Information Session on Emerging Trends Towards Connect 2020
In the first of a new series of ITU Talks, held during the lunch break on Monday 18 May, a two-hour information session on emerging trends towards Connect 2020, focusing on the Internet of Things (IoT) proved very popular with Councillors, observers and ITU Staff.
The moderator, plus four visionary speakers from Samsung, Telecom Italia, Gartner and CNRI, presented their perspectives on new emerging trends in IoT in a free, open and engaging way. By connecting the previously unconnected, IoT creates opportunities and brings enormous potential for empowering people to improve the quality of life and business through the analysis and application of digital information.
In order to support the growth of IoT, all speakers stressed the need for interoperability and security, especially at the international level. Because of connectivity requirements, there must be some form of common language between devices so that computational facilities can easily interpret it for better usage. Also, because IoT relies on the exchange of data, the security aspects must also be considered to protect all users – including the public, manufacturers and other stakeholders.
Standing Committee on Administration and Management (ADM)
The Standing Committee on Administration and Management (ADM) continued its work on Monday afternoon, continuing on the basis of the time management plan
C15/TD3. The Chair welcomed the newly-appointed second Vice-Chair of ADM, Abdourhamane Touré, of Mali, who will take over as Chair of ADM in four years time. The Chairs and Vice-Chairs were presented with ITU 150 mugs by the Deputy Secretary-General, Malcolm Johnson.
External Auditor's Reports
The External Auditor, Corte dei Conti, presented the reports covering the audit of the financial statements for 2014, ITU Staff Superannuation and Benevolent Funds, and UNDP, ICT-DF and Trust Funds,
C15/65, as well as the external audit of the Union's accounts on ITU Telecom World 2014,
C15/66.
The reports included Recommendations and Suggestions made by the External Auditor and the corresponding Comments from the Secretary-General. An Audit Certificate has been issued by the External Auditor confirming that the ITU's financial statements for 2014 are in accordance with IPSAS and in compliance with the Union's Financial Regulations and Financial Rules.
ADM recommends that Council approve the accounts as presented by the External Auditor and, together with the Secretariat, thanked the auditor for its good work.
2014 Operating Report
The Secretariat presented the Financial Operating Report for the 2014 financial year,
C15/50, noting that the Union presents a CHF 3.9 million surplus in 2014, with CHF 1 million allocated to the After-Service Health Insurance (ASHI) fund and CHF 2 million to the CMIP (Collective Medical Insurance Plan) fund. The main indicators show the Union's immediate financial situation to be healthy. The Reserve Account shows a balance of CHF 27.2 million, corresponding to 16.4% of the budget for 2014 (CHF 30.3 million, corresponding to 19.3% of the 2013 budget). The 2014 budgetary surplus was achieved through the continuous rigorous management of ITU resources.
Some questions were raised by Councillors concerning negative interest rates in Switzerland and other issues including the strong Swiss franc; the Secretariat clarified that diverse approaches are being considered such as the use of other banks that offer positive interest rates. At this time, the strong Swiss franc has no direct negative impact on ITU, whose budget and operational currency is in Swiss francs; Member States, however, may be affected by such currency fluctuation. Additional explanations were provided by the Secretariat concerning the ASHI liability, short-term investments, and steps taken to reduce the number of debtors. ADM noted the document and recommended that Council consider and approve the draft Resolution therein.
The Councillor from Japan presented a contribution concerning financial analysis using key indicators,
C15/67, noting that key indicators and ratios can be very useful tools to analyze and understand an organization's financial health. With IPSAS in place, these indicators can be easily calculated based on the financial statements.
A number of Councillors supported the proposal, noting however that both indicators and similar organizations for comparison need to be carefully chosen if they are to be both appropriate and relevant. There was also some concern raised about not overburdening the Secretariat or micro-managing the work of the Union. The Secretariat noted that when making comparisons with other agencies, differences between agencies, including their funding mechanisms (assessed vs voluntary contributions), and the proportions of their staff in regional offices, needed to be taken into account. There was general agreement that the proposal would not necessarily require changes to the Financial Regulations. ADM accepted the Secretariat's proposal to undertake careful analysis of the document, with the outcomes to be presented to the Council Working Group on Financial and Human Resources (CWG-FHR).
IMAC Report
The Chair of the Independent Management Advisory Committee (IMAC), Beate Degen, presented IMAC's fourth annual report,
C15/22, including elements concerning the IMAC terms of reference, ITU headquarters premises, ITU's approach to risk management, and the effectiveness of internal controls, as well as external and internal audit, among other recommendations.
Councillors thanked IMAC for its hard work and its comprehensive report, congratulated IMAC on the extension of its mandate granted at PP-14, and expressed support for the increased resources being allocated to the internal audit function. Support was widely expressed for the IMAC recommendations presented.
The Chair of IMAC responded to the interventions from Councillors, saying how much IMAC appreciated the feedback from Council, and agreed that IMAC was indeed an oversight committee and not an operational body. The Secretariat confirmed that regional internal audits had already been undertaken, and that external audits are planned this year, the outcomes of which will be presented to Council 2016.
ADM noted the report and recommended that Council approve the IMAC report and its recommendations.
Information Session – Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting
Tuesday 19 May started with an information session on Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB), and the related Digital Switch Over (DSO) database which has been set up by ITU, at the request of Kenya (Council 2014). The meeting was hosted by representatives from both BR and BDT, and opening remarks were given on behalf of both Bureaux by the Director of BR, François Rancy, who stressed the importance of the digital switchover, noting that it will deliver more channels, and increased spectrum efficiency, and that the release of the spectrum (known as the digital dividend) will allow for better mobile broadband coverage. The Director thanked Kenya for bringing up the issue.
The Secretariat presented the database which is accessible through both the BR and the BDT web pages, demonstrating the current status of the digital switchover, noting that some countries have already completed the switchover and that many more are in the process of doing so. The database shows ongoing, completed, not started and unknown activities for each country, and provides a useful snapshot of global progress towards the digital switchover.
Eighth Plenary Meeting
The eighth Plenary Meeting took place in the morning of Tuesday 19 May.
Ad Hoc Group on WSIS
The Chair of the Ad Hoc Group on WSIS, Vladimir Minkin of the Russian Federation presented the proposed modifications to Resolution 1332 (DT/6) and Resolution 1334 (DT/7), following two meetings of the Ad Hoc Group.
There was full consensus on the draft resolution presented in
DT/6, with a small editorial change, and the revised Resolution 1332 was adopted by Council. There was also full consensus on the draft resolution presented in
DT/7, and the revised Resolution 1334 was adopted by Council.
WTSA-16
The Deputy Director of TSB, Reinhard Scholl, presented a document concerning the dates and venue of WTSA-16,
C15/52, noting that the event would take place in the last quarter of 2016. The ITU secretariat is in the process of discussing with potential hosts but has not yet received an official invitation. In the absence of a formal invitation, the event will take place at the CICG in Geneva. Member States were invited to consider hosting WTSA, a two-week event with some 1,000 delegates coming from around 100 Member States. The document was noted by Council.
Council dates
The Secretariat presented a document concerning the dates and duration of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 sessions of the Council,
C15/2, proposing that the 2016 and 2017 sessions take place in July, and the 2018 session in March, to allow for the preparations for PP-18. After some discussion, it was agreed to defer the discussion to the next plenary session.
ITU conference schedule
The Secretariat presented a document concerning the scheduling of major ITU conferences, assemblies and meetings for the period from 2015 to 2018 (Res 77, 111),
C15/37(Rev.1) noting that if the dates for the Council sessions (see above) are changed then the document will be brought into line with this. Councillors discussed the dates, noting that the meetings of the advisory groups should be held in conjunction with the meetings of the Council Working Groups for reasons of both cost and efficiency. Other issues were raised including the timing of different sectoral meetings. The document was noted by Council.
The Councillor from the United States presented a contribution concerning the scheduling of Council Working Groups,
C15/63, proposing that Council decide to sequence the meetings of the CWGs thematically so as to increase both their effectiveness and delegate participation. Councillors expressed their support for the spirit of the contribution, but expressed some reservations concerning the modalities of implementation. Council agreed with the general principle of grouping CWG meetings thematically.
The Internet of Things (IoT)
The Deputy Director of TSB, Reinhard Scholl, presented a document concerning the Internet of Things (IoT), (Res 197),
C15/32, noting that ITU has been active in this area since first publishing a report on the subject in 2005, and is continuing activities in this area across all three Sectors. The document describes ITU's activities related to Resolution 197 (Busan, 2014): Facilitating the Internet of Things to prepare for a globally connected world.
Councillors reiterated the importance of IoT and described some of the activities being undertaken by Member States, especially concerning smart sustainable cities, and noting the importance of interoperability in this domain. Councillors thanked the Secretariat for preparing the comprehensive document and encouraged ITU to work
closely with other standards organizations as well as sharing experiences in this area
widely, including at ITU Telecom. Strong encouragement was given to ITU-T concerning plans to create a new study group, based on the work already achieved in the ITU-T Study by the ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities, and Singapore offered to host the inaugural meeting of this new study group, should it be created; the Secretariat accepted the offer with gratitude. Council noted the document.
Regional presence
The Deputy Director of BDT, Yushi Torigoe, presented a document concerning strengthening the regional presence (Res 25),
C15/25. Councillors thanked the Secretariat for this very comprehensive document, and encouraged ITU to continue strengthening the regional presence. One Councillor emphasized the importance of a bottom-up approach and encouraged the close collaboration with regional telecom organizations; support was also expressed for the proposal to delegate more responsibility to regional directors. The Director of BDT, Brahima Sanou, thanked Council on behalf of the ITU management team, and assured Councillors that ITU would be continuing its efforts in the regions. Council noted the document.
Space assets
The Secretariat (BR) presented a document concerning ITU's role as supervisory authority of the future international registration system for space assets under the draft space protocol (D 576),
C15/26, which is a follow-up to the discussions that took place at the 2014 session of Council and at PP-14. The document presents a status report on the Third session of the Preparatory Commission held in Rome, Italy, from 11 to 12 September 2014.
Councillors voiced their general support for the ITU to continue expressing its interest in the supervisory role, but further clarification is still needed, particularly concerning the timeline, which cannot continue to be open-ended. Councillors also asked for further clarification concerning what the supervisory would in fact entail in terms of resources etc; it was suggested that PP-18 could make a final decision, given that by then the Space Protocol would be closer to coming into force, and that a registrar would by then have been appointed. Council agreed with the Chair's suggestion that the Secretariat prepare a document taking into account all considerations raised, so that the matter can be further considered at Council 2016, with the final decision being taken at PP-18.
The Council Highlights are provided as a service to ITU Member State Administrations. They are not official documents, and do not provide a substitute for the Summary Record; we nonetheless hope that Member State Administrations will find them useful and informative.
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