It begins: on Monday, June 17, in Rome, the press conference for the presentation of APRO19 will be held, the event that Assoprovider is organizing on June 28, also in the capital. The meeting is at the DIRE agency — which is also organizing the press conference — at 11:30 AM in Corso d’Italia, 38 A.
The theme, both of the conference and the event, is still sadly relevant: "Digital Divide: The strength of small Italian Operators for the country's telecommunications. Past, present, and future of Made in Italy TLC."
During the press conference, Dino Bortolotto, Marcello Cama, Antonella Oliviero, Gianbattista Frontera, and Fulvio Sarzana will speak, moderated by Nico Perrone.
Between Digital Divide and 5G
The spread of mobile devices and increasingly faster connections unfortunately has not reduced the problem of the Digital Divide, the disparity in access to the opportunities offered by the Internet.
We remind you of just one piece of data, among others, to understand how it is still a pervasive phenomenon today. According to the ISTAT survey "NOI ITALIA, 100 statistics to understand the country we live in," the digital divide separates Italy from the rest of Europe, but it also hinders the internal development of the nation76.2 percent of people living in Central Northern Italy, in fact, have a fast connection, while in the South the percentage drops to 68.5 percent.
In Southern Italy, fast Internet DOES NOT EXIST for one in THREE FAMILIES.
To learn more about the topic and Assoprovider's initiatives on the subject, read: Digital Divide: 3 things to know ahead of the Rome stage of Assoprovider (June 28-29)
Alongside the issue of the Digital Divide, APRO19 will also be an opportunity to take stock of the latest developments in the network, particularly regarding 5G., the "fifth generation" (hence the name) for mobile telephony technologies. This represents a great development opportunity, and we explain why in five steps:
- It is 20 times faster than 4G (the technology we commonly use today to connect from mobile)
- It is a true "new web": the 5G infrastructure is indeed the foundation upon which the entire Internet of Things will develop, with billions of commonly used "objects" connected to the network
- It will change companies: other innovations such as augmented reality, sensor technology, and virtual reality will rely on 5G, which will change the face of businesses
- It is a boost for growth: according to Ericsson, in 2026 5G will reach a turnover of 1307 billion dollars
- It will bring new employment: the growth of 5G will lead to the creation of new skills. According to Qualcomm-Ihs-Ps, 22 million new jobs will be created
The problem here too is that the disparity in usage might not allow everyone to take advantage of the many opportunities of 5G. This is why Assoprovider is at the forefront to ensure widespread access:
"5G is the new challenge for the country," explained Dino Bortolotto, president of Assoprovider – However, it will only be useful if it does not place the entire access market in the hands of a few entities and if the frequencies are not the prerogative of a few entities.»
APRO19: full program revealed
APRO19 is the opportunity to discuss and put forward concrete proposals on technological innovations that concern everyone, not just individual providers.
The event will be an opportunity to take stock of the solutions and strategies devised over the years by Assoprovider and to discuss the new challenges of the Network that await SMEs and citizens. And how to tackle them together.
After the press conference on Monday 17th, all eyes are now on the actual event, which will take place in Rome on the upcoming 28th of June. Today we reveal for the first time the complete program of the event:
Digital Divide: The strength of small Italian Operators for the country's telecommunications
"Past, Present, and Future of Made in Italy TLC"
9:30 Registration
10:00 Ing. Dino Bortolotto, President of Assoprovider
- Introduction to the day
10:15 Paolo Di Francesco – National Councilor Assoprovider
- 5G demystification: everything that 5G is not, even if they keep saying it
10:30 Dr. Matteo Decina – Economist
- Report on Economies and Diseconomies of Scale
10:50 Dr. Alessio Beltrame – Ugo Bordoni Foundation
- What prevented the removal of the distortions present in Annex 10: why is the funding only for large entities?
11:10 Dr. Giulio Maggiore – Università Ubiqua
- E-learning as an opportunity for barrier-free knowledge
11:30 Assoprovider engages with politics on “Equal and Sustainable Frequencies”
Moderator: Dr. Vincenzo Vita
Hon. Michele Gubitosa (M5S)
Hon. Paolo Romani (FI).
Hon. Nicola Fratoianni (LEU)
Hon. Antonello Giacomelli (PD)
Hon. Elena Murelli (Lega)
12:20 Dr. Marco Bellezza – MISE
- The position of the Mise on the restructuring of administrative contributions for P2P frequencies, involvement or exclusion of SMEs in the telecommunications sector in the Italian 5G coverage.
12:40 Dr. Antonio Nicita AGCOM
- The use of shared spectrum
13:00 AVM device manufacturer
13:15 work break
14:30 Avv. Fulvio Sarzana, book presentation
- European electronic communications, Directive (EU) 2018/1972. 5G, fiber, cybersecurity, competition, and user protection.
14:45 Sice Telecom
15:00 Macrotel Italia
15:15 Assoprovider discusses the "hot topics"
- SKY, SPC, Condominium Operator, frequency spectrum analysis including terrestrial digital, Free Modem, Blackouts
17:00 Senator Stanislao Di Piazza (M5S)
- Instruments of facilitated finance introduced in the current legislature
17:30 Work Completion