In preparation for the World Telecommunication Policy Forum, a Special Information Session will be held on Sunday, 20 October, from 11h00 – 13h00 and 14h30 – 17h30 at the Geneva International Conference Centre.

The goal of the session is to broaden the understanding of Global Mobile Personal Communication Systems, services, and implementation aspects, in order to enable a focused discussion on the policy issues relating to these systems at the World Telecommunication Policy Forum.

Objectives

• to provide information on the characteristics and services of the various GMPCS systems and the benefits they will provide; and
• to have an exchange of views between system operators and government regulators on the practical aspects of system implementation.

Agenda

The Information Session will be chaired by Dr. Henry Chasia, Deputy Secretary-General of the ITU. Dr Chasia will introduce the various subjects and explain the goal of the Session to the Policy Forum, including a discussion on the nexus between regulatory barriers, system viability, and service availability at reasonable cost. He will then introduce the speakers for the morning’s satellite presentations, and facilitate question-and-answer sessions after the presentations.

The Information Session will be divided into two parts:

Part 1 (morning): Presentations by the system proponent groups on the characteristics, services, and benefits of GMPCS

Part 2 (afternoon): Two panels, each comprised of one moderator, seven to nine industry panellists, and three government participants, who will talk about the practical aspects of multi-country system deployment. After some brief introductory remarks, the moderators of the afternoon panels will introduce each of the panellists; ask the industry representatives questions; ask the government panellists to comment on the answers; and solicit comments and questions from panellists and the audience.

The day’s program will include a luncheon – open to all registered participants – featuring an address
by Dr Pekka Tarjanne, Secretary-General of the ITU, and an evening reception (on invitation only) directly following the afternoon panels.

Panel Topics

The first panel will address the issues of reducing barriers for the early introduction of GMPCS, local market stimulation, spectrum allocation, interconnection, sovereign rights, space segment licensing, and transparent regulatory processes.

The second panel will deal with issues of user terminal licensing, mutual recognition agreements for equipment type approval, import and customs restrictions, gateway/feeder link earth station licensing, and global roaming.

WTPF Information Session Sponsors

The cost of participation for delegates from 28 countries among the least developed country was met from voluntary contributions raised by the ITU. The grant covers transportation in economy class and a daily subsistence allowance to cover accommodation and meals for the entire duration of the FORUM. The sponsors of the information session are:

In addition, ICP of Portugal and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Japan have contributed towards the preparation of the Forum.

List of countries participating in the Forum under the fellowship scheme

Albania, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comores, Cuba, Djibouti, Guinea, Haiti, Lesotho, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu

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