INDIA AND ITALY
SIGN MoU FOR COLLABORATION IN THE FIELD OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
BOTH
COUNTRIES TO SET UP JOINT WORKING GROUP TO IDENTIFY AND FACILITATE
INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
SHRI
PRAMOD MAHAJAN AND MR. MAURIZIO GASPARRI SIGN MoU
India and Italy today
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Rome institutionalising
a framework for cooperation and collaboration in critical sectors
of Telecommunications for an initial period of three years. The
MoU which establishes a Joint Working Group to facilitate and
identify areas of cooperation, will focus on cutting-edge technologies
in the Telecom sector. The MoU while recognising the potential
for intensive trade between the two countries in the Telecom sector,
underlines the need to tap the abilities and opportunities in
the sector in a more comprehensive and focussed manner. A key
feature of the MoU is the focus on the given available opportunities
for both the countries to consolidate collaboration in the areas
of investment, joint ventures, joint initiatives, technology development
in critical sectors of Telecom. The MoU also envisages the search
for opportunities keeping in mind the available market potential
in the Telecom sector for both countries. The MoU was signed by
Mr. Pramod Mahajan, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs,
Communications and Information Technology and Mr. Maurizio Gasparri,
Minister for Communications on behalf of the Government of Italy.
The MoU focusses
on principal areas of cooperation in the Telecom sector. These
include: Exchange of scientific and technical information in the
field of Telecommunications, new and modern technologies, spectrum
management and standardisationn and fostering of industry joint
ventures. A key aspect of the MoU is the focus on the search for
exploring opportunities in third country markets. This has been
done keeping in mind the inbuilt potential in the Telecom sector
existing in both countries.
The MoU will facilitate
business opportunities between the two countries in the areas
of Telecom services. It is expected that this institutional mechanism
shall create opportunities in areas of telecom consultation, processing
services, and promotion of investments in the Telecom sector.
The MoU also provides the opportunity to share and exchange experience
gained by their respective countries in the sector.
Shri Pramod Mahajan
also had extensive discussions with his counterpart Mr. Maurizio
Gasparri. During the discussions, Shri Mahajan gave an indepth
analysis of India’s progress and growth in the Telecom sector.
He specifically stressed on the strategising efforts of the Indian
Telecom industry in diversifying their growth prospects in markets
across the world. The current initiative of the Indian Telecom
industry was to diversify into different market segments keeping
in mind the needs and requirements of the region. The Minister
emphasised the importance of harnessing opportunities between
India and Italy in critical Telecom sectors. This initiative would
not only spur growth in the domestic market, it would also offer
new growth opportunities for both countries in their search for
external markets. The Minister also outlined the policy initiatives
of the Government and specifically stressed on the initiatives
undertaken to tackle the ‘Digital Divide’ in the country, and
the endeavour of the Government to provide value added connectivity
to the people and take IT&Telecom to the Masses.
Telecommunications
systems present a growth rate in line with the European average.
Growth in the Italian Telecom market was 5.4% in 2001. Revenues
coming from mobile services almost reached that of fixed line
telephony in 2001. To increase revenues in this highly competitive
market, telecom operators are continuing to offer new services
such as combine voice/data flat fees and discount plans for calls
to preferred fixed line numbers or preferred geographical areas
or preferred day time. The growing implementation of CRM strategies
is helping companies in understanding and profiling their customers
and being proactive in this changing and competitive market.
The ICT market in
Italy is growing faster than the European average. According to
the estimates of the EITO 2002 Report, in 2001 the growth rate
for the Italian ICT market has been about 6.3% and is expected
to reach 5.7% for 2002 and 8% for 2003. In the IT sector, Italy
did well in 2001 with a growth rate of 7.8%, higher than that
of any other European country. The forecast of 6.8% for 2002 is
promising and the rate should be much higher reaching 10.2% in
2003.
The MoU signed between
India and Italy is being looked upon as an opportunity to build
long standing business partnerships in the field of technology
and foster business relations between the two countries.
