open standards development, and decentralized  
responsibility for managing the various aspects of the Internet's  
technical and management functions.

"The opportunities and advantages of increasingly converged services  
arise specifically from the Internet's intrinsic design principles and  
development model, which together create a vibrant environment of  
innovation and creativity," said Ms St. Amour.

"Likewise, modern NGNs can be developed and deployed on the existing  
Internet because of visionary architectural decisions made literally  
decades ago. Indeed, today's NGNs will become tomorrow's legacy  
networks, replaced by applications running on the Internet, designed  
for as yet unknown future improvements," said Ms St.Amour.

The WTPF, was established as a less formal venue for discussions than  
regular ITU meetings. It is not designed to produce prescriptive  
outcomes with the binding force of an international treaty, but rather  
to foster debate and seek multi-stakeholder consensus on ways forward.

In advance of this event, the ITU Secretary-General produced a report  
with "draft opinions" on a wide range of topics including:  
Convergence, Emerging Telecommunication policy and regulatory issues,  
Next Generation Networks (NGNs), and International Telecommunication  
Regulations.

These issues became the core of the WTPF's agenda and the Internet  
Society has contributed to the discussions by submitting views on key  
technical and development considerations pertinent to the agenda.  
However, such a broad agenda of challenging topics underlines, in the  
Internet Society's view, the strong need to include diverse inputs  
representing a range of expertise.

While the Internet Society welcomes the inclusion of ITU Sector  
Members in its discussions at the WTPF, it has encouraged the ITU  
Secretariat General to continue opening its conferences to all  
interested stakeholders and broadening participation beyond its Member  
States and Sector Members, to the Civil Society, the Internet  
community and the research community.

"We gather here this week in a challenging economic climate," said Ms.  
St.Amour. "At such a time, it is vital to preserve an environment that  
is proven to work; an environment that clearly enables the emergence  
of innovative solutions. The lessons of the past teach us that in this  
environment, Internet development thrives, in turn spurring economic  
and social development and contributing to all facets of human  
progress."

The Internet Society's involvement in the WTPF, including its  
background documents and comments on the Secretary General's report,  
is detailed here:

	http://www.isoc.org/ituwtpf


About the Internet Society
--------------------------
The Internet Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1992 to  
provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and  
policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is  
dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution, and use of the  
Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. More  
information is available at: http://www.isoc.org


Media Contact
-------------
Gerard Ross
Senior Manager, Outreach and Coordinated Communication
Internet Society
ross at isoc.org
+41-22-809-0361

Monica Vicente Cristina
Senior Consultant
Blueprint Partners
Monica.Cristina at BlueprintPartners.eu
+32-2-289-0952