World Radiocommunication Seminar 2018 meets in Geneva

The 2018 World Radiocommunication Seminar (WRS-18), which met in Geneva from 3 to 7 December, concluded today with the attendance of some 485 participants from 98 Member States (or administrations) and 40 entities.

WRS-18 focused on the regulatory aspects of the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, in particular the application of the provisions of the ITU Radio Regulations, the international treaty that regulates the use of spectrum and orbit resources by wireless and satellite communications.

“With the growing complexity of our interconnected world and the ubiquity of wireless systems, the ITU Radio Regulations are now more important than ever before to foster sustainable development,” said Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General. “WRS-18, jointly with Regional Radiocommunication Seminars, provide participants with essential technical and regulatory background information of these regulations, as amended by the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015. They also assist them to implement these regulations and prepare for their next revision by the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), to be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, from 28 October to 22 November 2019.”

ITU World Radiocommunication Seminars are organized every two years alongside Regional Radiocommunication Seminars, which are regularly convened throughout the year to assist ITU Members to prepare for World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs).

WRCs meet every four years to update the ITU Radio Regulations so as to ensure interference-free operations of radiocommunication systems and provide all countries with equitable access to the radio spectrum – a scarce natural resource that does not distinguish national borders and needs to be harmonized globally to ensure ubiquitous wireless communications.

“Decision made by consensus is the guarantee that this regularly updated international treaty will continue to be reflected in national legislations, and enforced by national governments, as a consequence of their signing of the Final Acts of WRCs,” said François Rancy, Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau. “Building this consensus is a key requirement of the four-year preparation cycle of WRCs and for the continued development of a sustainable ecosystem for radiocommunications.”

Two days of the Seminar were dedicated to discussing international frequency management and standardization of terrestrial and space radiocommunication services. The last three days were organized as workshops to enable participants to get hands-on experience with ITU notification procedures as well as with the software and electronic publications available to ITU membership to apply these procedures and manage spectrum.

For more information please see the WRS-18 web page.