ETNO is hosting its first workshop at the Internet Governance Forum [IGF] in Bali, Indonesia. This year’s IGF is expected to be attended by approximately 1,500 participants from civil society, the private sector, the technical community and Government representatives. The objective of each IGF programme is to facilitate an open and inclusive dialogue and exchange of ideas on key issues relevant to the Internet governance world. The overarching theme for the 2013 IGF meeting is: "Building Bridges - Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development".

The ETNO/ISOC workshop is entitled ‘Removing Barriers to Connectivity: Connecting the Unconnected’. Recognising that an appropriate enabling environment must be put in place to ensure that broadband connections are developed and maintained to sustain the rise in Internet traffic and to help encourage connectivity, workshop participants will aim to identify best practices that will help transform the digital divide into the digital opportunity, and will look at what can be done to promote the efficient deployment of broadband infrastructure at the local level, as well as how best to address access and demand issues.

Speakers include representatives from Telefónica, Facebook, World Bank, Google, Hurricane Electric and civil society, and the workshop takes place on Wednesday 23rd October.

About ETNO

ETNO has been the voice of Europe’s telecommunications network operators since 1992 and has become the principal policy group for European electronic communications network operators. Its 50 members and observers in 35 countries collectively account for a turnover of more than € 600 billion and employ over 1.6 million people. ETNO companies are the main drivers of broadband and are committed to its continual growth in Europe. ETNO closely contributes to shaping the best regulatory and commercial environment for its members to continue rolling out innovative and high quality services and platforms for the benefit of European consumers and businesses.

For more information, please contact:

Ralph Lloyd-Davis (ETNO) Tel: +32 2 227 10 88 Email: lloyd@etno.be