Invitation to the GTWN 10th Anniversary Breakfast Roundtable

Another key issue facing broadband is that whilst the requisite technology exists, there is still a problem in finding the right business models. Bridget Cosgrave, President of the Carrier and Wholesale Business Unit, Belgacom said “no one has come to me from Hollywood” about using her company’s infrastructure to deliver movies.

Kate Bulkley, a freelance journalist who was once described by Candace Johnson, president of Europe Online Investments and a founder of the GTWN, as the world’s best media and telecoms analyst, summed up the forum by saying that broadband is attacking the traditional business models of the TV business much as broadband has adversely hit the bottom line of the music business.

“More work needs to be done on business models in this new, broadband -enabled environment and that means different parts of the business from distribution to content need to work with each other as we have started to do here,” said Bulkley.

The importance of the event and its conclusions in the ongoing debate about broadband were highlighted by Ingrid Silver, who is a Taylor Wessing lawyer specialising in communications law and European Regional President of the GTWN.

“Both the calibre of the attendees and the discussion which took place demonstrated the immense potential which women have to influence the communications sector. GTWN will continue to foster this debate in information and communication technologies, by bringing together senior women in these once divergent fields.”

Ends

Notes to editors

The GTWN is holding a breakfast on 14 October to celebrate its tenth anniversary during the ITU’s World Telecom 2003 in Geneva. Amongst the topics under discussion at the forum will be the impact of the new communication technologies on societies around the world, and whether the so-called ‘digital divide’ really does need to exist. If you would like to find out more about this event, please email communication@gtwn.org.

The GTWN exists to promote the prespective of women and their role within the global information and communication industries by providing:

– a forum for debate and discussion of key issues;
– promotion of women at all levels;
– networking among women to achieve these goals; and
– role models and mentorship of women within these industries.

For more information contact the Taylor Wessing press office on 020 7300 4930/4234 or email d.shoukry@taylorwessing.com

Taylor Wessing is a European law firm with recognised strengths in IP/technology, corporate, finance, projects and real estate. www.taylorwessing.com