OF THE CITEL ASSEMBLY
12 - 16 August 2002
Washington, D.C. United States / OAS/Ser.L/XVII.2.3
CITEL/doc. 233/02
7 August 2002
Original: Spanish
COM/CITEL CHAIR’S REPORT
(Agenda item: 4)
(Document submitted by the COM/CITEL Chair)
1
citel-233_i10.08.0210.08.02
1.INTRODUCTION
InMarch of 1998, Quito enthusiastically and with great pleasure welcomed the visit of the distinguished delegations of the American States that attended the Second Regular Meeting of the CITEL Assembly, during which Ecuador assumed the Chairmanship of the Permanent Executive Committee (COM/CITEL). In addition, as a special ceremony, the Declaration of Quito was signed establishing the following policies, inter alia:
- To strengthen coordination with telecommunications bodies of the Americas in developing programs regarding infrastructure, training and research.
- To promote the development of projects designed to make available the basic telephone services and the benefits of new technologies required to meet the communications needs of more remote areas and of lower-income groups, particularly with regard to telemedicine, distance learning and access to the Internet.
- To establish mechanisms to reinforce and facilitate the participation of CITEL, as a specialized technical telecommunications organization, in the region’s various processes of integration.
2.ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN SINCE THE II ASSEMBLY (Quito, Ecuador, March 1998)
2.1 V MEETING OF THE CITEL STEERING COMMITTEE (Washington, D.C., United States, August 1998)
During this meeting held in Washington, in August 1998, the Committee concentrated on guiding the work of the COM/CITEL Groups and particularly on the analysis of the difficult budgetary situation faced by CITEL as a result of the Organization of American States (OAS) lack of resources. This situation resulted in a reduction in support for all of the activities sponsored by the Organization. In light of this situation, the Member States considered it appropriate to make these concerns known to the OAS, through their Chancellors and to study the mechanisms that make certain funds from the private sector available to more directly support the CITEL management.
2.2STEERING MEETING ON REGULATORS TRAINING
This meeting was sponsored jointly by CITEL and the non profit institution, Caribbean Latin America Action, CLAA, with the aim of producing a broad discussion on the needs and means for Training Professional Regulators in the region of the Americas.
The COM/CITEL Chair directed the sessions of this meeting involving the collaboration of organizations such as: Association of Andean Community Telecommunication Companies (ASETA), Hispano-American Association of Research Centers and Telecommunication Companies (AHCIET), Technical Regional Telecommunication Commission of the Andean Community (COMTELCA) and the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), with whom important decisions were reached. Of these, the following can be highlighted:
-Accept the mechanism proposed by the ITU as the best for dissemination and preparation of regulators, consistent with the identification and selection of Centers of Excellence throughout the region.
-Alert the Working Group on Human Resources to advance in preparing the White Book of Training.
-Request that the regional organizations establish an Ad-Hoc Committee for the identification and preparation of pilot training programs.
3.ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN SINCE THE VII MEETING OF COM/CITEL (Quito, Ecuador, November 1998)
3.1UPDATING OF THE “BLUE BOOK,” TELECOMMUNICATION POLICIES FOR THE AMERICAS
Taking into account significant changes in telecommunications since the publication of the first version of the Blue Book in December 1995, the VII Meeting of COM/CITEL resolved to work jointly with the ITU to update this Book.
Pursuant to the Committee mandate, the COM/CITEL Chair coordinated when necessary with the ITU Development Office, specifically with Mr. Juan Zavattiero, Regional Office Head for the Americas Region, to prepare a joint working method, thus responding to the hopes of the Member States.
The VIII Meeting of COM/CITEL resolved to adopt the revised version with a view to submit and distribute the Blue Book during the “America Telecom” exhibition to be held in Río de Janeiro in April 2000.
3.2VI MEETING OF THE CITEL STEERING COMMITTEE (Washington, D.C., United States, May 1999)
The meeting examined the overwhelming budgetary problems which had a significant effect on the work of CITEL. Therefore, all of the telecommunication authorities were asked for support in addressing the pertinent Permanent Missions in order to explain the activities of our Commission, as a valid mechanism for finding adequate solutions.
The COM/CITEL Chair complied with the following guidelines established by the Steering Committee:
a)Entrust the Executive Secretary with assuring that the funds for the year 2000 are at the same level as those of 1999.
b)Recommend the creation of the Working Group for the preparation of the 2000 Plenipotentiary Conference and the appointment of Mr. José Vivanco as Chair of that group, in light of the results obtained during the preparation and implementation of the Plenipotentiary Conference held in Minneapolis in 1998.
c)Establish CITEL policies for the representation of this organization, at meetings of other international and regional organizations, making it necessary, pursuant to the provisions of the Statutes, for the COM/CITEL Chair to make a decision on the invitations; and,
d)Prepare a CITEL magazine, based on a proposal submitted by Argentina for the publication of a periodical document containing information on CITEL activities, as well as technical articles and news about the Member States.
3.3COOPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL TELECOMUNICATION ORGANIZATIONS
Cooperation efforts were undertaken with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and with the Hispano-American Association of Research Centers and Telecommunication Companies (AHCIET).
CITEL, within the framework of the PCC.I work, in collaboration with the ITU and the AHCIET, prepared the book “Universal Service in the Americas.” This is an excellent manual for consulting on the diverse possibilities planned or implemented for universal service in the region.
With the ITU, efforts continued in developing the second stage of a data base on frequency allocations in the region and another on telecommunication development; as well as coordination to assure better use of the ITU Centers of Excellence.
4.ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN SINCE THE VIII MEETING OF COM/CITEL, (Guayaquil, Ecuador, December 1999)
4.1CHOICE OF CANDIDATES TO THE POSITION OF EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF CITEL
In accordance with Resolution COM/CITEL.RES.82 (VIII-99), the COM/CITEL Chair presented to Mr. Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), the list of candidates for the position of CITEL Executive Secretary, with their respective curriculum, accompanied by the reasons for their selection as acceptable candidates for the position of Executive Secretary.
In response to the request by COM/CITEL for the selection of a list of candidates for Executive Secretary, the Secretary of the Organization was so kind as to appoint Mr. Clovis José Baptista Neto to fill that position, which he assumed on March 20, 2000.
4.2TELECOMMUNICATION IN THE SERVICE OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
In accordance with Resolution COM/CITEL.RES. 93 (VIII-99) the Member States were invited to sign, ratify and apply the Convention of Tampere, June 1998, and the international convention on radio amateur permit prepared by CITEL and adopted by the General Assembly of the OAS.
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States was asked to include the topic: “Telecommunication in the service of humanitarian assistance” at the General Assembly of the OAS, and the Working Group Chair for the preparation of the Third Summit of the Americas was asked to include this subject in the section on telecommunication.
4.3PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK “TELECOMMUNICATION POLICIES FOR THE AMERICAS, BLUE BOOK,” SECOND VERSION
In accordance with Resolution COM/CITEL.RES.96 (VIII-99), a sample of the second version of the Blue Book was presented to the Permanent Missions of the OAS Member States, to the OAS Secretary General, to the legislative bodies and to the Telecommunication Administrations of the Member States, as well as the sub regional and international telecommunication organizations.
By special invitation of the ITU, in my role as COM/CITEL Chair, and representing all of the Member States, I had the honor of presenting the Book to the Telecommunication Development Symposium, a solemn ceremony conducted in Rio de Janeiro on April 11, 2000. This meeting enjoyed the presence and participation of the ITU Secretary General, Vice Secretary General, Director of the Development Office, Head of the Regional Office for the Americas, Heads of the Area Offices of the Americas, representatives of the Administrations and industry of the Member States.
4.4VII MEETING OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE (Washington, D.C., United States, August 2000)
The main decisions adopted involved the following topics: revision of the form to adopt CITEL common proposals, creation of a COM/CITEL Working Group to prepare for the 2002 World Telecommunication Development Conference and a report on the preparation of the Third CITEL Assembly which indicated among other matters: budget, subjects to be covered, structure and guest lists.
On request by the delegations, the Steering Committee agreed on the need to change the way of planning the Assembly to highlight its highly political rather than informative nature. It was requested that the meeting be announced at the minister level with enough advance notice to facilitate the attendance of the high authorities. Furthermore, emphasis was made on the appropriateness of providing enough time to ministerial statements. These statements should resonate with the decisions made by the Presidents at the Summit of the Americas meeting.
4.5DISSEMINATION OF CITEL INFORMATION DE LA CITEL
A CD of CITEL reference material was prepared which was distributed among the administrations, Associate Members and Permanent Missions of the OAS. The Secretary General of the OAS sent a copy to the Presidents of the Member States, as per what was resolved during an interview that I had with the Chief of Staff (Cabinet).
4.6NOTIFICATION TO THE OAS ASSEMBLY OF THE CITEL RESPONSE TO THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS MANDATE
The Assembly congratulated CITEL for its considerable progress in complying with the telecommunication mandates of the Summit of Santiago, as described in the CITEL Annual Report of 1999. Specifically, this was in support of the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Recognition Agreement for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment for the Americas through Resolution AG/RES. 1739 (XXX-O/00).
5.ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN SINCE THE IX MEETING OF COM/CITEL, (Cuenca, December 2000)
5.1REPRESENTATION OF CITEL DURING THE III SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS (TELECOMMUNICATION SECTION OF THE PLAN OF ACTION)
By Resolution COM/CITEL.RES.99 (IX-00), the draft text for the Telecommunication Section of the Plan of Action for the Third Summit of the Americas was adopted. Given the strategic important of this topic, the COM/CITEL Chair participated in drafting the final texts and in the III Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Americas.
Declaration on Connectivity in the Americas. In political terms, in the Declaration on Connectivity for the Americas, the leaders of the hemisphere supported the principles and objectives of Connectivity. This involved supporting fundamental development processes such as health, education and the common commitments for democracy, social, cultural development and economic integration, highlighting Connectivity as a means for accomplishing these objectives.
The Plan of Action of the Summit establishes the following mandates for CITEL:
-Support the modernization of national legislations,
-Promote improvement of human resources in the telecommunication sector,
-Promote the adoption of measures for implementing the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for Conformity Assessment,
-Support the official announcement of the ITU World Summit on the Information Society,
-Prepare guidelines on universal service,
-Promote a cooperation and collaboration program to support an agenda on connectivity for the whole hemisphere,
-Foster the increase of competitiveness and productivity in all of the sectors through applications such as: distance education and telemedicine,
-Clarify and simplify the standards governing the provision of satellite services in our countries; and,
-Promote the modernization and broadening of the telecommunication infrastructure in rural and urban areas.
5.2NOTIFICATION TO THE OAS ASSEMBLY OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 2000
By document CP/doc.3410/01 the CITEL Annual Report was submitted. The Assembly acknowledged the successful efforts of our Commission in promoting the principles and objectives of the Organization and of the Inter-American system by Resolution AG/RES. 1787 (XXXI-O/01).
5.3VIII MEETING OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE (Washington, D.C., United States, August 2001)
The Steering Committee Meeting of the year 2001 was highly important for organizing the work that the Third Summit of the Americas assigned to CITEL. There, the Working Group to Prepare for the “Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas” was defined and established.
A fundamental aspect of this Meeting was to prepare for the CITEL Assembly, the proposal for the Forum of Senior Telecommunication Officials and the revision of the report of the Ad Hoc Group to consider improving CITEL’s working methods. The Steering Committee supported the group’s recommendations, which were presented to the X Meeting of COM/CITEL, (Salinas, in December 2001).
5.4NOTIFICATION TO THE OAS ASSEMBLY OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 2001
By document CP/doc.3549/02 the CITEL Annual Report was submitted. The assembly acknowledged the successful efforts of our Commission in promoting the principles and objectives of the Organization and of the Inter-American system through Resolution AG/RES. 1843 (XXXII-O/02).
- ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN AFTER THE X MEETING OF COM/CITEL (Salinas, Ecuador, December 2001)
The X Meeting of COM/CITEL resolved strategic matters for the success of the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and to prepare for the Third Regular Assembly and the Forum of Senior Telecommunication Officials.
This Chair was very pleased to receive a six month extension to his service due to the postponement of the Assembly planned for March 2002. He has fully applied the Resolutions of that COM/CITEL meeting.
7.PRESENTATIONS TO THE OAS PERMANENT COUNCIL
In order to inform and seek the constant support of the Organization, a close working relationship was maintained through the coordination of the Executive Secretariat with the Secretary General and the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States. In this context, I had the honor of being invited to report on the accomplishments of our Commission to the Permanent Council.
The reports given on August 16, 2000 and August 22, 2001, focused on setting forth the progress made and key accomplishments of the CITEL, successes in preparing for the ITU Plenipotentiary and Radioconferences, the history and role of CITEL, the status of telecommunication and the advances of all the American States to disseminate telecommunications and the Internet. Based on these parameters, in the most destitute sectors, and the objectives and strategies provided for by CITEL, for which I requested the invaluable contribution of the representatives of our countries to the Organization of American States, in approving the CITEL Plan of Activities and Budget.
In these presentations, I invited the governments of the Americas to establish adequate policies for the harmonious development of telecommunications in our continent. The Council Members highlighted the efforts, the quantity and quality of the results achieved by CITEL. In addition, they congratulated us for the presentation that in many cases, in their words, gave new insight to CITEL and its accomplishments, thus showing its importance for the development of telecommunications in the American countries.
The final presentation to the Permanent Council was given on May 9, 2002 and was geared particularly to the progress made in preparing for the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and the Plan of Action of Quito.
8.BUDGETARY MATTERS
In accordance with the resolutions adopted by the Steering Committee, contacts were made with high authorities of the OAS and with the Permanent Diplomatic Missions. During this term the budgetary situation has been particularly difficult; nevertheless, together with the Secretariat, everything possible has been done before the Missions and the Permanent Council, as well as the Assembly of the Organization, to avoid reducing the regular budget allocated to CITEL.
Improvements in CITEL working methods, which I have coordinated with the Secretariat and the Ad-hoc Group Chair, have contributed this year to the reduction of costs of the meetings and have helped to improve the efficiency of the Organization.
9.TRAINING THROUGH CITEL’S REGIONAL CENTERS
During this term, CITEL has considered training human resources to be of fundamental importance. Therefore, CITEL has coordinated broad activities with the Regional Training Centers and with all of the international institutions, regional and sub regional organizations. Specifically, during 2002, in coordination with the Center of Excellence for the Americas of the International Telecommunication Union distance learning courses have begun to be implemented.
CITEL, as a founding member of the Educational Portal of the Americas, has given special importance to distance education, eager to broaden the coverage of the courses and possibilities that new technologies offer.
10.CITEL MAGAZINE
Based on the proposal made by Argentina for the publication of a periodical magazine that contains information on CITEL activities, as well as technical articles, Member State and Associate Member States’ news, it was resolved to entrust the Argentine Administration with preparation of a proposal for the VIII Meeting of COM/CITEL, (December, 1999).
The Chair held consultations on the subject, in particular with Members of the Editorial Council, for the purpose of fulfilling the COM/CITEL mandate and establishing adequate guidelines for the publication of the first CITEL magazine.
Reports were then requested on the legal and administrative aspects of the competent departments of the Secretary General of the OAS. The Office of the OAS Secretary General expressed his approval of the initiative, on May 2, 2000, after which the terms of reference were prepared for contracting the publication through an international bidding process (Tender No.13/00 of October 24, 2000), as a result of which, on February 15, 2001, Grupo Convergencia S.A. was selected.