ITU 03 diary - a weekend of two halves

The ITU Telecom World conference can be a bit stuffy. With all those heads of state, regulators and other dignitaries from afar - plus Geneva's own collection of diplomats in close attendance - this show is like no other. It may not be the world's biggest but it's still arguably the most prestigious.

That said, there's still the sight of hordes of drunks screaming and shouting at each other and TV screens - but more of that in a moment.

To start with, a conference that has been graced by Nelson Mandela and other world leaders in the past was this year opened by, among others, the King of Spain. (Don't ask me why.) And as is fitting, opening speeches and debates concentrated on issues such as universal access to telephony and certain online services.

ITU secretary-general Yoshio Itsumi spoke of making sure the whole world can communicate, which at the very least means connecting all villages, wherever they are, to the internet. His worthy plan is to make sure that, by 2015, also all schools, hospitals and scientific/R&D centres are also connected, with children taught ICT skills alongside the three Rs, and TV and radio as birthrights. Hear, hear.

He said: "A society based on information should be a more just, equitable and sustainable one."

Erkki Liikanen, EC Member for the Information Society, backed up these statements. Heck, even HP boss Carly Fiorina sounded statesman-like. Who said she'd rule out standing for office one day? 'E-inclusion', as she put it, isn't just good business or helpful to developing countries - it's simply "the right thing to do".

If any countries where access to clean water is higher on the agenda than broadband availability need any inspiration then it wasn't hard to see the progress of others who were themselves 'developing' until just a few decades ago.

Commercial colossuses from East Asia dominate the skyline at the huge PalExpo conference centre. Should we be surprised if the absence of European giants such as Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens and Vodafone is literally overshadowed by the giant stands of LG, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony and Toshiba?

But not long after the back-slapping of internationalisation got under way it was time for one of those nights of European football that needs explaining to the neutral. And believe me, there was lots of explaining to neutrals.

A visit to Mr Pickwicks pub - a beer-stained ex-pats' bar close to central Geneva - to watch the England-Turkey game brought one such episode. Try explaining, if you're a PR looking after your American clients, why you'd go to a cramped, smelly venue to celebrate loudly and drunkenly a game where no one scores. You can't.

However, we all learnt you can blame City boys on their year in Switzerland for the most unruly behaviour. The same ones probably won't be there in four years' time - I don't know if I can say the same for the absentee vendors or that delightful Turkey football team next summer.