Minneapolis Conference Gives Way to Increased Rights for Industry

Minneapolis, 6 November 1998 — The 15th Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) wound up Friday evening with the adoption of key decisions for the future of the organization. It had been meeting, at the invitation of the Government of the United States, for four weeks (12 October – 6 November) at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Conference was held under the skilled chairmanship of US Ambassador Thomas Siebert.

The Conference was attended by 1 606 participants from 170 countries (1 308 delegates from 168 countries of ITU’s 188 Member States and 298 representatives of 98 organizations from 26 countries).

The Conference also elected ITU's new leadership and decided on the budget ceilings for the next four years.

The decisions of the Conference aimed a maintaining a pre-eminent role for the ITU in the world marketplace, in everyone's interest. The stakes are important: the global telecommunication industry, one of the world's largest industries worth more than US$1 trillion, would not be what it is today without ITU's untiring efforts to harmonize national policies worldwide, bridge different technologies, foster interconnectivity and interoperability of systems on a global scale: in other words, in making it possible for each company to compete globally.

With most industry members now growing impatient to see the changes foreshadowed in the
ITU-2000 group finally implemented, the steps taken may seem insufficient. "The results, whilst positive in a number of areas, sadly fall short of our hopes" said Wyn Lucas, Manager of International Organizations at BT, speaking on behalf of ETNO – a 41-European telecommunications operators association.

However, modest as these strides may seem to businesses that change at breakneck speed, they mark a definite step in the right direction, one that should provide the flexibility and latitude needed to match the industry's timeframes and operational practices. ETNO, like many other industrial groups and businesses that are ITU members, acknowledge the value of an organization like the Union for the industrv, particularly in a deregulated and privatized global environment. But they also see an imperative and urgent need to remodel it on business models. "We will continue to work through all opportunities open to us to further reform the ITU to meet the challenges of the next millenium", Lucas said.

Among the decisions welcomed by industry representatives at the Conference were:

• abolishing of differences among the various partners through introduction of a single category of industry member with equal rights and obligations, open to the widest range of entities representing telecommunications and information technology interests
• in the Development and Standardization Sectors, delegating certain powers, vested so far in conferences and assemblies, to their respective Advisory Groups where Member States and industry members participate on a equal footing. The role and functions of Advisory Groups have also been embodied in the Constitution, sending strong signals to the business community on the importance the ITU places in them
• adopting of a more flexible approach in approving questions (elements of work programme) or recommendations (output of the work programme including technical standards), giving authority to participants of study groups, Member States and industry members, to adopt standards directly (without the lengthy process of consultation of Member States) when these do not have policy or regulatory implications
• creating an "Associate" status for participation in given study groups and subgroups, drawing on the knowledge and expertise of small entities when mutual interests exist
• streamlining the procedure for becoming a member, offering Member States the option of authorizing companies and national entities to apply directly to the ITU, to speed the process and broaden participation from the industry
• establishing a reporting process to provide feedback to Members on the use of their contributions for greater transparency and accountability

Other key decisions relate to:

• introduction of processing charges for satellite network filings submitted to the ITU after 7 November 1998
• approval of the active involvement of ITU in internet governance issues
• limit on expenditure for the next four years, adoption of a strategic plan for the organization
• gradual lifting on the limitation of the use of languages
• strengthening of the regional presence
• reform of the accounting rate system
• the Year 2000 problem
• review of the need to revise the International Telecommunication Regulations to take account of the globalization and deregulation of world telecommunications
• adoption of a resolution providing an enhanced status to Palestine including additional rights to those of observers and the possibility to obtain an international country code, call-signs and frequency coordination.

Detailed report on the outcome of the Conference.