©Photos: courtesy of SENATUR
RDF Summary of discussions
Report by the Chairman
The Regional Preparatory Meeting for WTDC-17 for the Americas (RPM-AMS) took place in Asunción, Paraguay from 22 to 24 February 2017,
preceded by the Regional Development Forum for the Americas (RDF-AMS) on 21 February 2017. Both events were organized
at the kind invitation of the Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL) of
Paraguay.
In line with Resolution 31 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010), the Regional Preparatory
Meeting (RPM) aims at engaging the membership in the preparations of the
World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 (WTDC-17) in order to
achieve regional coordination before the conference itself. It also seeks
to identify issues at the regional level that need to be addressed to
foster the development of telecommunications and ICTs, taking into account
the most pressing needs faced by the Member States and Sector Members of
the region.
Regional Development Forums provide an opportunity for high-level dialogue,
cooperation and partnerships among telecommunication and ICT policy-makers,
regulators, industry, academia, regional and international development
agencies and organizations on specific regional telecommunication and ICT
issues.
The RPM-AMS was attended by 166 participants representing 19 Member States and 2 observer Member
States from other regions, 7 ITU‑D Sector Members
and 4 observer Sector Members from other regions.
RPM-AMS approved five Regional Initiatives for 2018-2021, as follows:
-
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Communications
- Spectrum Management and Transition to Digital Broadcasting
- Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure, especially in Rural and Neglected Areas, and Strengthening of Broadband Access to Services and Applications
- Accessibility and Affordability for an Inclusive and Sustainable Americas Region
- Development of the Digital Economy, Smart Cities and Communities
(SCC) & Internet of Things (IoT), promoting innovation.
RPM-AMS approved modifications to the preliminary draft
WTDC‑17 Declaration contained in Annex 2 of the
Report by the Chairman
.
RPM-AMS considered five contributions on the preliminary draft
ITU‑D contribution to the ITU Strategic Plan for 2020-2023
and four contributions to the preliminary draft ITU‑D Action
Plan 2018-2021 (including Study Group Questions). On the basis of
these contributions presented, it was agreed to continue to develop
a common proposal for the Americas region for the upcoming TDAG
meeting and for WTDC‑17.
RPM-AMS examined the proposals for the revision by WTDC‑17 of
eight resolutions (Resolutions 1, 9, 23, 45, 46, 50, 54 and 68).
Regarding streamlining resolutions, the participants took note of
the available guidelines proposed by the TDAG Correspondence Group
on Streamlining WTDC Resolutions and the guidelines proposed by the
Argentine Administration.
Outcomes of RPMs will be consolidated at the inter-regional
coordination meeting and discussed at TDAG 2017 in May. The
outcomes of TDAG will be submitted to WTDC-17 as draft documents
for consideration.
