About CITEL | Calendar | Committees | Fellowships | Forum | Publications | info@citel | Web Resources

Home ~ About CITEL ~ News ~ Bulletin No. 8

Bulletin

Quick Links
Web Directory AISN Telecom News
CITEL News
XIII Meeting of PCC.I will be held in Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina from August 5 to 8, 2008

Summary of the III Meeting of Permanent Consultative Committee: I of CITEL.
September 5-8, 1995,
Washington, D.C., USA.

The Third Meeting of PCC.I took place in Washington, D.C. from 5-8 September 1995. In attendance were 19 member countries, 2 permanent observers, 24 associate members from 7 member countries and 6 International organizations. Altogether, there were 120 Registered delegates participating in the following working groups:

1. Coordination of Standards;
2. Basic and Universal Services;
3. Network Modernization and New Services;
4. Legal Matters;
5. Alternative Calling Procedures;
6. Equipment Certification; and
7. Value Added Services.

The increasing role of the private sector is evident in the working groups of PCC.I. There were 39 representatives of the associate members participating in the meeting which includes the Vice-chairman of PCC.I.

The setting of the agenda for the 1996 Meeting of Senior Telecommunication Officials, which has been mandated by the Summit of the Americas, was in the forefront of the minds of many of the participants. A special Ad Hoc meeting was convened to ensure that the Caribbean region would prepare inputs for the agenda of next year's meeting. One could conclude that from the interest shown at this meeting, next year's Meeting of Senior Telecommunication Officials will be considered a major milestone for the Americas and it will be well attended.

There was a significant interest expressed in ensuring that PCC.I is conducting the proper coordination with the other Consultative Committees of CITEL. As CITEL's program of activities keeps expanding, internal coordination of activities becomes vital in making CITEL an effective organization for the benefit of members and associate members alike.

PCC.I completed work on three Standards Coordination Documents (SCDs) which represent a pioneering achievement for coordinated standards in the region of the Americas. The principal results of the Standards Coordination group are:

1. A resolution on 2 GHz Personal Communications Services (PCS)/Wireless: Combined with the decision taken at the PCC.III meeting last month in Mexico involving making specific spectrum available for PCS development and implementation in the Americas. This agreement is of particular significance because it means that the Americas will work together in ensuring the benefits are brought to all member countries;
2. A resolution on Signaling System 7 (SS7): Adoption of this document has its significance in the fact that as all member states progress towards the implementation of a digital telephone network in their countries, the interconnection of the systems will be much simpler and less costly; and
3. A resolution on Narrowband Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): Agreement in this area, similar to the Signaling System 7 decision, will make future progress in getting all member states integrated into the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) much simpler and less costly. PCC.I is also working on a SCD covering Intelligent Network (IN) which is viewed as another step forward towards implementation of the GII in the Americas.

It was decided that it is encouraging to witness the increasing participation of the Caribbean members in the activities of CITEL. It should be noted that in 1996 PCC.I will meet only one time in plenary session and that the working groups will meet on two different occasions separate from the PCC.I meeting. The first meeting of the working groups will be held in Grenada in February. This process marks a departure from the procedure followed in the past, and is significant in the fact that more time is given to and required by the technical work of the committee.

High on the priority list of PCC.I was the follow-up to directions CITEL received from the Summit of the Americas. PCC.I put into place mechanisms to ensure that creditable responses in the areas of standards, legal matters, value added services, and equipment certification will be available for the 1996 Meeting of Senior Telecommunication Officials.

Peru signs the IARP Convention

Peru becomes the third CITEL Member to ratify the Inter-American Convention on the International Radio Amateur Permit (IARP). The IARP is viewed as an effective means to minimize the bureaucracy that is involved in granting permission for radio amateurs from one country to operate in another country. The amateur radio community not only provides benefits for its members but also is a provider of communication services in times of natural disasters. In fact, they are frequently the first group, and frequently the only group, providing communications immediately after or during emergencies. Approval of the IARP by member countries is providing recognition of the importance of the activities of the Radio Amateur community in the Americas.

Paraguay Ratifies the Lima Convention

Paraguay has recently completed a review of the status of the Radio Amateur community in light of the General Assembly's approval of the new IARP which was done at this year's session in Haiti and decided to ratify the 1987 Lima Convention as its first step in assuring the radio amateur community of its recognition of the long history of service the organization offers to the general population. The government of Paraguay is currently taking under consideration the possibility of ratifying the IARP so that its citizens may enjoy the same benefits that are extended to the nationals of other Member Countries that have ratified the new Convention.

Home | About CITEL | Committees | Web Resources | Forum Español | Contact | Site Map | Search