Señoras y Señores
Muchas gracias por su invitación aquí en Fin del Mundo!
Estoy muy contento de estar aquí y aprecio mucho esta oportunidad de hablarles
sobre algunos temas importantes para CITEL y para la UIT.
Hay muchos temas de la UIT-T que serán abordados en la conferencia
Plenipotenciarios de Guadalajara.
Me gustaría aprovechar esta oportunidad para clarificar algunos aspectos de
estos temas.
Ladies and gentlemen
Thank you very much for the invitation to speak here today in Tierra de Fuego,
the End of the Earth!
I am very pleased to be here and appreciate very much the opportunity to speak
to you about a number of issues of concern to CITEL and ITU.
There are many issues in the ITU-T Sector that will be the subject for
discussion at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara.
I am very pleased to have this opportunity to clarify some aspects of these
issues.
Let me just mention some of the main issues: Conformity and interoperability;
IPv6; International Telecommunication Regulations; reduced fee for companies
from developing countries; and new membership category for academia.
I have prepared a presentation on these issues starting with a review of recent
ITU-T work, but before I start I would just like to say how much we appreciate
the increase of participation of CITEL countries, especially Latin American
countries, in our work. Over the past year, we have benefited from the hosting
of Study Group meetings, workshops and symposiums, as well as the 2009
Kaleidoscope Conference in this region. I very much hope this level of activity
will continue and increase over the coming years. We have a major commitment to
reach out to the membership of this region.
The ITU-T Sector is very different to the other two Sectors. There are a number
of other standardisation bodies actively competing with ITU-T. Some do not like
us using the term “preeminent global standards body” as they themselves have
ambitions to become global bodies. One thing they lack however is the benefit of
our membership. A unique global public/private partnership of 191 governments
and over 700 private sector entities.
But one thing we lack compared to some of our competitors is to have a range of
testing specifications; conformance testing to determine compliant products; and
interoperability testing.
This prompted a plea for help from developing countries, expressed in WTSA
Resolution 76, to redress this problem, and I am very pleased that we have
considerable support for what we are doing in this area.
Of course, ITU becoming more active in conformity and interoperability testing
is critical to ITU maintaining its status as the preeminent global standards
body. And defining more interfaces where interoperability can be tested will
increase competition and reduce the chances of purchasers being locked into a
single product.
No doubt these implications have resulted in some reservations being expressed,
however, I very much hope Member States will consider the wider advantages of
our initiatives, especially for developing countries, and join others in
supporting our efforts.
I am proud of the close links we have between ITU and the Americas. We have a
very active regional presence, and in terms of the Study Group leadership teams
we have strong representation from this region.
I have had the pleasure to visit the region many times since being elected and
have enjoyed an excellent level of collaboration with CITEL and Member States in
the region, for which I thank you. I look forward very much to the establishment
of the Flagship Group for Spanish speaking countries that was proposed at
WTSA-08 and which we are ready to support once it is established.
The Americas region has an important role to play. Through your participation
you can influence the future direction of global standardization, ensuring that
the standards meet the specific requirements of the region, and changes are
introduced to facilitate greater participation from this region.
The upcoming PP-10 promises to be an exciting opportunity for positive change –
and I have seen and encourage innovative proposals. I believe it will be one of
the most significant Plenipotentiary Conferences for the future of ITU, and it
is appropriate that it is being held in this region.
So, ladies and gentlemen if I may move to my presentation. |
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