The future of telecommunications at Comdays 2009: mobile, fast and networked

The first day of this year's Biel-Bienne Communication Days – "Comdays" – was dedicated entirely to telecommunications. After the opening ceremony by Germany's former foreign minister Joschka Fischer, and his advice to look forward, the key question for Comdays was raised: "Is the future mobile?" Differing opinions produced some interesting answers. Afterwards, representatives from industry, politics and society debated the latest events concerning the fibre-optic agreement, within the framework of a lively panel discussion. Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey provided a fitting conclusion: she saluted the diversity of media and free communication in Switzerland, even if it was associated with critical assertions.

"Being up to date is not enough, one has to be up to tomorrow!", said Joschka Fischer, Germany's former foreign minister, at the opening of this year's Comdays in Biel. It is not the past or the current crisis which is significant, but one's mindset and future-orientation. This is the way to meet the challenges of the new, globally networked world.

Yes to the mobile future!

An important step in this direction would be to allocate frequencies in a technology-neutral way, so that all services and technologies can be combined in a single device, said Matthias Kurth, president of Bundesnetzagentur, the German regulatory authority. At the same time it is important to support people in their use of the new technologies, explained Gurudth Banavar, director of the Indian IBM research laboratory. A special project should help plug the gaps in education and overcome barriers to communication. The motto is: talking and listening using a simple mobile, instead of reading and writing at a computer.
Mobile broadband services are especially important for Torbjörn Nilsson from Ericsson. They are environmentally sensitive, simple to use and economically significant. Mobile broadband represents a further step towards making "internet everywhere" a possibility. Like Torbjörn Nilsson, Olaf Swantee from Orange finds that the radio spectrum is limited and that data transfer will increase enormously. Experience has shown that, for example, a few smartphone users send and receive as much data as all other mobile users together. This development looks set to continue.

Greater competition

Vagn Sørensen from TDC stated that though mobile communication will be important in the next few years, "mobile only" did not meet customers' needs. The future lies in the combination of fixed-network and mobile communication. To enable everyone to benefit from this, he called for greater "competition, instead of forests of antenna masts, jungles of cables and trench warfare". It would be important to invest not in infrastructure but in electronics and services. A free choice between mobile telephony and the fixed network would be the best guarantee of competition, according to Tveter.
Monika Dusong, from the FRC consumer association of western Switzerland, demanded greater competition and greater price transparency. It was necessary to leave the "tariff jungle" behind. In addition, she wanted the wording of contracts to be customer-friendly and they should not be extended automatically.

And what about privacy and security?

Radio networks have to be handled with care, warned Professor Jean-Pierre Hubaux of the EPFL. Technological development was proceeding at a pace which outstrips the protection available. Customers wanted a high degree of protection for their private lives and would in future choose their provider accordingly. He therefore advised the industry to invest in the protection of personal data.

Agreement on optical fibre

During the subsequent panel discussion, the participants discussed the recent agreement in the optical fibre sector. The agreement on the multi-fibre model and the construction of a single network were welcomed by the heads of the telecoms providers Carsten Schloter (Swisscom), Christoph Brand (Sunrise) and the electricity utilities, David Thiel (IWB), Peter Messmann (EWZ) and Andreas Widmer (WWZ). Many panel participants, however, were of the opinion that "the devil is in the detail", a viewpoint expressed by Christoph Brand. It would be important in future for all providers to enjoy a level playing field, according to David Thiel. Ruedi Noser, a national councillor and entrepreneur opposed this view. A level playing field would block competition, not promote it. "The development corridors for competition are open", countered Martin Dumermuth from the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). It was the right direction to take. For competition to be effective and in order to avoid discrimination, regulatory safety nets were essential.
Fredy Brunner, a town councillor, explained that St. Gallen's goal was a beneficial network. Angsar Gmür from the house owners' association was pleased to be invited to a discussion round for the first time and asked service providers to explain the technological benefits to their potential customers.

Federal councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey provided a fitting conclusion: she pointed out that in Switzerland we are acquiring more and more information from an ever larger number of sources. She said that as a politician, she was obliged to react more quickly but would relish the chance to take just a little time to ponder on things in silence. Switzerland, she said, is a democracy, and the media are a means to that democracy.

Program and speeches
Blogs about the comdays (in German and French).

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