This
programme is intended to incorporate all decisions of
meetings of world and regional development conferences,
study groups, associated working parties and those of the
Telecommunication Development Advisory Board (TDAB).
The
following Questions were adopted by the Conference for
study by Study Groups 1 and 2 during the period 1998-2002.
Council-98 may consider the order of priority[1].
During
the period 1999-2003, the strategic processes of ITU-D
will incorporate all resolutions and recommendations
adopted by WTDC-98, as well as all other pertinent ITU
resolutions and recommendations of other relevant
conferences.
Programme 1: Reform, legislation
and regulation of telecommunications
PurposeThe
purpose of this Programme would be to assist governments
in the preparation and implementation of reform, keeping
in view the technological convergence of
telecommunications, broadcasting and informatics, having
regard to the progressive globalization of the
telecommunication and broadcasting sector.
This
would entail, inter
alia, the elaboration of national telecommunication
and broadcasting policies, the establishment of
independent or autonomous regulatory bodies, the drafting
of new or modified legislations and designing optimal
institutional structures.
The
programme will explore various ways to assist governments
in developing the structure of the regulatory body, the
mechanisms to finance the regulatory bodies to ensure
independence and to assist in training, licensing,
staffing needs and overall management, taking into account
the WTO reference paper.
Activities
1.1 Studies and reports
-
Publishing, on an annual basis, the report General
Trends in Telecommunication Restructuring,
highlighting trends on a global and regional basis, and
using information gathered in the annual telecommunication
regulatory survey (see activity 1.3).
-
Preparing and disseminating manuals and guidelines
on regulation, including structural options for regulatory
bodies; scope and authority of the regulator; licensing
procedures; interconnection; universal service; regulation
of global systems; etc.
-
Conducting case studies of different models or
approaches undertaken in the reform process, identifying
advantages and disadvantages.
1.2 Workshops/seminars
A
series of workshops/seminars for regulators and/or policy
makers will be organized in order to provide a forum for
the exchange of opinions, views and experiences among
countries on specific areas/concerns in sector reform.
These workshops/seminars will be carried out on a
regional/subregional basis, and to the extent possible, in
collaboration with relevant international and
regional/subregional organizations. The participants will
be primarily regulators, or, where no
"regulator" exists, officials having
responsibility for regulatory/policy-making functions.
Workshops and seminars will be carried out using
traditional means, as well as electronic means, through
the Virtual Training Centre (see activity 1.4).
Partnership
and collaboration arrangements will be pursued with
existing regulatory associations (e.g. ASEAN
Telecommunication Regulators' Council - ATRC). In
regions/subregions where no association exists, ITU/BDT
will provide the forum for discussion.
1.3 Regulatory library
In
order to keep track of the rapid reforms under way in the
sector, ITU/BDT will establish an electronic library which
will include key regulatory information, as well as basic
laws/legislation of all ITU Member States.
Specific
tasks for this activity include:
-
Documenting national communication policies and
regulations through the dissemination of the ITU/BDT
annual telecommunication regulatory survey.
-
Enhancing the ITU/BDT regulatory database and
providing online access.
-
Expanding the ITU/BDT telecommunication regulation
site on the World Wide Web to include: links to regulators
that have web sites; contact information for all
regulators; basic regulatory information on all countries;
access to all basic telecommunication and broadcasting
laws; studies and reports on key issues of regulation. A
search engine to facilitate easy use of the system will be
created. Assistance will also be provided to those
regulators which do not yet have World Wide Web pages.
1.4
Training
This
activity will provide relevant training to regulators of
developing countries, together with the human resources
development and management programme (i.e. Programme 6).
Training will be based on the manuals and guidelines
elaborated under activity 1.1 and using both traditional
and electronic means. Collaboration will be continued with
already established training institutions.
1.5 Direct assistance
Under
this item, direct assistance will be provided to
developing countries, in particular the least developed
countries (LDCs). ITU/BDT will endeavour to use its own
in-house expertise, to the extent possible, subject to
budgetary appropriations.
This
activity will include, among others, providing short-term
assistance to countries in:
Programme
2: Technologies and global information infrastructure
(GII) development and applications, including GMPCS and
Internet
Purpose
The
convergence of broadcasting, telecommunications and
informatics, enabled by digital technology, offers
sizeable opportunities for the implementation of
appropriate new technologies by developing countries.
The
purpose of the programme is to assist developing countries
to plan, build, operate, upgrade, manage and maintain
technologies applicable in their networks and services.
Particular attention should be given to resource
mobilization.
Applied
research and the transfer of technological knowledge
should be an indispensable part of the task of expediting
the access to new technologies on a non-discriminatory
basis for developing countries and countries with
economies in transition and should be carried out by
various means, including symposia, workshops, conferences,
seminars, expert advice, etc.
The
issues of network reliability and quality of service will
continue to be of considerable interest to developing
countries. To this end, the programme should focus on
management issues, marketing techniques and the
introduction of new services, taking into account the
recent trends in the development of telecommunications,
broadcasting and informatics.
In
accordance with the wishes of the regional development
conferences and relevant forums, it is proposed to give
priority to the following technology-related domains:
a) Spectrum management and monitoring
Strengthening
of regulatory entities in administrations together with a
national structure for spectrum management, supported by
the necessary frequency assignment registration and
monitoring facilities, is proposed. It is proposed to
continue activities on implementation of the basic
automated spectrum management system (BASMS) while
shifting the emphasis to speedy establishment and
implementation of an advanced spectrum management system
(ASMS) including the elaboration of specifications,
development of relevant software and accompanying
documentation based on those specifications, taking into
consideration the design guidelines for the development of
such systems as approved in Recommendation ITU-R SM.1370.
b)
Network and infrastructure planning
Optical
fibre networks, terrestrial radiocommunication networks
and satellite communications networks will form the future
global information infrastructure (GII) of the world.
Moreover, global mobile personal communication by
satellite (GMPCS), cellular mobile telephone systems and
data broadcasting will have a growing importance in
enhancing the GII. Programme activities should focus on
relevant technological developments and be accordingly
documented to enable developing countries to modernize
their networks. The needs of various services including
sound, television and data broadcasting should be
reflected. Assistance and advice on information
infrastructure matters should be made available to Member
States and Sector Members from the developing world.
PLANITU assistance would continue to be provided upon
request.
c) Innovative technological applications
Internet,
World Wide Web and multimedia applications should be
closely monitored and relevant advice be made available to
developing countries. Further innovative applications of
new technologies should be promoted via pilot projects
(such as rural telecentres, telemedicine, life‑long
distance learning, protection of the environment, etc.).
Relevant technological solutions should be integrated into
overall network planning with the aim of improving project
sustainability and enabling relevant system
standardization. The Buenos Aires Action Plan (BAAP)
experience showed that the approach of focusing the actual
planning work and operational responsibilities on a
national task force was quite productive and
cost-efficient and should be encouraged.
Activities
2.1
Elaboration
of technology-oriented guides, planning manuals and
professional engineering training material.
2.2 Development
of user-friendly personal computer (PC) software
tools/software support and provision of training courses.
2.3 Regular
organization of regional seminars, symposia, workshops,
etc. on new technologies, with documented proceedings in print and electronic form.
2.4 Provision of methodological and expert assistance to
national task forces in planning and implementation of
innovative pilot projects and making available relevant
information to interested parties. Close cooperation and
partnership with Sector Members and industry should be
encouraged.
2.5 Technical
assistance to
Member States and Sector Members in developing project
documents, project implementation, producing feasibility
studies and the provision of technical consultation and
advice on technology-related matters by means of short
missions or correspondence.
2.6 To provide consultancy
support in engineering matters to
the study groups, to the United Nations or relevant United
Nations specialized agencies.
Programme
3: Rural development and universal service/access
Purpose
The
purpose of this programme is to continue to promote
universal access, not only to basic telecommunications,
but also to broadcasting and to value-added services and,
in particular, the Internet, as tools for development. To
this end, BDT will continue to work collaboratively with
other development agencies and the private sector in the
field of information and communication technology (ICT)
development, with particular focus on rural and remote
areas.
Priority
will be given to continuing support to the ongoing
programme of rural multi-purpose community telecentre
(MCT) pilot projects, started by the BAAP Programme No. 9
and the Spacecom project. The objective of this programme
is to develop and test sustainable models for provision of
universal access to ICT-based services in rural and remote
areas.
The
pilot projects will provide answers to questions relating
to choice of technology, policy and regulations, tariffs
and financing strategies, partnership arrangements,
capacity building, marketing of services, etc. They will
explore appropriate concepts for providing broadcasting
service to underserved rural populations. They will also
provide a test bed for development of content and services
adapted to the particular needs and conditions of
developing countries. Thus, they provide ideal platforms
for cross-sectional private-public sector collaboration,
and the experience gained will assist decision makers in
the development of appropriate information and
communication policies and infrastructure plans.
Activities
3.1 Implementation
and evaluation of multi-purpose community telecentre (MCT)
pilot projects
BDT
will continue to support the rural MCT pilot projects
already started or planned. Funding has in many cases been
pledged by ITU and its international partners. Some
additional pilot projects may be justified to ensure the
development of a wide range of alternative models adapted
to different socio‑cultural and geographical
conditions. BDT's participation and assistance is
particularly essential in the impact evaluation and
identification of sustainable, replicable best-practice
models and appropriate technologies, with a view to
promoting the implementation of MCTs on a large scale and,
hence, universal access.
3.2 Awareness
and capacity building activities (training)
This
includes the organization of symposia and training courses
for information and communication service managers,
technicians, developers of services and applications, such
as telemedicine, tele‑education, teletrading, as
well as for end users. Several such events are already
planned or proposed as part of ongoing collaborative
planning, e.g., regional symposium on telematics for
development in the Americas, Asian and European regions,
where such symposia have not yet been held and the
Internet related training programme for Africa within the
framework of the UN Special Initiative for Africa and the
African Information Society Initiative.
When
possible, such activities will be linked with the MCT
pilot projects which provide "laboratories" for
developmental testing of applications relevant to rural
populations.
3.3 Web site development
Development
and maintenance of a fully-fledged BDT web site,
describing programmes and activities, opportunities for
partners, etc., and including links to all relevant
documents produced by BDT (ITU-D study groups
contributions and reports, studies made,
non‑confidential mission reports, description of
pilot projects and pipeline projects). Databases should be
designed in such a way that it could be easily used to
update the PICTA[2]
database maintained by the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC) for donor coordination purposes.
Programme
4: Finance and economics, including WTO issues, tariffs,
accounting rates, etc.
Purpose
The
purpose of this programme is to help the developing
countries, and in particular the LDCs, to adapt to the new
telecommunication environment by the putting into place
the appropriate financial policies, with emphasis on the
following activity areas:
-
a framework to assist in the follow-up to WTPF-98;
-
assistance to governments in the introduction of
new financing schemes for the development of their
telecommunication networks, including public service
broadcasting networks;
-
assistance to governments, particular in
collaboration with the WTO, the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank in
the negotiation process of the GATS;
-
assistance to governments in dealing with the
consequences of the reform of the international accounting
and settlement system.
The
following areas will be accorded particular attention:
Financing strategies and policies
The
provision of assistance and guidance to telecommunication
and public service broadcasting organizations
(administration, regulators, operators, regional
organizations) in order to set up financial policies and
strategies, advising policy-makers on the options
available in tailoring policies (expert missions to
countries, participation in regional and subregional
workshops, publication of annual reports).
WTO agreements on basic
telecommunications and the GATS
The
provision of assistance to developing countries,
particularly in collaboration with WTO, UNCTAD and the
World Bank, on issues related to the GATS, from a
development perspective.
Tariffs, international accounting
and settlement rate issue
Helping
the developing countries to participate in, and make
contributions to, the work of the focus group of ITU-T
Study Group 3 and, more generally, helping countries to
review their international settlement policy.
Activities
4.1 To assist in developing new configurations of joint
financing, management and revenue sharing.
4.2 To publish and update, on an annual basis, the
report on financial institutions, creating a financial
institution Web site to disseminate information.
4.3 To disseminate information (case studies and
models) on the financing of rural telecommunications which
meet the criteria of affordable cost and an acceptable
rate of return.
4.4 To assist countries in setting up a mechanism for
financing universal service and access suited to their
specific conditions.
4.5 To enhance collaboration with, among others, the
development banks and WorldTel.
4.6 To build national negotiation capabilities in order
to be able to participate fully in negotiations with their
partners.
4.7 To assist countries in integrating into their
financial strategies the changes in the evolving
international telecommunication environment, by
organizing:
-
a series of workshops for countries to enable them
to plan the stages of the financing restructuring process;
-
subregional information seminars to describe the
implications of the WTO agreements on basic
telecommunications and models of commitments already
undertaken by countries.
4.8 To promote transitional arrangements in accounting
rates and settlement and tariff reforms, by organizing a
task force of national experts in every region under the
leadership of BDT regional experts. This task force will be charged with organizing regional group training
workshops for public and/or private entities on the
following themes:
-
financial management of enterprises;
-
price and cost calculation methods;
-
methods for reducing the impact on the developing
countries of the reforms in the accounting rate system and
tariff rebalancing.
In addition, BDT will organize training on the
introduction of cost accounting (for example, within the Centres of Excellence) and will help countries implement
such practices by developing appropriate computer
programs.
4.9 To support the work of ITU-T Study Group 3 in:
-
compiling a database and Web pages to establish
basic information for comparisons of macro-economic data,
cost data, trends and scenarios for tariffs and
international settlement rates;
-
presenting, at regional or subregional level, case
studies already conducted, and validating the results in
ITU-T regional tariff groups or any other relevant
regional working group (recognizing the need to avoid
overlap with the work of the regional tariff groups). The
results of the work of these groups should allow
contributions to be made to the work of the focus group
established under the responsibility of ITU-T Study Group
3.
4.10 To promote, in collaboration with other relevant
international organizations, the application of tariffs
for the use of telecommunication networks by publicly
funded services such as education, health care and public
service broadcasting.
Programme 5: Development
partnership with the private sector
Purpose
To
promote various types of partnership arrangements with the
private sector in activities related to telecommunication
development including, inter alia:
-
participation in government or internationally
financed pilot projects, such as telecommunication
training, telemedicine and distance learning;
-
establishment of joint ventures and strategic
partnerships with public and private entities of all sizes
and types in all countries, with particular emphasis on
building private sector partnerships in developed
countries and developing countries in order to strengthen
the private sector in developing countries; and
-
facilitating activities related to
telecommunication sector development of mutual benefit to
all partners;
-
working for an improved understanding between the
developing countries and the private sector for the mutual
benefit of all ITU-D Members.
Activities
5.1
BDT cooperation
BDT
will undertake:
-
to encourage participation by new private sector
members in ITU-D, highlighting opportunities to take part
in the development of all telecommunication activities
beneficial to potential customers, with emphasis on those
in developing countries;
-
to develop its capabilities as an important source
of information for partnerships and business opportunities
with telecommunication entities in the developing
countries, and in particular in the least developed
countries, to enhance the interest of the private sector
to participate in ITU‑D project activities;
-
to assist in promoting transnational partnerships
for the creation of industrial and service
telecommunication enterprises in developing countries,
through the use of knowledge-based enterprise incubators.
5.2
Private sector collaboration
The
scope of tasks of the private sector should include, inter alia:
-
To recommend ways by which the private sector,
through ITU-D, can better participate in and advise on BDT
strategy development, programme design and project
delivery, with the overall goal of increasing mutual
responsiveness to the requirements of telecommunication
development.
-
To identify means to enhance cooperation and
arrangements between the private and public sectors, as
well as between private sector entities in developing
countries and in developed countries.
-
To advise on the means by which partnerships with
the private sector can be enhanced; to seek means to reach
out to the private sector of developing countries and the
many small companies in industrialized countries that are
not knowledgeable of BDT activities; and to determine
modifications to ITU-D processes, practices and projects
that would facilitate and encourage private sector
support, cooperation and participation.
-
To advise on integrating the financial
contributions of the private sector more fully into the
activities of BDT while ensuring requisite financial
transparency to provide understanding of functions and
priorities.
-
To review the essential products of ITU-D which
should be developed by Sector Members and the BDT
secretariat.
-
To discuss means of ensuring that increased private
sector participation as built into the Valletta Action
Plan and the study group cycle.
-
To coordinate its activities with those of
Programme 2, especially the follow-up of GMPCS activities.
The
subgroup of TDAB on private sector issues would be
expected to advise on the details of Programme 5.
Programme
6: Capacity building through human resources development
and management
Purpose
To
assist developing countries in building institutional and
organizational capacity through human resources management
and development and organizational development activities.
These activities will use and demonstrate modern
techniques such as distance learning, computer-based
training and teletraining so as to increase effectiveness
and reduce costs, and reflect developmental objectives
related to access and gender.
These
activities will be carried out in six main areas:
6.1 Transfer of knowledge:
through training, by strengthening national and regional centres to cope with new technologies, centres of
excellence (including broadcasting), partnerships with
training institutes, emphasizing areas of interest such as
spectrum management, modern management techniques and the
training of managers and executives in order to adapt to
the changing regulatory and commercial environment. This
includes training for building business cases, managing
the process of sectoral reform, introducing new services
and marketing.
6.2 Sharing of experience and know-how: among Members of ITU and of the
Development Sector through study visits and internships,
electronic round-tables and task forces to focus on common
issues, through regional and interregional HRM/HRD
meetings, the programme of technical cooperation between
developing countries (TCDC), and other technical
consultancy support to the ITU-D study groups and United
Nations agencies, and any other means which are effective
and efficient for the Members of ITU.
6.3 Assistance to
telecommunication and broadcasting organizations in HRM/HRD, including the use of experts on short missions,
the Virtual Training Centre, analyses of training needs,
feasibility studies, design and preparation of project
document models, guidelines and tools for practical
applications, helping in financing and providing
professional support for implementation.
6.4 Dissemination of information:
through enhancement of the human resources development
information system, including information and data on
training opportunities, best practices and case studies,
training materials, and directory of training centres and
through the publication of the Human Resource Development
Quarterly.
6.5 Training and human capacity
building: through the centre
of excellence concept, utilizing both strengthened subregional training institutions and a network of
institutions for senior government officials and executive
level managers from the private sector, focusing on areas
such as telecommunication policies, restructuring,
regulatory reform, spectrum management, network
harmonization, business strategies, new services and
technologies, corporate management, human resources
development and management, and any other area of interest
identified by the Members of ITU.
6.6
The exchange of experiences
and know-how between ITU
Members and ITU-D Sector Members, through round-table
discussions and by the formation of action groups mandated
to examine issues related to the human and social
dimension of the restructuring of the telecommunication
sector in developing countries.
Ever
since ITU started giving assistance to the least developed
countries (LDCs) under Resolution 19 of the
Plenipotentiary Conference (Malaga-Torremolinos, 1973),
the assistance has been provided on an ad hoc basis to meet certain gaps at administrations' request. From
1992, the situation was partially corrected with the
introduction of a programme approach to assistance, such
that certain selected priority areas were addressed. The
small amount of funds available meant, however, that ITU
assistance had to remain catalytic and was spread rather
thinly for the increasing number of LDCs.
Past
actions have produced mixed results. For a few LDCs there
have been noteworthy successes, but for many the situation
has not improved. On the contrary, it has worsened in some
cases and is likely to continue to do so for various
reasons such as lack of political will, shortage of
competent staff to organize the restructuring of the
sector so as to engender competition, to operate and
manage networks efficiently, etc. In others, civil strife
has compounded the scenario. Moreover, the current
telecommunication environment, characterized by, inter
alia, the shift from voice to multimedia networks,
globalization and deregulation, has to be considered a
strategic issue which calls for innovative action.
It
is proposed to introduce a new strategy which seeks to
concentrate the Union's efforts on a number of selected
LDCs each year, with the support of the recipient country
itself and other development partners that the Union will
mobilize to help. Such assistance could be initiated
through a preliminary visit by a BDT official to an LDC
which has expressed an interest. This initial assessment
should, in particular, take into account the existence and
availability of national or subregional expertise that
could be of service in subsequent stages and, where
appropriate, propose initiatives, in the context of BDT's
training activities, conducive to the prior emergence of
such expertise.
Selection
of the countries could be on the basis of their interest
in these activities and their willingness to help finance
the projects.
On
the basis of negotiations, the countries concerned, BDT,
ITU-D Sector Members, the private sector, financial
institutions such as the World Bank, regional banks, etc.,
will participate in financing these projects. The projects
will cover different areas, e.g.
preparation/implementation of a master plan, restructuring
of the telecommunication sector, introduction of new
technologies/services and implementation of a pilot
activity, etc., or a combination of areas as selected by
the host country in consultation with the BDT experts. In
this way, those involved (experts/consultants) would be
available to the country over a given period (say, one
year or more), and reasonably large funds would be spent
to make an impact and a difference.
It
is important that the countries selected show their
interest by their participation in pilot projects or other
selected activities. During the period between
plenipotentiary conferences, well over half of the LDCs
(the neediest) will have received this type of
concentrated assistance, which is designed to produce
concrete results and to make a difference.
The
establishment of partnerships will be an important factor
in the success of the programmes. Such partnerships may be
realized through formal agreements or informal
arrangements, as may be determined by the partners
concerned.
The
regular assistance to LDCs
(workshops/seminars/fellowships) would continue, but would
also be limited to priority areas identified in Section
4.3 a)-d) of Document WTDC98/12, and with the addition of
a fifth area as decided by the Working Group of the
Plenary on LDCs, namely:
The
suggested action under each of the above priority areas
follows below.
NB
This is not a
programme as such. It is a list of actions on the new
priority areas for the next cycle as contained in Section
4 of WTDC Document 12 and as modified by the Working Group
of the Plenary. The activities are generic in nature, from
which the focal points concerned will each year derive an
annual programme of action covering national, regional and
global activities/projects.
Fellowships
will be provided to promote the participation of LDC
representatives in BDT activities, particularly study
groups. These fellowships will cover mainly individual
training and group training (workshops/seminars) and
participation in certain meetings/conferences.
Equipment
(computer software and hardware) may be donated to LDCs as
it becomes available. Network equipment and test gear may
be provided for pilot activities. Partners are encouraged
to inform BDT of the availability of equipment that could
be donated to LDCs.
Technical
cooperation projects and other activities executed by BDT
under UNDP and other funding arrangements.
LDCs
may benefit from any regional or subregional initiatives
such as the United Nations Special Initiative on Africa:
African Information Society.
Execution
of technical cooperation projects and other direct assistance under UNDP and other
funding arrangements for the regions:
