EDITORIAL

HEADLINES OF THIS ISSUE

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the ITU-R e-Flash of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector. Three issues are scheduled this year in March, September and December 2008.

The ITU-R e-Flash is your information source to follow the ITU-R Sector activities and milestones in the rapidly changing world of international wireless communications.

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Promotion & Membership / BR

Introduction by Director, ITU Radiocommunication Bureau, Mr. Valery Timofeev -- 2008 promises to be another equally challenging year following a very busy year in 2007 for the ITU-R Sector and its membership in relation to the Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-07) and the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07). Our focus in 2008 is on strengthening the Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) assistance to Members "centrally and in regions" and strengthening our regional presence and visibility by increased ITU-R regional participation in the area of spectrum and orbit management activities. Two related ITU-R events for 2008 are the "Regional Radiocommunication Seminar" in Buenos Aires on 14-18 April and the "Biennial Radiocommunication Seminar (BRS-08)" in Geneva on 8 to 12 December. 

Photo: Valery Timofeev, Director, ITU Radiocommunication Bureau during the WRC-07 Closing Press Conference at the U.N. Palais des Nations - Photo credits: ITU/J.M.Ferré

ITU Radiocommunications Sector (ITU-R) Activites on Climate Change -- Radiocommunications are an integral part the information and communication technology (ICT). They are playing a significant role in the following aspects of the ICT used in combating the negative effects of climate change: climate change monitoring; actions against global warming; mitigating the local effects of climate change. The following is a report on the Radiocommunication Sector's main activities relevant to reducing the effects of climate change with the aim to be used for informing the general public on these activities.  

Mark your calendar! Regional Radiocommunication Seminar (Buenos Aires, 14-18 April 2008). Hosted by the Secretaria de Comunicaciones, the National Regulatory Authority of Argentina, the ITU Regional Radiocommunication Seminar will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 14-18 April 2008.  The main objective of this Seminar is to enable participants to familiarize themselves with the regulatory procedures for terrestrial and space service and with the associated tools for notifying the frequency assignments to the Radiocommunication Bureau, including some of the related software programs. 

A Seminar on Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Cognitive Radio Systems (CRS) was held at the ITU, Geneva, on 4 February 2008, to share information on activities and research towards the development and application of these technologies and to provide a high-level view of the Radiocommunication issues that might be improved through the use of SDR and CRS.  The seminar included a number of presentations on general issues, concepts, specific research projects and opportunities. 
 

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)
The ITU WTISD celebrations will be held in Cairo, Egypt on 15 May 2008 and this year's theme is Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All -- 17 May marks the anniversary of the signature of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated since 1969. The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information communications technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. 

Final Results of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) -- The WRC-07 ended on 16^th November 2007 after four weeks of difficult discussions.  Its attendance was unprecedented, exceeding 2600 delegates from 164 countries, and more than 3000 proposals for modifications to the ITU Radio Regulations were considered. Its decisions, taken in full consensus, illustrate the continued ability of the ITU to adjust international regulations to technology and market changes in a timely manner. They will influence the development of radiocommunications for several decades. The main and most difficult issue related to new allocations and identifications of spectrum for International Mobile Services (IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced), to ensure that mobile services, which have become part of everyday life in all countries, can continue to grow in the future to adjust to higher transmission rates. In this context, going to frequencies higher than 2G (900 MHz) or 3G (2 GHz) opens wider spectrum resources but also translates into higher costs, since many more base stations are required in these bands. Access to spectrum by all countries was one of the main objectives of this Conference.

Observations from the Chairman of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) -- The RRB held its first meeting of the year 4-8 February 2008 under the Chairmanship of Ms. Julie N. Zoller. The current Board, which was elected by the Plenipotentiary Conference (Antalya, 2006), took office on 1 January 2007. Ms. Zoller shares her experiences and observations as the first woman to chair the RRB. The RRB elects a Chairman and Vice-chairman from among its members each year, and the Vice-Chairman succeeds the Chairman the following year. Having been elected Vice-Chairman for 2007, it was clear that I would be Chairman for 2008 in accordance with normal procedures. Despite the fact that it was the natural course of events, we were also aware that it was an extraordinary occasion because I would be the first woman to chair the RRB. There are two women on the Board today, and we are the first, pioneers in the implementation of gender perspective in the work of the ITU. However, it was not gender that was foremost in my mind as I opened the 46th meeting of the RRB on 4 February 2008 ..

Radio Monitoring Receivers

Five new ITU-R Recommendations (ITU-R SM.1836 to ITU-R SM.1840) provide the definitions of test procedures for measuring IF filter properties, IP3, noise figure, scanning speed and sensitivity respectively.  Hence, once the receiver data which are published by the manufacturers are measured according to these Recommendations they are comparable for the one who has to determine whether a certain receiver will fulfill the necessary requirements or not. This is a large step towards more objectivity and this helps administrations as well as the industry. 
 

Mark your calendar! ITU Regional Development Forum 
(Brasilia, 19-20 May, 2008). In line with the results of WTSA-04, WTDC-06 and RA-07, and in accordance with Resolution 123 (Rev. Antalya, 2006), an ITU Regional Development Forum, focused in 2008 on “bridging the ICT standardization gap in developing countries”, will take place at the headquarters of Anatel, the national regulatory authority of Brazil, in Brasilia, from 19 to 20 May 2008. The ITU Development Forum is intended for executives from national regulatory authorities, telecommunication operators, and service providers in the Americas region, who need to be kept abreast of the latest development in telecommunication/ICT standardization issues and become familiar with ITU activities, in particular those of the Study Groups.  Additionally, it will highlight ways and means to enhance cooperation and participation in ITU standardization work and standards implementation in the Americas region.  

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