Reasons for the question

The desire that the work in the Special Study Group on IMT 2000 and beyond is carried out in the most efficient manner possible, and that it takes into account the collaborative environment in which it operates, leading to an organization that is more responsive to the requirements of industry. To meet this requirement the SSG needs to operate in a flexible but defined manner, thus requiring appropriate documentation on how it is to carry out its work.

Any new working procedures should include how the SSG meets (full SSG or Rapporteurs), how often the SSG meets, which groups it meets and liaises with, whether interpretation is required, what type of output is required, and so on.

The WTSA has already provided provisional working procedures for this SSG and in Recommendation A.9 which also authorizes investigation into alternative types of output of a different status from recommendations, eg normative or informative technical specifications or interim recommendations.

Question

Considering the provisional working procedures produced by WTSA for the Special Study Group (Recommendation A.9), what further working procedures are needed to ensure that the SSG takes the opportunity to respond in a flexible manner to the requirements of Member States and Sector Members in the preparation of recommendations. Furthermore, what new output document types need to be developed to efficiently and effectively carry out the work of the Special Study Group on IMT- 2000 and beyond.

Task objectives

The major focus of this question is to develop working procedures which facilitate the provision of output documents on IMT 2000 and beyond which include both recommendations and suitable alternatives to recommendations. The task objectives for the question are:

1) That SSG develop a set of working procedures based on the provisional set provided by the WTSA in Recommendation A.9., including:

Reporting;

Working methods;

Work programme;

Approval of output;

2) That the SSG develop new types of output document to meet the requirements of industry for technical specifications of different status to those found in traditional ITU recommendations.

New version of Recommendation A.9 to be submitted to TSAG for approval.

Expected Completion: Initial drafts for new document types for agreement by 3Q2001, subsequent procedures 1Q2002. Proposals to TSAG 1Q2002.

Relationships

The development of these working procedures and output document types will require close coordination activities with:

• TSAG
• ITU-T Study Group 11.
• ITU-R Working Party 8F.