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Belarus to attend OSCE conference on media freedom

MINSK, 14 February (BelTA) - Belarus will attend the OSCE conference “Internet 2013 - Shaping policies to advance media freedom” to be held in Vienna on 14-15 February, BelTA learnt from Vladimir Ryabovolov, the first deputy head of the operations and analysis center under the President of Belarus. The conference will bring together approximately 250 participants from across the OSCE region. The Belarusian delegation will be led by Vladimir Ryabovolov, the first deputy head of the operations and analysis center under the President of Belarus. He will participate in a panel discussion "Approaches to Internet regulation involving a wide range of participants”. In addition, the delegation will include Mr Yury Zisser, the founder of the TUT.BY portal, who will represent the civil society.According to Vladimir Ryabovolov, Belarus has been actively developing Internet technologies, expanding external Internet gateway. The number of Internet users is growing in the country. Major ICT projects are currently in progress. These include the construction of a new transit connection line, the implementation of LTE technology, the creation of the unified national data transmission network (UNDTN). "The operations and analysis center acts as the independent regulator of the ICT sector in Belarus, and works closely with the civil society," said Vladimir Ryabovolov. Belarus has set up the Advisory Council in the ICT. It is composed of representatives of government agencies, private companies, NGOs and academia."As the market becomes liberalized the role of the independent regulator will decline while the role of civil society, on the contrary, will increase," Vladimir Ryabovolov. Businessman Yury Zisser, for his part, noted that the Advisory Board examines various issues that are important for the participants of the ICT market, including the interaction between telecom operators, calculation of frequency fees, Internet traffic tariffs for private providers. “It is very important that the State consults with the civil society. In many countries Internet regulation is done through interaction between the State, private businesses and public organizations,” he stressed.

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