Statement by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
 
 

Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be here representing the International Telecommunications Union at this third UNISPACE Conference.

I find the timing of this Conference quite opportune. it offers to us all the exciting possibility to focus on the use of outer space well into the first part of the 21st Century. This will occur in an environment where rapid technological advances are making many new services and systems available to all for the first time.

The International Telecommunication Union has had a fundamental role in the regulation of international telecommunications for over 130 years Its inception was in 1865 when the first International Telegraph Convention was agreed.

An ITU conference held in Atlantic City in 1947 sought to develop and modernize the organization whereby among other decisions, an International Frequency Registration Board was established. In addition, a mandatory Table of Frequency Allocations containing allocations of different frequency bands to the various radiocommunication services was agreed. It was also at this time that the ITU became a specialized agency of the United Nations.
Following the launch of SPUTNIK-1 and the increasing interest in the use of outer space for communications purposes, ITU held its first conference dedicated to Space Radio communications in 1963.  This was followed by six further conferences in the 70s and 80s where the Radio Regulations were modified and extended to take account of the rapid developments in space radiocommunications.

The international treaty texts developed at these Conferences took account of, and were in conformity with, the fundamental international legal instruments on the use and exploration of outer space developed in this same time frame by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

In particular, it is recognized that radio frequencies and any associated orbits, including the geostationary-satellite orbit, are limited natural resources and that they must be used rationally, efficiently and economically, so that countries or groups of countries may have equitable access to those orbits and frequencies.
In its daily activities associated with space radiocommunication ITU has both a regulatory role as repository of the Master International Frequency Register as well as being a forum for the development of internationally agreed standards known as ITU recommendations.

Member States have the ITU Radio Regulations as the basic international treaty text providing for the international management of the spectrum orbit resource. This text, currently in 4 volumes, lays down, in addition to the Table of Frequency Allocations that I mentioned earlier, technical and operational limitations applying to radiocommunication stations, as well as the procedures to be followed to ensure access to the resource.

The ITU Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Standardization Sectors develop Recommendations on a wide variety of subjects associated with space radiocommunications. The ITU Radiocommunication Bureau, which I head, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the application of the Radio Regulations by Administrations of ITU Member States and the support for the many Study Groups in the Radiocommunication Sector. These Study Groups, in addition to their regular program also provide substantial input on technical,  operational and procedural matters to the regularly held world Radiocommunication Conferences. The ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences held in 1992, 1995 and 1997 dealt with the introduction of new technological solutions for the provision of  communication services by satellites.

An aspect of major importance was the view held by many ITU Member States each at different stages of economic development, All these new technological solutions could facilitate a leap-frogging of technology in the provision of telecommunication facilities in their countries. The resulting positive attitude toward the acceptance of these new development has opened up an extremely active period of study in ITU of technical aspects, Including frequency sharing by these new
services with existing services.

These developments are further accentuated by the increasingly important role that is being played by the provision of telecommunication services as part of modern economies. A natural consequence of this activity is that consideration of the provision of advanced methods of communication by satellites increasingly dominates the agendas of the World Radiocommunication Conferences convened regularly by the ITU.

Perhaps the most important common feature of  these new technologies is the clear move towards the provision of advanced telecommunication services directly to the public and this in almost all cases, with the potential of world wide coverage. This is an exciting new development offering, as it does, the means to eliminate, once and for all, the tyranny of distance and lack of availability that has characterized,  in many parts of the world the provision of telecommunication services.

These important developments which are affecting all of our lives, are being matched by never ending improvements and additions to allow the citizens of our global village to be more aware of and to better manage their environment. These range from the use of satellite based radio navigation systems which are now being used for an incredibly wide range of purposes to the scientific study of the Earth's resources and the environment. Furthermore, we now can witness a particularly attractive synergy between the availability of such data and the potential of much improved communication links. As an international inter-governmental organization, the international Telecommunication Union is pleased to be able to contribute to the provision of these new telecommunication services with the potential that they offer for a better life for all in the 21st Century. Our role in the ITU is one of support, often carried out largely in the background, but one which is important nonetheless, since without a satisfactory resolution of the competing claims for use of this valuable limited natural resource of spectrum and orbits, these exciting new developments would most likely not occur.  

In conclusion, I would like to wish you all a successful UNISPACE III..

Thank you.