Following the order of the Minister of Public Works, Transportation and Communications of 15 February 2008, Portugal has launched the candidacy of José Manuel Toscano, the current Director of External Relations of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO), to the post of Director General of this inter-governmental organization.
The election will take place at the next ITSO Assembly of Parties, to be held in Estoril, Portugal from 6 to 10 October 2008.
José Manuel Toscano has played an active part in the telecommunications sector for over 25 years, having performed functions at the Portuguese communications regulator (ANACOM), the European Commission (EC), at a corporate and university level and at various regional and international regulatory bodies within the scope, among others, of the European Union, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT).
In view of his current position at ITSO, his many years of high-level international experience, as well as the leadership role that he has taken in numerous governmental negotiations, ANACOM considers that the Portuguese candidate is highly qualified for this position and that this candidacy makes a solid contribution to the development of global satellite communications.
Over the last seven years, the post of Director General of ITSO has been held by Ahmed Toumi of Morocco, whose second and last mandate is now coming to an end.
ITSO, which is an intergovernmental organization with 148 member States, has faced serious challenges over the last two years. Chief among these have been the dispute with the satellite operator, Intelsat, Ltd., related to this company’s failure to comply with some public service obligations, such as the re-evaluation of prices applied by Intelsat to LCO contracts (Lifeline Connectivity Obligation), which are vital for countries and regions which depend practically on exclusive terms, on Intelsat’s international communications system. A further point of tension between the intergovernmental organization and the private operator Intelsat regards the attempt to implement financial and legal mechanisms which guarantee the maintenance of a minimum level of global coverage and connectivity in the event of Intelsat’s bankruptcy. These two topics, in particular, have recently led to two extraordinary meetings of the Assembly of Parties being convened, with the objective of setting out strategies and action plans to respond to these challenges. In this light, and so that ITSO can accomplish its goals and objectives in the current conjuncture, the new Director General will need to ensure continuity of the developments that are underway.
Benin has also presented a candidacy for the same post.
