The 18th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-10) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is taking place until 22 October, with the presence of some 1,500 participants representing over 150 Member states of the ITU. For the first time, a delegation will attend from East Timor, which recently joined the ITU, becoming its 192nd Member State.
The opening ceremony of this Conference was attended by the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, who stressed the importance of telecommunications as an essential tool to achieve justice and equality. He also announced the issue of a commemorative stamp celebrating the occasion of the PP-10 in Mexico.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon sent a special message in which he highlighted the importance of the ITU's work in the development of next generation communications networks. In turn, Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General, also addressed those present, emphasizing the importance of this Conference in shaping the future of the ITU and the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector.
At PP-10 there will be discussion of ITU policy and strategy, as well as the organisation's budget. The conference proceedings are based on the reports submitted to it by the Council (which manages the Union in the periods between conferences) and on the proposals submitted by the ITU's member states. In particular, it is expected that issues such as cybersecurity, internet addresses, the International Telecommunications Regulations and access to broadband will be particularly relevant. Alongside the works of the Conference, a number of events will be held involving debates related to broadband access, the role of ICT in reducing the impact of climate change, access to ICT by people with special needs and cybersecurity.
The structure and operation of the PP-10 were established, as usual, during the first plenary meeting. The structure adopted was as follows:
- Committee 1 - Steering Committee;
- Committee 2 - Credentials Committee;
- Committee 3 - Budget Control Committee;
- Committee 4 - Editorial Committee;
- Committee 5 - Policy and Legal Matters;
- Committee 6 - Administration and Management;
- Plenary Working Group on matters related to public policy, including the Internet, as well as other general matters.
In the first plenary, approval was also given to the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Conference and of the Committees.
In addition to the policy interventions of various high-level representatives present at the conference, the PP-10 has begun to organize the work of the various committees, with it decided, in plenary session, to maintain the value of the contribution unit at 318 thousand Swiss francs. Also this week, the period of elections will start that will decide the five elected officials, as well as members of the ITU Council and the Radio Regulations Board.
In elections to the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), the United Kingdom won with 152 votes. As for the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), Burkina Faso and Saudi Arabia received 53 votes each, going to the second round, while Mexico, with 50 votes, was eliminated. For the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR), the results were as follows: France (72 votes), Brazil (48 votes) and Canada (38 votes), with the first two candidates going to the second round.
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Mexico - from 04 to 22.10.2010 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1052218
