The Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (Guadalajara,　2010),

a) that the purposes of the Union, as reflected in Article 1 of the ITU Constitution, include to promote the extension of the benefits of the new telecommunication technologies to all the world's inhabitants and to harmonize the actions of Member States and Sector Members in the attainment of those ends;

b) that the telecommunication environment is undergoing considerable changes under the combined influence of advances in technology, the globalization of markets and growing user demand for integrated cross-border services adapted to their needs;

c) that the need for a global framework to exchange information on telecommunication strategies and policies has been evident for many years;

e) that ITU Telecom events fulfil the mandate to keep Member States and Sector Members informed of, and offer a universal opportunity for the display of, state-of-the-art technology concerning all aspects of telecommunications/ICT and related fields of activity, and provide a forum for the exchange of views between Member States and industry;

f) that ITU's participation in national, regional and global exhibitions on telecommunications/ICT and related areas of activity will serve to promote and enhance ITU's image and make it possible, without significant financial expenses, to broaden the promotion of its achievements to the end user, while at the same time attracting new Sector Members and Associates to participate in its activities;

g) the commitments made by Switzerland and the State of Geneva (the headquarters of ITU) towards ITU Telecom events, notably its exceptional support to the ITU Telecom World events since 1971 in the form of hosting most of them successfully,

a) that it is necessary for the Union, as an international organization playing a leading role in the field of telecommunications/ICT, to continue organizing an annual event to facilitate the exchange of information by high-level participants on telecommunication policies;

b) that the organization of exhibitions is not the main objective of ITU and, if it is decided to arrange such exhibitions in conjunction with Telecom events, they should preferably be outsourced,

a) that an ITU Telecom Board has been established to advise the Secretary-General in the management of ITU Telecom events, and will act in accordance with Council decisions;

b) that ITU Telecom events are also facing challenges, such as the increasing costs of exhibits and the trend towards reducing their size, the specialization of their scope and the need to provide value to industry;

c) that ITU Telecom events need to provide value and opportunities for participants to earn a reasonable return on their investments;

d) that the operational flexibility that the ITU Telecom management has been afforded in order to meet all the challenges in its field of activity and compete in the commercial environment has proven to be useful;

e) that ITU Telecom needs a transition period to adapt to new market conditions;

f) that ITU has participated as an exhibitor in exhibitions organized by other parties,

a) that participants, and in particular industry members, are seeking reasonable predictability of time and place of ITU Telecom events and opportunities to earn a reasonable return on investment;

b) that there is increased interest in further developing the ITU Telecom events as a key platform for discussions among policy-makers, regulators and industry leaders;

c) that there are requests for more competitive raw space costs and participation fees, preferential or discounted hotel prices and adequate numbers of hotel rooms, in order to make the events more accessible and affordable;

d) that the ITU Telecom brand should be reinforced by appropriate means of communication in order to remain one of the most respected telecommunication/ICT events;

e) that there is a need to ensure the financial viability of ITU Telecom events;

1 that the Union should, in collaboration with its Member States and its Sector Members, organize ITU Telecom events related to issues of major importance in the current telecommunication/ICT environment and addressing market trends, technological development and regulatory issues, among others;

2 that the Secretary-General is fully accountable for ITU Telecom activities (including planning, organization and finance);

3 that ITU Telecom events should be organized on a predictable and regular basis, preferably at the same time each year, taking due account of the need to ensure that the expectations of all participating stakeholders in such events are met, and, in addition, to ensure that they do not overlap with any major ITU conferences or assemblies;

4 that each ITU Telecom event shall be financially viable and shall have no negative impact on the ITU budget on the basis of the existing cost-allocation system as determined by the Council;

5 that the Union, in its venue selection process for ITU Telecom events, shall ensure:

6 that the audit of ITU Telecom accounts shall be carried out by the External Auditor of the Union;

7 that, once all expenses have been recovered, a significant part of any generated positive revenues over expenses derived from ITU Telecom activities shall be transferred to the ICT Development Fund under the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, for specific telecommunication development projects, primarily in the least developed countries, small island developing states, landlocked developing countries and countries with economies in transition;

8 that this resolution shall be effective starting with the ITU Telecom event scheduled in 2012,

1 to define and propose the mandate, the principles and the composition of the ITU Telecom Board to the Council for approval, with due consideration to ensuring transparency and to appointing some individuals with experience in the organization of telecommunication/ICT events;

2 to ensure the appropriate management of all ITU Telecom events and resources, in line with the regulations of the Union;

3 to consider measures that will enable and assist Member States which are capable and willing to do so, particularly developing countries, to host and stage ITU Telecom events;

4 to consult the ITU Telecom Board, on an ongoing basis, on a broad range of topics;

5 to develop a business plan for each proposed event;

6 to ensure the transparency of ITU Telecom events and report on them in a separate annual report to the Council, including:

7 to establish a mechanism to implement resolves 5;

8 to develop a model host-country agreement and use all the means possible to get it approved by the Council as soon as possible, with the said model host-country agreement to include clauses that allow the Union and the host country to make changes deemed necessary as a result of force majeure or other performance criteria;

9 that an ITU Telecom event be held every year, ensuring that it does not overlap with any major ITU conferences or assemblies, according to the following frequency:

for both cases, the determination of the venue shall be based on competitive selection; the contract negotiation shall be based on the model host-country agreement approved by the Council;

10 to identify venues for the next five ITU Telecom events (three fixed and two rotation) starting 2012, and propose a mechanism to the Council for approval so as to enable identification of the venues for the future ITU Telecom events beyond 2016;

11 to ensure that there is internal control and that internal and external audits of the accounts for the different ITU Telecom events are carried out on regular basis;

12 to report annually to the Council on the implementation of this resolution and to the next plenipotentiary conference on the future evolution of the ITU Telecom events,

1 to give due consideration, in planning ITU Telecom events, to the possible synergies with the major ITU conferences and meetings, and vice versa, where justified;

2 to encourage the participation of ITU in national, regional and global telecommunication/ICT events, within the available financial resources,

1 to review the annual report on ITU Telecom events as described under instructs the Secretary-General 6 above and give guidance on future trends for those activities;

2 to review and approve the allocation of part of the positive revenues generated by ITU Telecom events to development projects within the framework of the ICT Development Fund;

3 to review and approve the Secretary-General's proposals on the principles for a transparent decision-making process on the venues of ITU Telecom events, including the criteria which serve as a basis for that process; such criteria shall include cost elements, as well as the rotation system as referred to in resolves 5 and instructs the Secretary-General 9 above, and the additional costs which may result from holding the events outside the city of the headquarters of the Union;

4 to review and approve the Secretary-General's proposals on the mandate and the composition of the ITU Telecom Board, taking into account instructs the Secretary-General 1 above;

5 to review and approve the model host-country agreement, as soon as possible;

6 to review, as appropriate, the frequencies and venue of ITU TELECOM events on the basis of the financial results of these events;

7 to report on the future of these events to the next plenipotentiary conference, including proposals for a fresh study on various options and mechanisms in the organization of the events.

¹ These include the least developed countries, small island developing states, landlocked developing countries and countries with economies in transition.