3.4 International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union and since 1947 has been a specialised agency of the United Nations. Its fundamental goals are to regulate telecommunications at global level, manage spectrum and satellite orbits, set standards for the operation of equipment and systems, co-ordinate data needed to plan and operate telecommunications services and, within the United Nations system, to develop telecommunications and related infrastructures. It also plays a vital role in co-operation with less-developed countries (LDCs), promoting development of their telecommunications services and networks, with the aim of narrowing the digital divide. Portugal was a founding member of the ITU. 

At the end of 2002, the organisation comprised 189 member States, including also more than 600 entities with interests in the telecommunications sector, from operators to manufacturers, with the status of Sector members. 

The supreme body of ITU is the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP), which every four years gathers together the highest representatives from the member States to debate issues of general policy, strategic planning and the organisation’s long-term management. During the interim period between PPs, ITU management is assured by the Council, to which the PP delegates certain powers. The Council is composed of 46 member States elected by the PP. Portugal has been a member of the Council since 1994. 

At functional level, the ITU is organised in three Sectors:

• The Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), which implements the Union’s goals in terms of radiocommunications, specifically by ensuring the rational, fair, efficient and economic use of radio spectrum by all radiocommunications services, including those that use satellite orbits. The World Radiocommunications Conferences (WRCs) are held in the ITU-R context and charged with revising the Radio Regulations, an instrument with the nature of an international treaty; there is also place for regional conferences, whenever justified. The Radio Regulations Board (RRB) also functions within ITU-R; its members are elected by the PP;
• The Telecommunications Standardisation Sector (ITU-T) implements the Union’s goals in terms of standardisation, dealing with technical matters and those concerning operation and pricing, for which it adopts recommendations with the aim of standardising telecommunications at global level. World telecommunications standardisation assemblies are held in the context of this Sector;
• The Telecommunications Development Sector (ITU-D) implements the Union’s goals in terms of telecommunications development, by facilitating and improving the development of telecommunications, favouring, organising and co-ordinating co-operation and technical assistance activities. ITU-D additionally acts as a project execution entity in the telecommunications domain, in the context of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Matters related to the scope of ITU-D’s activity are debated in regional and global telecommunications development conferences, which namely approve the Sector’s action plan.

The ITU also assumes, when so requested, appropriate responsibility for events of a transverse nature that take place within the United Nations, such as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which will be held in two sessions, the first in December 2003 and the second in November 2005. 

Activity pursued in 2002

ICP-ANACOM’s involvement in the ITU, as a member State, is felt at both the level of the main bodies – Plenipotentiary Conference, Council and high-level events – and in the scope of the three Sectors, including the various bodies in each of them (conferences and/or assemblies, study groups, advisory groups).

The year 2002 was particularly active in the ITU, as two of its main conferences were held: the World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC-02), top body of ITU-D, in March, and the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-02), the Union’s supreme organ, which met in September/October.

Work at the organisation’s various levels thus increased, especially in the Council, in order to prepare PP-02, which was a particularly difficult conference. Indeed, to the complexity of the issues usually dealt with at these conferences (elections of the Council and various positions, definition of strategy and approval of the financial plan) that provide the basis for the Union’s functioning in the following four years, were added to the ITU’s current financial difficulties, which reflect the difficult situation of the international telecommunications market in general.

The most flagrant result of PP-02 was the deterioration of the ITU’s financial situation, caused by the lower contributions from various mainly Western member States, leading to a budget less than that unanimously considered necessary and implying a nominal null growth for at least the first two years of the four-year period in question. Besides this, the telecom fairs – UIT TELECOM – have had deficit results, leading to a worsening situation which specifically affects the financing of co-operation activities (ITU-D).

Despite this overall situation, the PP-02 results were quite rewarding to Portugal. Indeed, Portugal was not only re-elected to the ITU Council for its third consecutive mandate, as the second most voted country in region B – Western Europe (behind Germany), but also in the inaugural Council session held before the end of PP-02 was elected to that body’s presidency, a position it will hold until its successor is elected in 2004. This is the first time that Portugal performs such important duties within the ITU.

Still in 2002, Portugal carried out various actions already under its Council presidency status, specifically concerning the structure and working methods of the various working groups that PP-02 charged the Council with establishing, as well as the creation of a group of experts to review the ITU’s management, also resulting from a PP-02 decision. The work of this group will be vital for possible resolution of some of the Union’s financial and structural problems; Portugal with its aforementioned status has acted to stimulate the start of its work. This group is composed of five experts, one from each ITU administrative region. An expert indicated by the Portuguese administration was appointed to represent region B.

In the context of the Telecommunications Development Sector (ITU-D) the already mentioned WTDC-02 is worthy of mention. As with the PP, the work of the World Telecommunications Development Conferences aims to define strategy and orient the Sector’s work for the following four-year period. In this context, WTDC-02 adopted a new action plan – the Istanbul Action Plan. This is basically addressed to the less-developed countries (LDCs) and technical co-operation projects, and is composed of six specific programmes. In generic terms, the Istanbul Action Plan seeks to stimulate the services and applications of information and communication technologies, especially in the LDCs, so that today’s digital divide can eventually be transformed into a digital opportunity. 

In the context of the Radiocommunications Sector (ITU-R), ICP-ANACOM actively participated in preparations for the World Radiocommunications Conference to be held in June/July 2003 in Geneva (WRC-03). Worthy of note was the Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM), which drew up a consolidated report on technical and operational questions and the regulatory and procedural bases underlying the work agenda of WRC-03, based on the technical or operational studies undertaken by the Study Groups (SG) and the matters of regulatory and procedural nature developed by the Special Committee.

ITU-R’s activity is particularly important for Portugal and the remaining countries, particularly in Europe, given the strategic nature of its activities and the decisions approved in the global and regional conferences held under its aegis.

Those decisions are substantiated in international treaties that ITU member States must compulsorily apply, with direct impact on areas of vital interest for each of them, including national security.

Within ITU-R, ICP-ANACOM particularly favours presence in the following bodies: the Radiocommunications Advisory Group (RAG), which in 2002 revised the priorities and strategies adopted by the Radiocommunications Sector, oversaw and prepared guidelines for the activity of the different Study Groups (SG), recommended measures envisaging the establishment of an appropriate co-operation and co-ordination policy with other organisations and with other ITU Sectors, and advised the director of the RB (Radiocommunications Bureau) on issues related to these matters: 

• the Special Committee on Regulatory/Procedural Matters (SCRPM), which dealt with regulatory and procedural questions related to preparation of WRC-03, including the CPM; 
• the Working Group WP 8F (IMT2000 and systems beyond), which studied issues related to IMT2000 in order to accompany and prepare new recommendations in this area and pave the way for IMT2000, specifically in terms of the availability/need of spectrum for its development, taking appropriate steps to allow discussion of such necessities in a future WRC.

ICP-ANACOM also participated in the group set up in 2002 in the scope of Study Group 6 (Broadcasting) to prepare the next Regional Radiocommunications Conference, whose aim is to revise the 1961 Stockholm Agreement on television broadcasting service, basically meant to see through appropriate planning for digital television.

At the level of the Telecommunications Standardisation Sector (ITU-T), particularly the numbering area, ICP-ANACOM was through Study Group 2 involved in work on Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM), whose goal is to establish correspondence between telephone numbers and Internet addresses.

Besides the aforesaid activities, ICP-ANACOM continued to play an active role in the ITU Council, the 2003 session being particularly complex as it was the last one before PP-02, as well as to be involved in work of the various advisory groups and study groups of the three ITU Sectors.

In 2002 ITU played a decisive role in preparing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held under United Nations auspices. Indeed, besides assuming responsibility as an organiser, ITU set up a working group (WSIS WG) to prepare the ITU’s contributions, in terms of content, to the Summit. ITU’s contribution to the 2^nd meeting of the Summit Preparatory Committee (PrepCom2) was finalised in a meeting of this group that took place in December 2002, in Lisbon, at the invitation of ICP-ANACOM.

ICP-ANACOM’s involvement in WSIS preparatory work was substantiated at internal level by participation in the process of inter-ministry co-ordination undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, at international level, by participation in PrepCom1, in the WSIS Pan European Regional Conference (Bucharest Conference) and in discussions of the issue at EU level.

Regarding reception into national law of the ITU’s different binding fundamental instruments, the following ratification processes remained pending at the end of 2002, all submitted by ICP-ANACOM in 2001 to the then Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

• Final Acts of the 1995 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-95);
• Final Acts of the 1997 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-97);
• Final Acts of the Regional Administrative Conference for planning audio broadcasting service in metric waves (Region 1 and part of Region 3), held in Geneva in 1984;
• Final Acts of the Regional Administrative Conference for planning maritime radionavigation service (radiobeacons) in the European Maritime Area, held in Geneva in 1985;
• Final Acts of the Regional Administrative Conference for planning mobile maritime and aeronautic radionavigation services in hectometric waves (Region 1), held in Geneva in 1985;
• Final Acts of the European Broadcasting Conference for planning broadcasting service in metric and decimetric waves, held in Stockholm in 1961;
• Final Acts of the Regional Administrative Conference of ITU Members pertaining to the European Broadcasting Area, charged partially revising the 1961 Stockholm Agreement, held in Geneva in 1985;
• Final Acts of the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-98) held in Minneapolis in 1998.