World Radiocommunication Conference to convene early 2012

Monday, 26 October 2009 12:55

The ITU’s first preparatory meeting for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12), which will be held in conjunction with the African Telecommunication Union (ATU) has been held in Geneva. Around 200 participants from six regional telecoms organisations - APT, ASMG, ATU, CEPT, CITEL, and RCC - participated in the meeting. The meeting is part of a series of ongoing international and regional preparatory meetings to allow government and industry to address the far-reaching and complex agenda of WRC-12.

WRC-12 will review the international treaty that governs radio-communications - the ITU Radio Regulations. It will deal with 25 specific issues as well as eight items that always feature on the agenda. More specifically, the review of the radio regulations is intended to reflect the convergence of some radio services arising from the development of next-generation networks (NGN) as well as new radio applications and technologies.

To be held in Geneva from 23 January to 17 February 2012 (and  preceded by the Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-12) in Geneva from 16?20 January 2012, WRC-12 will focus on appropriate spectrum-sharing mechanisms to make the best use of the digital dividend in the UHF and other frequency bands, thereby providing new opportunities for radiocommunication services. WRC-12 will also identify the spectrum requirements to increase security for both maritime and aeronautical transport services.

Additional spectrum resources will also be identified for scientific and other radiocommunication services, specifically related to the environment, meteorology and climatology, as well as disaster prediction, mitigation and relief. Along with the introduction of more efficient digital services requiring less power consumption, WRC-12 will be a milestone to meet ITU’s commitment to achieve climate neutrality with the use of ICTs as effective tools to combat climate change and its effects.

The ITU preparatory meetings ahead of WRC-12 provide an opportunity to exchange information and views on the ongoing studies regarding WRC-12 agenda items as well as on the common proposals and positions of the regional groups and other organisations. The discussions in this meeting have addressed all WRC-12 agenda items and have identified those deserving special consideration for African countries, eg, the sensitive issue relating to the operation of security systems for ships and ports and the shared use of the planned digital TV spectrum by other services.

Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau Valery Timofeev noted that the agenda for WRC-12 was likely to be as complex as the previous WRC held in 2007. "We need to continue the trend toward increasing the number of common and coordinated proposals," said Valery Timofeev. "This process, which highlights the great spirit of international cooperation and consensus building at ITU, has proved to be increasingly successful in the WRC process." He added that the level of participation at the meeting indicated the importance of the WRC process "to improve regulatory procedures, to provide frequency and orbit resources for new technologies, and to strengthen the technical framework for the operation of services."

More info:

• www.itu.int

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