By: peter wahna
Telecommunication organizations all over the Americas are working together to harmonize regional radio spectrum management, enable new digital services, and drive sustainable socio-economic development for all.
The latest Regional Radiocommunication Seminar held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) outlined the region’s next steps to optimize radio spectrum use with a growing range of technologies.
ITU’s Americas seminar (RRS-24-Americas), held in St. George’s, Grenada, between 22 and 27 July, brought together communication technology experts, regulators, and policymakers from the entire region. Spectrum-management discussions in the Americas and other regions follow key decisions from the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) last November and December.
The global conference identified specific frequency bands for international mobile services in the Americas to ensure complete coverage and meet growing demand for new generations of mobile services.
“Efficient use of the radio spectrum is fundamental in the new digital society,” explained Mario Maniewicz, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau. “Through our diverse talent pool of professionals, we have gained greater knowledge of key spectrum management issues, benefiting ITU’s Member States and the entire radiocommunications ecosystem, both across the Americas and globally.”
ITU organized the Americas seminar in cooperation with the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), the Caribbean Telecommunication Union (CTU), and Grenada’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC)
Supporting space and terrestrial services
Discussions focused on the latest ITU radiocommunication standards – known as ITU-R Recommendations – and best practices for spectrum use by both terrestrial and space services.
Regional seminars are a vital channel for the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau to support and update national radio spectrum regulators.
Every year, the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) publishes essential materials for the global management of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, ranging from international regulations and recommendations to reports, handbooks, manuals, service publications, software, and databases.
ITU’s Regional Radiocommunication Seminars – held every two years in each of six world regions – help governments, companies and organizations make full use of all those ITU-R publications and platforms, particularly in formulating national and regional policies on the use of the radio spectrum.
The recent Americas seminar, for instance, included training sessions on ITU’s latest digital platforms for filing frequency notifications and managing technical evaluations for those services.
It also examined the procedures for recording frequency assignments in the Master International Frequency Register (MIFR), along with other spectrum management activities by the Radiocommunication Bureau.
In addition, participants learned about related activities by ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.
The Americas seminar concluded with a forum on satellite systems highlighting challenges and opportunities for the region in this fast-growing field.
Satellite systems offer immense opportunities for the Americas, from bridging the digital divide to enhancing disaster management and supporting sustainable development, participants noted.
But realizing that potential will depend on close collaboration among governments, the private sector, and international organizations, particularly to harmonize regulations, share technical expertise and secure vital investments.
