 Television is something we just take for granted, but what's behind it and how did we get to where we are today? In June 2006, an ITU conference of more than 1,000 delegates took place here in Geneva. That conference was to transform the world of broadcasting. It opened the doors to a new age of television. By the end of the conference, 104 nations of Europe, Africa and the Middle East had agreed a plan to introduce digital television. The target was to complete the task in just nine years. Deadline 1 a.m. 17th of June 2015. Although it would be a massive undertaking, it would mean more quality, more choice and more flexibility for viewers. It would liberate television. Before that, a plan was needed to agree what digital television transmitters could go where. That plan came out of the conference. Television transmitters illuminate a certain area of land, like a light beacon. In the area they light up, viewers can watch the TV services. Planning television services is like creating a giant jigsaw puzzle of transmitter coverage areas. They had to try to get for every nation the digital channels, the transmitters and the coverage areas they would like or come as close as possible. And at the same time, they needed to make sure that broadcasts from each transmitter didn't interfere with viewers in other countries. When the conference started, the participating nations made over 70,000 requests for transmitters, channels and coverage areas. Imagine being asked to create a jigsaw puzzle with over 70,000 pieces where each piece has to fit and respect a list of rules. It took enormous computer power to create the plan and as far as possible give the nations what they wanted. It was achieved by harnessing sophisticated computer software developed in the EBU together with the computer hardware power of the CERN. The success of the conference provided the impetus for the transition to digital television that was to happen all over the world. The advantage of having digital TV, it is your own TV. You can't control it by yourself, you can't put your content and nobody can control your transmission. Also transmit something much cheaper. For example, if you take a World Cup or something like that, it is a benefit for the UEE viewer. As we have digital broadcasting in Tanzania now, we have the free-to-have services that they used to get in the past including pay TV services. So we have more channels and more choice. In front of it, it was important both for broadcasting because it was enabling to introduce new services. Also because it was enabling to get the digital dividend and having the 800mg available for the mobile service. The digital dividend, in this case the freeing up of the spectrum will enable the national broadband strategy target of having 30% of the population broadband by 2017. It's important that both the broadcast services and the mobile service involve harmoniously. That's why we think that other nations can benefit from the observation of the problems we are facing throughout the process and the solutions we adopted. With the help of ITU BR, we're going to continue to assist those countries who are not going to achieve on June 15 by being sure that they will not be affected by the other countries who already met the deadline. I would like to congratulate the administrations which have successfully switched to digital television broadcasting. As for the others, they can be assured of the continued support of the ITU to carry out this process. I wish all countries a successful transition to digital television broadcasting. Because of the flexibility that digital offers, television has come a very long way from a small and simple TV set in the corner to multiple large screens with high definition images. And digital technology also allows TVs to connect up to the internet to create a world where television networks and internet networks understand and cooperate with each other. And tomorrow may bring even further steps to reality the new worlds of ultra-high definition television and immersive audio. What will all of these achievements mean for the way we live our lives? Well, whatever they are, they're all the legacy of their ITU conference in 2006.