Ref:	SPU/EA/KB/ml
Contact:	K. Boussaïd
Tel:	+41 22 730 5900
Fax:	+41 22 730 6675
E-Mail:

Geneva, 13 November 1996 To all participants in the World Telecommunication Policy Forum (Geneva, 21-23 October 1996)

Draft Memorandum of Understanding

Dear Madam/Sir,

Pursuant to Opinion No. 4 of the World Telecommunication Policy Forum, I have pleasure in submitting in annex hereto the draft Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the free circulation of global mobile personal communications by satellite user terminals, and in inviting you to comment by 31 December 1996.

Should no comments be forthcoming, I shall convene the first meeting of the signatories and intended signatories to the GMPCS Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, 14 February 1997, on the occasion of the meeting of the ITU­2000 Group, in order to begin work on agreements relating to free circulation of terminals as specified in the Articles of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Otherwise, I shall convene, on the same date, an "informal group" of administrations, GMPCS operators, service providers and manufacturers to consider the comments received and improve the GMPCS Memorandum of Understanding.

The first meeting of the signatories and intended signatories to the GMPCS Memorandum of Understanding could then take place on Sunday 9 March 1997, on the occasion of the meetings of the Advisory Groups for the Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Standardization Sectors.

You are strongly urged to participate so that we can complete the initial set of arrangements by 1 July 1997, and consider thereafter the need for further cooperation to facilitate the full implementation of GMPCS.

Yours faithfully,

PEKKA TARJANNE
Secretary-General

Annex

Convinced of the need to reach regional, and preferably global, arrangements on issues related to the three levels of free circulation of user terminals defined as follows:

- permission to carry a terminal into a visited country but not to use it;

- permission to carry a terminal into a visited country and to use it without the need for obtaining authorization in the visited country; and

- technical conditions for placing terminals on the market;

that such arrangements would necessarily include the conditions pursuant to which Administrations would grant mutual recognition of type approval of terminals, mutual recognition of terminal licensing, recognize the marking of terminals, and permit terminals to be placed on the market; and that such arrangements could form the basis of national regulations on these matters, or be implemented by reference;

the Parties to this Memorandum of Understanding hereby agree to cooperate, according to their respective roles and competencies and taking into account the voluntary principles for GMPCS adopted by WTPF 96 on the following issues:

Article 1 Type Approval of Terminals

The Parties shall develop arrangements on the essential requirements necessary for the type approval of terminals, and the means by which such approvals shall be mutually recognized. That the type approval standards should be based on the relevant ITU Recommendations, and should be impartial with respect to all GMPCS technologies, and without reference to performance or quality of service standards.

Article 2 Licensing of Terminals

The Parties shall develop arrangements on the means by which licenses should be granted based on general licenses (e.g. class licenses or blanket approvals). That such arrangements shall be drawn up and include the means by which these general licenses shall be mutually recognized.

Article 3 Marking of Terminals

The Parties shall develop arrangements on the marking of terminals which will permit their recognition and the implementation of the arrangements on mutual recognition of type approval and licensing.

Article 4 Customs Arrangements

The Parties shall develop recommendations to their competent authorities proposing exemption of approved terminals from customs restrictions when visiting or transiting countries.

Article 5 Review

The Parties shall periodically review the results and consequences of their cooperation under this Memorandum of Understanding. When appropriate the Parties will consider the need for improvements in their cooperation and make suitable proposals for modifying and updating the arrangements, and the scope of this GMPCS-MoU.

Article 6 Access to Traffic Data

The Parties shall develop arrangements for GMPCS operators to provide, on a confidential basis, within a reasonable period of time to any duly authorized national authority which so requests, the best available traffic data concerning traffic originating in or routed to its national territory, and to assist it with any measures intended to identify unauthorized traffic flows therein.

Done in Geneva:

[date]

signed: