BEIJING – A gathering of CEOs and electronics association leaders from around the globe at the Eighth Annual World Electronics Forum (WEF) this week adopted principles encouraging every government to develop a national plan for broadband deployment. In addition, the Forum’s official communiqué – circulated by WEF Secretariat and Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) President Dave McCurdy – advocates technology-neutral rollout of high-speed Internet and policy incentives by government when necessary.

These are all principles that EIA has promoted in the U.S., where broadband deployment and use continue to lag – and the telecommunications industry continues to languish – in part as a result of disincentives in the regulatory regime. Action by the Federal Communications Commission on key industry issues such as unbundling requirements would fall in line with the doctrine set forth by the WEF.

“Every market in the world has unique needs and challenges,” said McCurdy, “but industry leaders from countries as diverse as Korea, Brazil, Israel and Australia agree that government has a responsibility to make broadband deployment a national priority at the highest political level. While private industry competition is the key to affordable and secure communication services for consumers, government certainly has a role to play in setting an example and in addressing specific, critical problems hamstringing the market.

“The principles laid out at this year’s WEF offer great encouragement as the high-tech industry around the world pushes forward with deployment that will benefit both government and private citizens.”

The World Electronics Forum is a voluntary gathering of company executives and directors of electronics industry associations worldwide. The goal is to meet annually and discuss key topics of common interest, exchange information on services and data, and strengthen relations between associations for the benefit of the global industry. The Eighth Annual WEF included representatives from 12 countries.

The U.S. delegation to the WEF included McCurdy; Phil Bond, undersecretary for technology and chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans; Matt Flanigan, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA); Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA); EIA board members Richard Russell of Tech Spray and Tom Patton of Philips Electronics; Brian Kelly, vice president of government relations at EIA; and Jason Leuck, TIA’s director of international policy.

In addition to broadband, this year’s WEF also addressed the electronics industry’s role in the environment and China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. The Forum’s location this year in Beijing highlights the importance of China’s commitments to reform in such areas as trade, transparency and intellectual property rights. While recognizing that it is too early to evaluate the extent of China’s compliance and that the multi-step process will take time, WEF members agreed that China is undertaking far-reaching improvements that are unprecedented in scope and complexity. 

To read the full text of the Eighth Annual WEF communiqué, please click here.