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Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) Meeting |
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Geneva, Switzerland |
28 April 2009 |
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Deputy Secretary-General, Directors of BR and BDT, very nice to see you
here, thank you for coming.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Colleagues and friends
Welcome to this – the first meeting of TSAG since WTSA-08.
I think you will all agree that WTSA-08 was a great success.
In Johannesburg we saw the highest level of participation ever for a WTSA -
one more country, and we would have topped 100 countries in attendance.
We were honoured by the presence of 13 ministers or deputy ministers… and
VIPs spanning the world and the entire telecommunication and ICT industry.
This is a sure sign of the growing interest in the work of the ITU-T Sector.
However more to the point the results of WTSA put us in excellent shape to
tackle the challenges of the coming study period.
WTSA approved 49 Resolutions, some as revisions to Resolutions from earlier
assemblies and 21 new.
WTSA has strengthened and sharpened our focus. It has also given us a lot of
work to do.
A detailed action plan for the implementation of all the WTSA-08 Resolutions
is contained in TD 18, as you have seen.
As quite a few of our Resolutions ask for collaboration with our other two
Sectors, in particular BDT, I presented the outcome of WTSA to both TDAG and
RAG thanks to an invitation from the Directors. We have also submitted a
document with those Resolutions to the WTDC preparatory meetings.
From a TSB perspective we have already made an impressive start on getting
to grips with this new mandate.
I will give you just a few examples: you can see more details in the
“Status” field of the WTSA-08 Action Plan:
- regarding Resolution 64 - IP address allocation and encouraging the
deployment of IPv6: we have issued a Questionnaire and I encourage you to
reply if you have not already done so; the deadline is 12 June. Also the
development of a new web site on IPv6 is well underway and should be live in
the first week of May.
- With respect to Resolution 68 - on the evolving role of the World
Telecommunication Standardization Assembly: the organization of a high-level
industry group, we will be inviting some Chief Technical Officers (CTO) and
their equivalent from the main contributors to our work to a kick-off
meeting on 6 October 2009 here in Geneva during Telecom World.
- And for Resolution 73 - Information and communications technologies and
climate change: I will pleased to be invited to the final meeting of the
Focus Group in Hiroshima. I congratulate the Focus Group on completing its
work there thanks to the excellent facilities and support provided by Japan.
We have four contributions on this topic including proposals that TSAG take
the historic decision to establish a study group dealing with environment
and climate change.
- For Resolution 76 - Studies related to conformance and interoperability
testing, assistance to developing countries, and a possible future ITU mark
programme: a Temporary Document (TD) has been sent to all Study Groups
reminding them that WTSA has instructed them to identify as soon as possible
existing and future ITU-T Recommendations that would be candidates for
interoperability, and to prepare Recommendations with a view to conducting
conformity and interoperability tests. We are currently in the process of
compiling information for the preparation of the report to Council this
year.
- With regards to Resolution 69 - Non-discriminatory access and use of
Internet resources: a webpage has been developed to take incident reports
and make an analysis
- We have developed reports on the implementation of Resolution 70 on
accessibility: identifying the tasks needed for its implementation, and the
implications of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
on our work.
- Following my report on the outcome of WTSA to Council a Dedicated Group on
international Internet-related public policy issues has been established as
requested by Resolution 75.
- TSB provides each meeting of the Council WG on WSIS an update on the
activities in ITU-T related to WSIS implementation and follow-up in
accordance with Resolution 75.
WTSA’s Budget Committee estimated the cost of the new work to be CHF 2.1
million. Clearly in these difficult financial times membership will not wish
to see an increase in its financial contribution. We have made efforts
therefore to adjust our budget to allow us to implement all this new work
within our current resources. This has required a restructuring of the TSB
which will include the creation of a new Telecommunication Standardization
Policy Department with a Project Division which will have responsibility for
the many projects given to TSB by WTSA-08 such as accessibility, climate
change, WSIS implementation and follow up, the Resolution 76, IPv6, CIRTs,
etc.
Since WTSA-08 we have seen meetings of all of the Study Groups.
While the global financial crisis and cutbacks across the industry have also
had an influence on the participation of some of our study groups, contrary
to what we may have expected I am pleased to say some Study Groups have seen
increased participation.
Study Group 15 for example saw an extra 31 participants, compared to its
previous meeting, making this the largest SG 15 meeting ever, and Study
Group 12 had 12 countries participating that had never previously
participated.
Also despite the financial crisis we continue to attract new members. During
2008 we had 22 new Sector Members and 42 new Associates.
Last December, we invited all study group chairmen and vice-chairmen to a
two-day tutorial, and many came. According to our evaluation forms this
event had the highest satisfaction ranking ever, with 4.8 on a scale of 1 to
5. I would like to thank my colleagues in TSB for presenting excellent
material; this material is now available on our website.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, ITU is committed to reach carbon
neutrality in three years. And with this in mind I am pleased to report
progress in the area of paperless meetings, initiated by the Chairman of
Study Group 15 last December.
Since then, most study groups have gone “paperless” and have had positive
experience, some are in the transition phase from “less paper” to
“paperless” (especially study groups dealing with regulatory or policy
aspects).
This meeting of TSAG will also be paperless, as was the World
Telecommunications Policy Forum last week which had 850 participants
including 40 ministers, The Portuguese government carried out an
environmental assessment of the WTPF and found that going paperless saved
4.7 tons of CO2 which is the equivalent of a vehicle on the road for one and
a half years. ITU management wholeheartedly encourages this trend.
Of course to be truly paperless the network has to work without flaws. I can
assure you that everything is being done to achieve this. We have submitted
a TD for this meeting to outline the roadmap towards a successful paperless
meeting environment.
I would like to remind delegates that laptops are available from the Service
Desk for the period of a meeting if you are without one.
I strongly believe that as well as the clear ecological benefits of
paperless meetings, for most types of meeting they can also make us more
efficient.
It was with efficiency in mind that TSAG Management Team agreed to reduce
this TSAG meeting to three days. It is a good example that I hope others
will follow.
I am a great believer in looking towards increasing efficiencies through
making use of our own ICT technology, and making the best use of our time.
Anyway I still have enough in my hospitality budget for this year to offer
you a small reception this evening to celebrate a successful WTSA thanks
largely to the excellent TSAG advice and preparations for which I am most
grateful.
So, on that note I will hand you back to the Chairman and wish you all a
very productive meeting.
Thank you for your attention.
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