​​Member States, ITU-R Sector Members, Associates and Academia from Region 2 as well as regulators, regional and international organizations, industry players, operators and manufacturers gathered in Havana, Cuba on 21-23 March at the first in a series of WRC-19 inter-regional workshops for Region 2. The workshop was hosted by ITU and the Ministry of Communications of Cuba (MINCOM) in preparation for the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), which will be held from 28 October to 22 November 2019.

The workshop covered topics related to ITU's purpose and mission in radiocommunications, including: ITU-R's process for managing spectrum worldwide; the Radio Regulations' objectives, concepts, structure and tools; the WRC process; the ITU-R Study Groups; the WRC-19, its agenda, preparatory process and submission of contributions.

In addition, the regional workshop enabled participants to learn about other Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations, their structure and positions for WRC-19. Participants were able to debate and exchange views on WRC-19 Agenda Items, including IMT, space services and other services.

The workshop facilitated the multi-stakeholder exchange of views on the preparatory studies and priorities for WRC-19, including collaborative discussions on the international regulatory framework for the next decade and more, of the frequency spectrum allocations for all radiocommunication services.

Taking into account the progress of wireless technologies and the evolution of spectrum requirements, WRC-19 is already being identified as a milestone moment for radiocommunications, as one key outcome of the meeting will be a modification of the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radiofrequency spectrum at the global level.

The number and complexity of issues expected to be addressed by WRC-19, and the need to resolve them through consensus of all governments, requires that all opportunities be taken to exchange views among all spectrum stakeholders in relation to the preparation of the conference. As such, this is the purpose of the multi-stakeholder WRC-19 preparation workshops being organized by ITU across all the Regions.

The ITU inter-regional Workshop for Region 2 discussions benefitted from the participation of stakeholders of the industry and the Regional Groups, CEPT, CITEL, COMTELCA, CTU, CAATEL in preparation for WRC-19 as well as 96 registered participants from 20 countries (including Cuba, France, Netherlands and the United Kingdom).

"The WRC preparatory process highlights the great spirit of international cooperation that marks the ITU tradition of consensus building," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "It has proved to be an increasingly successful mechanism for reaching agreement within and between the various regional groups since 1995."

"The very active development of IMT 2020 (5G) is putting a lot of pressure on manufacturers and operators to start technology developments and network deployments ahead of WRC-19 decisions. I am glad to see that the ITU is responsive to this situation by working on achieving an early consensus towards global harmonization of IMT frequency bands, which is so essential to produce the economies of scale that will benefit all countries for the rapid development of wireless broadband," said François Rancy, Director of ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau.

In the opening speech, Deputy Minister Ana Julia Marine Lopez said: "Cuba considers that the International Telecommunications Union plays an essential role in the contemporary world by creating an environment conducive to sustainable development and has the important task of coordinating on a global scale the shared use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbits, improving the communications infrastructure in the developing world and setting international standards that guarantee the continuous interconnection and interoperability of a wide range of communication systems".

The workshop also discussed technical issues such as: IMT-related issues and other Terrestrial issues (Railway STT, ITS, HAPS, FS/MS Apps above 250 GHz), WAS/RLAN) and various Satellite issues (ESIM, NGSO QV-FSS and NGSO C-band, Satellite RR procedures, FSS at 50 GHz, Orbit Position Planned Bands BSS); Maritime and Aeronautical issues (GMDSS, AMRD, VDES, GADSS, Sub-orbital vehicle); Science and future issues (DCS, TT&C for NGSO short duration mission, WRC-23 agenda) and Agenda items with overlapping frequency bands and other issues.

Further workshop details are available here: