Hard times, bold strategies

A perspective from the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission

The 34 Member States of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL)* welcome the opportunity to provide views and comments on the preparations for the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-02), to be held in Marrakesh in September and October 2002. CITEL’s preparations were undertaken in a working group of the Permanent Executive Committee, chaired by José Vivanco of Ecuador. A principal objective of the preparations has been to ensure that the requirements and interests of all of the countries of the Americas region are reflected in the positions and proposals developed and advanced within the working group itself. The approach adopted by CITEL in preparing for PP-02 is consistent with that used for other ITU conferences and meetings, particularly the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-02) held in Istanbul in March 2002 and the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference in 2003 (WRC-03).

An additional impetus for CITEL in formulating approaches and positions to be presented to PP-02 has been the follow-up activities to the Summit of the Americas held in Quebec City in April 2001, and attended by Heads of State and Government in the region. The Action Plan adopted by that Summit highlighted the issue of “connectivity” which culminated in the adoption of a Plan of Action by the Third Regular CITEL Assembly held in Washington, DC, in August 2002.

In particular, the Heads of State and Government recognized that the technological revolution taking place has profound social, economic and political consequences, and that a new economy and society are being defined by an increasing capacity to access and disseminate information, and by the need and challenge of transforming such information into knowledge for the benefit of all citizens of the Americas. It is the promotion of an Agenda for Connectivity in the form of national strategies that the countries of the region expect will facilitate the process of addressing and closing “the digital divide”, and accelerate the integration of the hemisphere into a knowledge-based society. To fulfil the Plan of Action of the Quebec Summit, CITEL was instructed to work with regional organizations and agencies to develop a cooperative and collaborative programme to support an Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas.

The link to PP-02 lies, to a large extent, in the Connectivity Agenda that was presented and discussed at WTDC-02 and forms part of the Istanbul Action Plan.

Recognizing that ITU has the capacity and mandate to bring together all regional initiatives to achieve connectivity in a global context, WTDC-02 decided to:

• Include in the Istanbul Declaration and Action Plan the principles expressed in the “Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and Quito Action Plan” (see box for these principles).
• Include, among the high priorities of the ITU, support for initiatives of the “Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas,” recommending the use of mechanisms to help to achieve the necessary results for each country and region, and promote the exchange of information on the development of connectivity activities globally.

Another important link can be found in the region’s on-going preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in 2003, and in 2005 under the coordination responsibility of ITU.

Inter-American Proposals

CITEL’s Working Group for PP-02 has come up with a number of common proposals, most of which have been coordinated by different countries of the region. In most cases, the recommendations of the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR), as well as proposed draft amendments to the ITU Constitution and Convention, prepared by the Group of Experts appointed by the Council in 2001, have been used as a basis for the work of the region.

Strengthening the ITU regional presence

Argentina coordinated views on regional presence — an issue of on-going importance to the countries of the region. Resolution 25 (Rev. Minneapolis, 1998) was used as a basis. It calls for regional presence to be strengthened and kept under review in the interests of meeting the evolving requirements and priorities of each region, the first objective being to maximize the benefits of the regional presence for the whole of the Union’s membership. CITEL’s proposal seeks to amend Resolution 25 in a way that captures the priority to:

• Identify functions which could be decentralized in order to expand and strengthen regional presence.
• Provide the regional offices with increased autonomy, specifically in terms of their ability to disseminate information, provide expert advice, and host meetings, courses, or seminars.
• Identify functions related to the implementation of the budgets of the regional offices that may be delegated to these offices, with a view to enhancing their participation in preparing the budget.

Financial and budgetary matters

Canada coordinated views on financial and budgetary matters, including those associated with the concept of cost recovery. A recommendation of the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR R12) states that: “As a means of ensuring a timely response to unanticipated demand for services under cost recovery, while at the same time allowing the membership, through the Council, to maintain control over the expenditure and income in the budget, one of the following options should be proposed to the Plenipotentiary Conference:

• the ceiling or limit on expenditure should be removed, while maintaining the limit on the value of the contributory unit; or
• if a ceiling on expenditure is still considered necessary, activities provided under cost recovery should be considered to be outside such a ceiling.”

CITEL Member States support the second option and propose that the Plenipotentiary Conference adopt, in the Financial Plan for 2004–2007, both a ceiling on the contributory unit and a ceiling on expenditure. CITEL further proposes to exclude activities associated with cost recovery from the ceiling on expenditure in order to ensure a timely response to unanticipated demand for services under cost recovery.

The removal of the expenditure ceiling is, however, not supported. The CITEL membership holds the view that the flexibility given to the Council in its biennial budget-setting exercises under Decision 5 (Minneapolis, 1998) can serve to provide ITU with the means to deal with such unanticipated increases in the budgetary requirements of the Union. This involves taking into account such factors as the effects of inflation, currency fluctuations and changes in the United Nations common system. It is further argued that Decision 5 gives the Council the prerogative to exceed the ceiling on expenditure by up to 1 per cent in order to accommodate unforeseen and urgent activities.

Results-based budgeting

Still under consideration by the CITEL Member States is a proposal that the Plenipotentiary Conference take a decision to implement, expeditiously, the results-based budgeting concept which has, as one of its key components, the uniform and consistent application of performance measurements and performance indicators throughout ITU. In this regard, several countries of the region have expressed the need to enhance the evaluation functions and mechanisms in ITU, in order to increase transparency and accountability at a time when financial resources are constrained. Moreover, the Member States and Associate Members of CITEL have particular interest in following the debates concerning the development of the Financial Plan for 2004–2007, given an apparent gap between income and expenditure.

Telecommunication Development Sector

Brazil coordinated views on the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU–D). CITEL’s proposal to PP-02 focuses, in part, on the review of the results of WTDC-02 in terms of the implementation strategies to be employed in relation to the Financial Plan (budgetary resources available) and the Strategic Plan (priorities within ITU–D and in relative terms against the full list of activities requiring approval by the Plenipotentiary Conference).

The Radiocommunication Sector

Colombia was responsible for matters related to the Radiocommunication Sector (ITU–R). One proposal from CITEL deals with the definition of certain terms used in the ITU Convention and the Administrative Regulations. One example that has caught the attention of the CITEL membership is a definition of radiocommunication that states: “Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequencies arbitrarily lower than 3 000 GHz, propagated in space without artificial guide.” It is proposed to delete the words “of frequencies arbitrarily lower than 3 000 GHz” from that definition (Note 1 of CV 1005). Although the definition is currently used within ITU–R, it is recognized as arbitrary, and may require additional future revision for practical reasons.

Already, systems utilizing the electromagnetic spectrum above 3 000 GHz for telecommunication in free space have been deployed in terrestrial applications and in the geostationary satellite orbit and non-geostationary satellite orbit. It appears then to CITEL that the authority of ITU–R to deal with rights and responsibilities is currently limited to 3 000 GHz. It is important to extend that authority.

The proposed modification is considered essential to manage electromagnetic spectrum use for telecommunication in free space without restrictions on frequency limits, and without requiring additional modifications to the Constitution and the Convention.

A recent addition to the list of Inter-American Proposals supported by the requisite number of CITEL countries concerns Resolution 83 (WRC-2000), which calls upon PP-02 to consider the administrative procedures for cost recovery for satellite network filings and the date at which they will enter into force.

Radio Regulations Board (RRB)

There are currently twelve members on the Radio Regulations Board from all regions of the world. CITEL Member States do not support the recommendation of the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR R5a), which suggests that: “the number of Board members should be reduced and that such reduction should be consistent with principles of efficiency and geographical distribution”.

On the other hand, CITEL supports the recommendation that highlights the need for the role and tasks of RRB to include the principle of ensuring that the Rules of Procedure are developed in a transparent manner and approved without possible adverse effect on Member States (WGR R4c). This support is in line with the constitutional principles (Article 14), which indicate that the Radio Regulations Board, in the exercise of its functions, shall not request or receive instructions from any government, government official or organization, or public or private person. Furthermore, Member States and Sector Members shall respect the exclusively international nature of the functions of the Board members and shall abstain from influencing them in the exercise of those functions.

CITEL supports two other recommendations from the Working Group on ITU Reform. The first suggests that the Board should continue to function on a part-time basis (WGR R5c). The second seeks to prevent the election of an RRB member from the same Member State as the Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau (WGR R5b). CITEL agrees with the draft amendments to the Constitution (Nos. 62 and 63c), proposed by the Group of Experts to reinforce this recommendation, on the grounds that such modifications would also preserve the concept of equitable geographical distribution; ensure that a Member State can only propose its own citizens as candidates to the Board and; through reference to the Constitution (No.93), confirm that, at the time of the election, technical qualifications and independence will be guiding principles for the election of RRB members.

Telecommunication Standardization

Venezuela coordinated views on the Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU–T). During discussions in the Working Group on ITU Reform, various options were put forward for changing the way standardization activities are carried out. One option concerned the creation of a forum, possibly outside the structure of the Union. Looking at the recommendations of the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR R6a and R6c), CITEL Member States are strongly of the view that ITU–T should not be “spun off” into a separate entity but should remain as part of the current structure of ITU.

They argue that with the increasingly rapid development and proliferation of telecommunication technologies within the existing global information infrastructure, international standardization must also take place in an increasingly efficient manner. And ITU–T has taken steps to improve the efficiency with which these global telecommunication standardization activities take place. For example, recent implementation of the alternative approval process (AAP) by ITU–T has greatly reduced the time it takes to approve technical Recommendations.

ITU Strategic Plan and related matters

Mexico coordinated positions on this topic. CITEL Member States are of the view that ITU must enhance its responsiveness to changes in the telecommunications environment and improve its capabilities in strategic, operational and financial planning. To this end, CITEL supports a recommendation of the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR R15) and a corresponding draft amendment to the Convention (Article 4). Both seek to provide authority to the Council to review and update the Strategic Plan in the interval between plenipotentiary conferences and to inform Member States and Sector Members accordingly. The proposed amendment is also expected to make the Strategic Plan less rigid.

Allocation of time to policy statements

To streamline plenipotentiary conferences in order to save financial resources and time, CITEL Member States support the recommendation of the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR R22), according to which policy statements should be made during the first week of the conference and should be as short as possible (a maximum of five minutes).

Policy statements that are not delivered during the first week may only be made available in writing. Delegations should be encouraged to submit their policy statements in written form. All written policy statements should be made available on the website of the conference.

Election procedures

CITEL supports a recommendation from the Working Group on ITU Reform (WGR R23) proposing that:

• There should be clear, stable procedures in accordance with the basic instruments of the Union for all elections, and these must be adhered to.
• Elections should be such that they take a minimum amount of time during the period of the conference.
• Elections should be held during the first week of the conference.
• Elections should be organized in a manner that makes it easier for delegations to concentrate on other issues of the conference.

Electoral system and the minimum number of elected officials

The feasibility of changing the current electoral systems and “the number of elected officials should be studied with a view to identifying advantages and disadvantages, taking into account the intergovernmental nature of the Union, while maintaining the need for expertise and competence as well as the principle of equitable geographical representation and distribution among all regions of the world,” states a recommendation of the Working group on ITU Reform (WGR R25).

CITEL Member States propose that the current electoral system and the minimum number of elected officials should be maintained to allow for the most democratic participation in the administration and management of ITU matters.

Preparatory process for plenipotentiary conferences

CITEL has put forward a proposal on the role of regional organizations in the preparatory process for plenipotentiary conferences. During its preparations for PP-02, CITEL participated in meetings of other regional bodies such as the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT). CITEL found this experience very positive believes it can serve as a useful basis for achieving common understanding and possible harmonization of views on selected issues. The countries of CITEL are interested in participating in the meetings of other regional bodies, such as the African Telecommunications Union and the Arab Group as well, and are prepared to welcome representatives from these organizations to attend meetings on a reciprocal basis. CITEL also welcomes the opportunity to continue dialogue throughout the Plenipotentiary Conference to ensure a successful outcome.