INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION 
UNION
 



World 
Radiocommunication 
Conference, (WRC-
95)
23 October to 17 November 
1995
Opening address by Dr 
Pekka Tarjanne - Secretary-
General, ITU
Geneva, 23 October 1995

Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the ITU and 
myself, I am very glad to 
offer my sincere 
congratulations on your 
election as Chairman of the 
World Radiocommunication 
Conference, WRC-95. Your 
task will be a very difficult 
one, but with your well-
known skills and experience 
we are sure you will 
succeed. You can also count 
on the aid and support of the 
staff of the Union at all levels, 
who will likewise be doing 
their utmost to ensure the 
success of the Conference.
Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to 
welcome you - to Geneva, to 
the CICG, and to WRC-95, 
the first "real" World 
Radiocommunication 
Conference to take place in 
"the new ITU".
It is of course true that we 
have already had one WRC, 
two years ago, in November 
1993. It was certainly an 
important event, but perhaps 
more important for what it 
symbolized than what it 
actually accomplished. The 
new structures and working 
methods established by the 
Additional Plenipotentiary 
Conference had just come 
into effect, in March of that 
year. The first ever World 
Telecommunication 
Standardization Conference 
had already taken place. In 
these circumstances, it was 
very important to hold a first-
ever World 
Radiocommunication 
Conference, not only to 
prepare the agenda for 
WRC-95, but to show the 
world that we were serious 
about restructuring the ITU.
Today, and over the next four 
weeks, you face a very 
different and much more 
difficult task. Now, you must 
show what can be done with 
the ITU's new machinery. In 
particular, you must show 
how it can help serve the 
needs of our membership 
better - both those who write 
their names with a big M, and 
those who write it with a 
small "m".
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The agenda of the 
Conference has been 
prepared in great detail. This 
has been done in successive 
stages to enable all 
administrations to make their 
views on the subject known.
First of all, in 1992, the 
Council adopted a 
Resolution, in which it 
resolved that a World 
Radiocommunication 
Conference should be held in 
Geneva in 1993 to make 
recommendations 
concerning the agenda for 
the 1995 Conference, 
including the review of the 
Radio Regulations based on 
the report of the Voluntary 
Group of Experts and the 
use of frequency bands 
allocated in the mobile-
satellite service.
At its 1994 session, the 
Council established the 
agenda for the Conference, 
which was at once submitted 
to the Members of the Union 
for approval. In response to 
this consultation, the agenda, 
dates and place were 
approved by the statutory 
majority of Members of the 
Union.
In the framework of this new 
stepwise procedure applied 
to the preparation of the 
agendas, your conference 
will be able to make 
recommendations for 1997 
and to give its preliminary 
views for 1999, thus 
completing the 
establishment of the four-
year cycle of agendas which 
was the subject of 
Recommendation 59 of the 
High Level Committee. 
Therefore, it will be possible 
to concentrate from the 
onset on the various items of 
the agenda which, more than 
ever in the past, has been 
largely discussed and 
supported by the Union 
membership.
Turning more precisely to the 
agenda of the present 
conference, the main 
challenge facing you is to 
facilitate the implementation 
of new generation mobile 
personal communication 
systems and services, 
whether they operate up in 
space or here on the ground.
All of us who had an 
opportunity to visit 
TELECOM 95 were surely 
struck by the enormous 
commercial interest in these 
technologies. The emphasis 
on personal mobility was at 
least as strong as on 
multimedia. It is clear that 
these are the two main 
forces transforming the 
telecommunications 
landscape. It is also clear 
that they are moving on 
convergent paths, in both 
wired and wireless 
environments. To a large 
extent, the future of our 
industry will be in your 
hands, over the next four 
weeks.
I should also mention that 
interest in personal mobile 
communications goes well 
beyond technical questions 
and commercial 
opportunities.
As many of you may know, 
Global Mobile Personal 
Communication Systems will 
be the theme of the first ITU 
World Telecommunications 
Policy Forum. This premier 
event will take place in 
Geneva in just a little under 
one year's time, from 21-23 
October 1996. This topic 
was the overwhelming 
choice of the ITU Council, 
reflecting the enormous 
interest that exists in the 
policy and regulatory issues 
associated with GMPCS 
services - in both developed 
and developing countries.
The decision to create the 
World Telecommunication 
Policy Forum reflects the 
fact that the ITU is becoming 
more than a technical 
organization. As a result of 
the Kyoto Plenipotentiary 
Conference, we have also 
been given a "policy mission" 
- to provide a forum where 
our members can discuss 
global issues of 
telecommunications policy 
and strategy, arising from the 
rapidly globalizing 
telecommunications 
environment. The decisions 
made at this Conference will 
therefore help set the scene 
for what promises to be very 
interesting discussions at the 
inaugural WTPF.
The simplification of the 
Radio Regulations is a 
second main challenge 
facing this Conference.
The "new ITU" is the result of 
a comprehensive reform 
movement which was 
launched more than six 
years ago at the 1989 Nice 
Plenipotentiary Conference. 
This movement has now 
resulted in new structures 
and working methods in 
most areas of Union activity. 
Simplification of the Radio 
Regulations is the last major 
element of the Nice reform 
package still awaiting 
decision and action by the 
ITU membership.
As we all know, a lot of very 
good, hard work has been 
done by the Voluntary Group 
of Experts that was created 
to undertake this 
monumental task. The VGE 
proposals may not be perfect 
in every respect - nothing 
ever is - and more work will 
certainly be required in the 
future. Nevertheless, I wish 
to stress that these 
proposals represent a very 
significant step forward, and I 
would urge you to adopt 
them. At a time when ITU 
Members themselves have 
requested the BR Director to 
initiate a review of key 
elements of our regulatory 
procedures, it is very 
important that we send a 
clear signal to the world that 
we are serious about reform.
If we want the Radio 
Regulations to be respected, 
we should respect the 
commitments that we 
ourselves have embraced.
In addition to the substantive 
issued which I have 
mentioned, there are 
important process issues at 
stake in this Conference.
The "old ITU" - particularly 
what is now the 
Radiocommunication Sector 
- was famous for achieving 
"consensus by exhaustion", 
in the memorable words of 
the H.L.C. In the "new ITU", 
we have attempted to 
improve our working 
methods, and have made 
considerable progress. For 
example, the Kyoto 
Plenipotentiary Conference 
demonstrated that it is 
possible for ITU Members to 
work efficiently - particularly 
where they are under 
pressure from the famous 
"Utsumi clock"! We have not 
yet installed it at this 
Conference, but if we run 
into problems I shall see to it 
that it is.
This year's session of the 
ITU Council added further 
pressure for all of us to 
further improve our 
efficiency, by cutting the 
budgetary allotments for 
documentation and meeting 
days. Council itself has 
improved its efficiency 
conducting its business in 
only eight days this year 
compared to the ten day 
Councils of the recent past. 
Although this Conference is 
not directly affected by this 
decision, Council has sent a 
clear message that should 
be heeded. Last week, of 
course, many of you from 
the radiocommunication 
family were here when that 
family itself set a good 
example; the Assembly was 
a good example of 
consensus without 
exhaustion.
Over the next four weeks, I 
hope you will be able to show 
that the lessons of Kyoto and 
Council have been learned, 
and that they will be applied.
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to conclude here. 
One of the most important 
ways to improve the 
efficiency is not to say too 
much. I will therefore heed 
my own good advice to you, 
and wish you well in your 
very important and 
challenging work. I wish you 
all the fortitude you will need 
to accomplish your 
extremely difficult task in the 
next four weeks.
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