iWorld
ITU Telecom suggests government policy to drive broadband, digital economy
MUMBAI: ITU Telecom World 2016 is in its second day today. Huawei and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) jointly hosted the first Asia Pacific Exchange on Broadband Regulation and Policy. They also released the White Paper on Broadband Regulation and Policy in Asia-Pacific Region: Facilitating Faster Broadband Deployment. Speakers at the exchange called for more comprehensive broadband policies to guide development and speed the rollout of national broadband networks, as the basis for growth in the digital economy.
Houlin Zhao, secretary-general of the ITU, made opening remarks at the exchange. He started his speech with appreciation to Huawei’s cooperation with ITU on the Exchange, and Huawei’s long-term support to ITU as its member. He pointed out that the ICT technologies and broadband infrastructure have become core economic competencies, critical for national competitiveness. Meanwhile, broadband has become people’s basic aspiration. It’s difficult for us to imagine a time without a broadband network and applications. Hence, Government should make broadband an imperative policy and persistently work on it.
Development in the Asia-Pacific region has been very unbalanced, and there is great variation in connectivity across the region. According to Jin Yuzhi, Vice President of Huawei Southern-East Asia Region, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Singapore are world leaders, with broadband penetration of 95%. But in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Cambodia, less than 5% of the population has access to broadband. Speakers at the exchange said that in those countries, more government and policy support was required to accelerate infrastructure growth and increase external connectivity.
“Broadband should be part of national strategy. Governments should encourage telecom investment and infrastructure development like submarine and land cables, data centers and other network development,”Jin said.
During the exchange, Huawei and the ITU launched their White Paper on Broadband Regulation and Policy in Asia-Pacific Region: Facilitating Faster Broadband Deployment to offer policy guidance. The white paper calls on governments to lead infrastructure development, to build alliances incorporating different government departments and private industry, and to develop broadband-friendly industrial policy. Governments should improve infrastructure synergy and find ways to simplify the process of obtaining rights of way. They should require new buildings and renovation projects to include fiber connections, produce explicit standards for compensation for eminent domain, and start universal service funds. Governments should legislate comprehensive frameworks for ICT, expand international fiber links, loosen restrictions on carriers, investors, and infrastructure builders, release more spectrum, and make more efficient use of spectrum resources.
During the exchange, speakers from many countries in the region agreed on the need to accelerate national broadband rollout to enable the digital economy. Leaders of regulatory agencies from Portugal, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Singapore and Malaysia discussed the development of broadband in their countries, and talked about the challenges they have faced and solutions they have developed. All parties said that they hoped for more global and regional cooperation, and that they were working to build more complete national industry policies, and improve the ICT investment climate to accelerate the development of their national broadband networks.
Speakers from the event’s sponsor said that Huawei is a leading provider of global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions. The company has a depth of expertise as an ICT industry advisor, long experience delivering successful national broadband solutions, and global operations and systems for training telecommunications professionals. Huawei is ready to work with all the nations of the Asia-Pacific region to develop their broadband capacity, and to build a better connected Asia-Pacific.
About 200 government officials, industry leaders, and technology experts around the region attended the exchange. ITU Telecom World, first held in 1971, is one of the most important and largest telecommunications expos in the world. The theme for this year’s expo is “Better Sooner. Accelerating ICT Innovation to Improve Lives Faster”.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
