The global telecom industry has entered a recovery phase after years of dismal performance, more than 30 chief technical officers (CTOs) said at a conference on Tuesday.

CTOs from big companies such as Alcatel,China Mobile, China Unicom, Ericsson, IBM and Nokia, among others, are taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society, which kicked off yesterday in Geneva.

"We have growing confidence that the telecom industry is emerging from a tough period," said Zhao Houlin, director of the International Telecom Union's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.

Experts believe that this new period is being driven by the market pull for services that comes from a real convergence of information, computing and telecom technologies.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) will play a leading role in future development both socially and economically.

"The value of this unprecedented meeting cannot be overstated. Consensus at this level stands to benefit not just industry but the whole of society," said Zhao, adding that the meeting of minds has potential to have real influence on the development of ICTs.

Pascal Viginier, director of R&D at France Telecom, believes that five major technologies are likely to help the company become more customer-focused. They include IP networks, universal broadband and wireless access, and multi-access innovative devices.

"The focal point is shifting from the network to the user. And the customer is at the centre of the network," Viginier stressed.

However, he believes that current IP network technologies are not suitable for telecom carriers who can only meet the requirements of traditional Internet services.

To adapt to the service trend, "IP Telecom Network (IPTN) is the key for the future, multi-service network," the French telecom executive said.

"Next generation communications networks will be multi-layered, service-aware networks which deliver dynamic customized services on a massive scale," said William O'Shea, executive vice-president of Lucent Technologies and president of Bell Labs, at a panel discussion.

As far as the development of Internet is concerned, Michael Neison, vice-president of the Public Policy of the Internet Society, a non-profit and non-governmental membership organization focused on Internet issues, called for the easing of regulations on developing countries to enable easy Internet access and reduce the digital divide.

Neison also called on developed countries to help developing nations through ICT-related aid programmes.

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