BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The GSMA today recognised the governments of Brazil and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the mobile industry’s prestigious Government Mobile Excellence Awards, which honour governments’ significant achievements in driving growth in the use of mobile services and maximising the socio-economic impact of the mobile industry in their respective countries. This year, the Government Mobile Excellence Awards comprised two categories: Government Leadership and Spectrum for Mobile Broadband. The awards acknowledge government policies and regulation that encourage investment and support transparency, competition and regulatory independence.
“The governments of Brazil and Pakistan have demonstrated a clear commitment to putting mobile at the top of their digital agendas,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA. “We encourage administrations from around the globe to be inspired by their achievements and adopt similar best practice measures in order to encourage greater mobile industry investment, support innovation and increase the provision of mobile services for their citizens.”
Government Leadership Award – Government of Brazil
The 2015 Government Leadership Award was presented to the Government of Brazil and the Honourable Minister of Communications, His Excellency Mr. Ricardo Berzoini. The award recognises a number of policy approaches adopted in 2014 that have underpinned phenomenal growth in the broadband subscriber base and have led to Brazil having the highest proportion of 3G connections in Latin America. These approaches included: the auction of Digital Dividend spectrum in the 700MHz band to make additional spectrum available for mobile broadband; identification of all of the IMT frequency bands - as defined by the ITU - for the mobile industry; significant reductions in the SIM card tax on M2M devices, providing a stimulus for operators to develop services such as smart metering, car tracking and remote health monitoring; and a tax break regime for small cells that has improved mobile capacity in urban areas in Brazil.
Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Award – Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
The 2015 Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Award was presented to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Her Excellency Ms. Anusha Rahman Khan. In April 2014, the Ministry of Information Technology successfully auctioned spectrum for 3G/4G services in Pakistan in the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands. Since then, there has been a rapid uptake of 3G services, bringing significant benefits to consumers and the national economy, and providing huge growth potential for industry players including operators, device manufacturers, application developers and distributors. The rapid roll-out of 3G and 4G services is boosting growth and efficiency in all sectors including education, banking, media, health and retailing, as well as being a key enabler for innovative e-services such as e-medicine and e-education in rural and remote areas of Pakistan.
The awards were presented as part of the GSMA’s annual Ministerial Programme at Mobile World Congress. More than 1,200 key government and regulatory representatives from around the world are meeting with industry leaders to discuss specific regulatory issues relating to innovation and development of mobile communications. This year, the Ministerial Programme has attracted more than 160 delegations and international organisations, representing all regions. The 2015 Ministerial Programme is sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services.
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About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.
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