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Global Telecommunications Regulation
TCOM 5173
International Organizations and Regulatory Bodies
31 March 2004
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The Dictator’s Dilemma
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Cooperation and Comity
• Why nations decide to cooperate– Net gain in market access and earnings– Lack confidence that they can dominate– Enlightened self-interest– Standards promote economies of scale– Desire to be a good “global citizen”– Many resources (e.g. frequencies) must be
shared
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Benefits of Standards
• Businesses– Streamlines product development– Compete in worldwide markets
• Customers– Benefit from competition among suppliers
• Governments– Technological basis for health, safety, and
environmental legislation
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More Benefits of Standards
• Trade– Reduce non-tariff barriers to trade
• Developing countries– Facilitate prudent investment in
resources/technology
• Everyone– Contribute to quality of life– Standards on air, water, gases, radiation, etc.,
contribute to preserving the environment
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The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• Founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union
• Took present name in 1932
• Specialized Agency of the UN since 1947 under the Economic and Social Council
• Governed by the ITU “Constitution” and “Convention” adopted in 1989
• CCITT, CCIR and IFRB combined with ITU in 1992
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ITU Membership• 189 Member countries
• 652 “Sector” Members– Recognized private operating agencies (A service
provider under Article 6 of the ITU Constitution (e.g., AT&T))
– Scientific or Industrial organizations (Engaged in the study of telecom problems, or design or manufacture of equipment for telecom services)
• 79 “Associate Sector” Members
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Work of the ITU• Establish operating standards & regulations
• Dissemination of information
• Promote the development of worldwide telecommunications
• Offer technical assistance
• Facilitate international cooperation
• Promote the use of telecommunications to support peaceful relations
• Harmonize the actions of members in the attainment of these common goals
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Specific Tasks for the ITU (1)• Allocate terrestrial radio frequency spectrum
• Allot and register satellite frequencies and orbital position
• Coordinate efforts to eliminate harmful radio station interference
• Facilitate worldwide standardization to achieve satisfactory quality of service
• Investigate improving the use of RF spectrum
• Promote measures to ensure safety of life
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Specific Tasks for the ITU (2)• Foster collaboration to establish rates as low
as possible
• Promote cooperation for training in under-developed countries
• Cooperate with financial organizations to promote credit for bringing telecommuni-cations to isolated areas
• Undertake studies, make regulations, adopt resolutions, and issue opinions
• Collect and publish telecoms information
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ITU OrganizationPlenipotentiary
Conference
CouncilCouncil World Conferences
World/RegionalRadiocommunication
Conferences
WorldTelecommunications
StandardizationAssemblies
World Telecommunication
DevelopmentConferences
Advisory Groups and Study Groups
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ITU Organization (Continued)Secretary General
DeputySecretary General
DirectorRadiocommunication
Bureau
DirectorTelecommunication
StandardizationBureau
DirectorTelecommunication
DevelopmentBureau
SectorsRadiocommunications Telecommunications Development
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ITU Meetings Structure• ITU Plenipotentiary Conference
• World Conference on International Telecom
• Administrative conferences– World
• Radio• Telephone
– Regional• Radio• Telephone
• ITU-R Plenary– Special Autonomous Groups
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ITU Meetings Structure (Cont’d)• ITU-T Plenary
– Regional Tariff Groups
• World Plan Committees– Study Groups– Joint Study Groups– National Study Groups– Working Parties– Interim Working Parties– Sub-working Parties
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ITU Functions (1)• Plenipotentiary Conferences
– Full formal meeting (about every four years)– Adopt fundamental policies– Reviews work since last session– Revises the Constitution and Convention if necessary– Develops a five year working plan– Establishes the budget for on-going operations– Elects the Administrative Council (46 members, who
serve until the next plenipotentiary conference)– Elects the IFRB (five independent radio experts)
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ITU Functions (2) • Administrative Council
– Meets annually in Geneva– Considers broad policy issues between
plenipotentiary conferences– Implements the Constitution and Convention– Financial Control of the Secretariat– Coordinates activities of the permanent organs
at the headquarters– Panels of experts on particular matters of
importance
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ITU Functions (3)• General Secretariat
– Directed by the Secretary General• Operations
• External relations
• Legal representative of the ITU
– Finance and administrative services
• Coordination Committee– Secretary General– Deputy Secretary General– Directors of the ITU-T, ITU-R, and IRFB
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The Radiocommunications Sector• Objective
– To ensure rational, equitable, efficient and economic use of the RF spectrum by all users
• Functions– Monitor spectrum utilization– Maintain the IFRB Master Frequency Register– Provide frequency management advice to members– Analyze possible frequency interference– Record all geostationary satellite positions (slots)– Issues Radio Regulations
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The Radiocommunications Sector• Services covered
– Broadcast (radio and television)– Fixed satellite services (GSO orbits)– Mobile satellite services (NGS orbits)
• LEO, MEO, HEO
– Mobile services (cell phones, taxis, air/ground)– Terrestrial radio (microwave, etc.)– Standard frequency and time signals– Antenna patterns for earth stations and satellites– Standards for digital coding
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ITU-R Structure
• Advisory Board
• Radiocommunications bureau
• Nine Study Groups
• Intersector coordination groups (ICG)– Future public land mobile telecommunications
systems (FPLMTS)– ISDN and satellite matters
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ITU-R Study Groups• SG1 Spectrum management
• SG2 Interservice sharing and compatibility
• SG 3 Radio wave propagation
• SG 4 Fixed satellite service
• SG 7 Science services
• SG 8 Mobile, radio determination, amateur
• SG 9 Fixed service
• SG 10 Broadcast services (sound)
• SG 11 Broadcast services (television)
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The Standardization Sector• Objective
– To study technical, operating and tariff questions and to issue recommendations on them with a view of standardizing telecommunications on a world-wide basis
• Functions– Develop standards– Issue recommendations– Give special attention to developing countries– Respond to requests for advice on national systems– Allocate study group resources
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The Standardization Sector
• Services covered– Network operation– Network management– Switching and signaling– ISDN– Transmission performance– Tariffs and accounting principles– Maintenance– Outside plant
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ITU-T Structure• Secretary General and Deputy Secretary
General• Telecommunications Standardization Bureau
(Secretariat)– Organize meetings– General support services– Publish and distribute documents
• Telecommunications Standardization Advisory Group
• Council• Fifteen Study Groups
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ITU-T Study Groups• SG 1 Service Definition• SG 2 Network Operation• SG 3 Tariff and Accounting Principles• SG 4 Network Maintenance• SG 5 Protection against electromagnetic
environmental effects• SG 6 Outside Plant• SG 7 Data networks and open systems
communications
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More ITU-T Study Groups• SG 8 Terminals for Telematic Services
• SG 9 Television and sound transmission
• SG 10 Languages for telecommunications applications
• SG 11 Switching and Signaling
• SG 12 End-to-end Transmission Performance
• SG 13 General Network Aspects
• SG 14 Modems and transmission techniques
• SG 15 Transmission systems and equipment
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ITU-T Joint Coordination Groups
• UPT - Universal PersonalTelecommunications
• TMN - Telecommunications Management Network
• AVMMS - Audiovisual and multimedia services
• NP - Quality of Service and Network Performance
• ATM/B-ISDN - Broadband ISDN
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ITU-T Standardization Work
• Study groups may have 100-500 members
• Deal with 20-50 standards simultaneously
• Work divided among “working parties” (WP)
• WP further divided into Experts Groups (Deal with a single topic or “question”)
• Result is a “recommendation” to (indicate their legal nonbinding nature)
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ITU-T Recommendations
• Complete about 550 per year
• Arranged in 25 categories
• 2 500 recommendations – 62 000+ pages– 370 annexes/changes, etc – 6 000 pages
• 330 Recommendations parallel with ISO/IEC standards
• ITU sells about 7 000 copies per year
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The Development Sector• Objective
– To encourage international cooperation with a view toward harmonizing and enhancing the development of telecommunication services and facilities.
• Functions– World development conferences– Promote world-wide expansion– Facilitate technology transfer to developing nations– Coordinate with global financing agencies
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The Development Sector
• Activities– Offer advice on technical, economic, financial,
managerial, regulatory and policy issues– Organize advisory groups– Assist under developed countries with project
proposals for funding for telecom projects
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The Valletta Action Plan (1998)• Reform, legislation and regulation• Technologies and GII development
– Global mobile personal communication by satellite and internet
• Rural development and universal access• Finance and economics – WTO issues, tariffs and
accounting rates• Development partnerships with the private sector• HR resources development, emphasis on CBT
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The ITU Looking Forward• Kyoto Plenipotentiary 1994
– World Telecommunications Policy Forum (ad hoc)• 1996 – Geneva - Global PCS by satellite• 1998 – Geneva – trade in telecommunications services• 2001 – IP Telephony• No funding for WTPF after 2003
• Minneapolis Plenipotentiary – 1998– World Summit on the Information Society– Ad hoc gathering to harmonize policies
• Plenipotentiary establishes the schedule• Council determines the topic(s)
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ITU Conclusions
• Suffers from the “international civil service” syndrome
• Not keeping pace with world developments
• How will an inter-governmental organization cope with a deregulated and increasingly commercialized marketplace?
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Other International Organizations• International Organization for Standards (ISO)
– Organized in 1947– 148 current members - one standards body per
member country.– Correspondent members– 14,000 different standards to date– Several hundred new standards published annually– “Decisions” on standards are:
• Industrywide
• Reached by consensus
• Voluntary
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ISO Organization• General Assembly
– Meets triennially, three delegates per member, but observers may attend
– Elects the 18 member Council
• The Council– President, Vice President, Treasurer– 18 elected members
• Executive Board– Vice President and nine other appointees– Reports to The Council
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ISO Organization (More)
• Technical Advisory Groups– Currently 11 groups– TAG 11 covers Information Technology
• Technical Committees
• Working Groups
• Central Secretariat
• Council Committees
• Committee on Standardization Principles
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International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• Organized in 1904
• Covers power, electronics, telecommunications and nuclear energy
• Major activities– Develop common means of expression and
nomenclature, units, symbols and abbreviations– Standardization of electrical equipment proper,
methods of test, quality and safety.
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ISO/IEC JTC1• International Organization for Standards
– Comprised of national standards bodies (ANSI)– 170 technical committees established by the
ISO Council– Excludes electrical and electronics (mainly IT)
• International Electrotechnical Committee– Comprised of national committees (one from
each member country)– 80 technical committees
• ISO/IEC/JTC1 has 18 subcommittees
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European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
• Founded on the EC 1987 “Green Paper”• Often develops standards which become the
basis of EU legislation (e.g. for public procurements)
• May develop nonbinding voluntary standards• May endorse an ITU standard• Closely coordinates with the ITU if on
parallel tracks
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ETSI (Continued)
• The General Assembly– Establishes policy– Appoints the Director and Deputy– Adopts the budget
• The Technical Assembly– Approves technical standards– Advises on work to be undertaken– Sets priorities
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ETSI Organization
General Assembly
Technical Assembly
StrategicReview
Committee
ETS/EBUJoint TechCommittee
ISDN Mgtand CoordCommittee
IntellectualProperty
Rights Com
Program AdvisoryCommittee
11 TechnicalCommittees
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American National Standards Institute (ANSI) T1 Committee• Established in 1984 (coincident with Bell
System breakup)• “Bell System Practices” (Standards) would
no longer apply• Four types of members (Parties with direct
and material interest)– Users and general interest groups– Manufacturers– Interexchange carriers– Local exchange carriers
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ANSI T1 Subcommittee Structure
• T1A1 - Performance and signal processing
• T1E1 - Network interface
• T1M1 - Interwork OAM&P
• T1P1 - Systems engineering, standards planning and program
management
• T1S1 - Services, architecture, and signaling
• T1X1 - Digital hierarchy and synchronization
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ANSI T1 Committee Work
• Currently have about 150 projects going
• Advisory committee made up of two representatives from each interest
group
• Drafts candidate US technical contributions to the ITU
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ANSI T1 Committee Work Flow
CommitteeT1
ANSI
USA-ITUNational
Committees
American National Standards
US Positions to the ITU
Technical
Reports
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Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
• Member driven trade organization (over 1,000 member companies worldwide)
• Services – Government relations
– Market support
– Educational programs
– Standards setting activities
• Policy formulated by 31 board members (selected from member companies)
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TIA Committees
• Membership scope and development
• International
• Marketing and trade shows
• Public policy
• Small Company
• Technical
• Numerous subcommittees
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TIA Divisions
• Address the legislative and regulatory concerns of product manufacturers and prepare standards dealing with compatibility
• Divisions– User premises equipment– Network equipment– Wireless equipment– Fiber optics– Satellite communications
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Other International Organizations• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
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More International Organizations
• Exchange Carriers Standards Association
• The Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (CEBMA)
• Commission of the European Communities
• Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
• European Computer Manufacturer’s Association (ECMA)
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More International Organizations• British Standards Institute (BSI)
• Deutsches Institut Fuer Normung (DIN)
• Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC)
• Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT)
• Japanese Standards Association (JSA)
• Australian Standards Committee (AUSTEL-SAC)
• Corporation for Open Systems (COS)
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Organizational Landscape
Source: R. Werle, ISSN 0944-2073 May 2000