The seminar was inaugurated by the Belgian Federal Minister for Enterprise and Simplification, Mr van Quickenborne, and the Swedish Secretary of State to the Minister for Trade, Mr Wieslander. Mr van Quickenborne summarised the many similarities between Belgium and Sweden in terms of broadband speed, coverage, price and services. Mr Wieslander underlined the expertise of Swedish telecom and ICT companies, and the government’s priority to create a framework to foster the growth of this sector.
This was followed by a presentation of the Swedish Telecommunications sector. Kista Science City, the largest ICT cluster in Europe, was highlighted as an important driver for Swedish ICT innovation.
The Belgian Telecom operators presented their own views on what solutions and services will attract their future customers. The operators described their priorities and strategies, and focussed on how the steady growth in the use of broadband and mobile technologies, and technological improvements are affecting the consumer trends. The powerful move towards convergence was emphasised.