Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP RESOLUTION 101 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010)

Internet Protocol-based networks

The Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (Guadalajara, 2010),

• recalling
  • a) Resolution 101 (Rev. Antalya, 2006) of the Plenipotentiary Conference;
  • b) the outcomes of the Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), especially §§ 27 c) and 50 d) of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, relating to international Internet connectivity;
  • c) No. 196 of the ITU Convention, which stipulates that telecommunication standardization study groups shall pay due attention to the study of Questions and to the formulation of recommendations directly connected with the establishment, development and improvement of telecommunications in developing countries at both the regional and international levels;
  • d) Resolution 23 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), on Internet access and availability for developing countries and charging principles for international Internet connection;
  • e) Resolution 69 (Johannesburg, 2008) of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), on non-discriminatory access and use of Internet resources;
  • f) Recommendation ITU-T D.50, on general tariff principles – principles applicable to international Internet connection;
  • g) Resolution 64 (Johannesburg 2008) of WTSA, on IP address allocation and encouraging the deployment of IPv6,
• aware
  • a) that one of the purposes of the Union is to promote the extension of new telecommunication technologies to all the world’s inhabitants;
  • b) that, in order to fulfil its purposes, the Union should, among other things, facilitate the worldwide standardization of telecommunications, with a satisfactory quality of service,
• considering
  • a) that advances in the global information infrastructure, including the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks and especially the Internet, and future IP developments, continue to be an issue of crucial importance, as an important engine for growth in the world economy in the twenty-first century;
  • b) that the increased use of the Internet introduces new additional applications in telecommunication/information and communication technology (ICT) services based on its highly advanced technology, e.g. the utilization of e-mail and text messaging, voice over IP, video, and real-time TV (IPTV) over the Internet, which has become commonplace, even though there are challenges regarding quality of service, uncertainty of origin, and the high cost of international connectivity;
  • c) that current and future IP-based networks and future IP developments will continue to introduce dramatic changes in the way we acquire, produce, circulate and consume information,
• considering further
  • a) that the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) has made significant progress and carried out several studies on the promotion of infrastructure and the use of the Internet in developing countries under its 2002 Istanbul Action Plan, through human capacity building efforts such as its Internet training centre initiative, and through the outcomes of WTDC-06, which endorsed the continuation of these studies, and called on ITU-D to give assistance to developing countries, including least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries, to set up high-speed backbone networks for the Internet, as well as national, subregional and regional access points for the Internet;
  • b) that studies are ongoing in the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) on IPbased network issues, including service interoperability with other telecommunication networks, numbering, signalling requirements and protocol aspects, security and infrastructure component costs, issues associated with the evolution to next-generation networks (NGN), including the migration from existing networks to NGNs, and implementation of the requirements of Recommendation ITU-T D.50;
  • c) that the general cooperation agreement between ITU-T and the Internet Society (ISOC)/Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), as referred to in Supplement 3 to the ITU-T Series A recommendations, continues to exist,
• recognizing
  • a) that IP-based networks have evolved to a widely accessible medium used for global commerce and communication, and there is therefore a need to identify the global activities related to IP-based networks with respect to, for example:
    • i) infrastructure, interoperability and standardization;
    • ii) Internet naming and addressing;
    • iii) dissemination of information about IP-based networks and the implications of their development for ITU Member States, particularly the developing countries;
  • b) that significant work on IP-related issues and the future internet 1 is being conducted within ITU and many other international bodies;
  • c) that the quality of service of IP-based networks should be consistent with ITU-T recommendations and other recognized international standards;
  • d) that it is in the public interest that IP-based networks and other telecommunication networks should be both interoperable and provide, at a minimum, the level of quality of service provided by traditional networks, consistent with ITU-T recommendations and other recognized international standards,
• requests the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
  • to continue its collaborative activities on IP-based networks with ISOC/IETF and other relevant recognized organizations, in respect of interconnectivity with existing telecommunication networks and migration to NGN and future networks,
• requests the three Sectors
  • to continue to consider their future work programmes on IP-based 1 networks and on migration to NGN and future networks,
    • 1 e.g. ITU-T Kaleidoscope event on Beyond the Internet? − Innovations for future networks and services,held in Pune, India in December 2010
• resolves
  • 1 to explore ways and means for greater collaboration and coordination between ITU and relevant organizations 2 involved in the development of IP-based networks and the future internet, through cooperation agreements, as appropriate, in order to increase the role of ITU in Internet governance so as to ensure maximum benefits to the global community;
  • 2 that ITU shall fully embrace the opportunities for telecommunication/ICT development that arise from the growth of IP-based services, in conformity with the ITU purposes and the outcomes of the Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) phases of WSIS, taking into account the quality and security of services;
  • 3 that ITU shall clearly identify, for its Member States and Sector Members and for the general public, the range of Internet-related issues that fall within the responsibilities incumbent on the Union under its basic texts and the activities in the WSIS outcome documents where ITU has a role;
  • 4 that ITU shall continue to collaborate with other relevant organizations to ensure that growth in IP-based networks, along with and taking into consideration traditional networks, delivers maximum benefits to the global community, and shall continue to participate, as appropriate, in any directly related new international initiatives, particularly the recent initiative in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 2 Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the United Nations Broadband Commission formed for this purpose;
    • 2 Including, but not limited to, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the regional Internet registries (RIRs), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Society (ISOC) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), on the basis of reciprocity.
  • 5 to continue the study of international Internet connectivity as an urgent matter, as called for in § 50 d) of the Tunis Agenda ,and to call upon ITUT, in particular Study Group 3 which has responsibility for Recommendation ITU-T D.50, to complete as soon as possible its studies that have been ongoing since WTSA-2000,
• instructs the Secretary-General
  • 1 to prepare an annual report to the ITU Council with the appropriate input from Member States, Sector Members, the three Sectors and the General Secretariat, that provides a comprehensive summary both of the activities that ITU is already undertaking in regard to IP-based networks and any changes thereto, including the development of NGNs and future networks, and of the roles and activities of other relevant international organizations, describing their involvement in IP-based network issues; the report shall indicate the degree of cooperation between ITU and these organizations, drawing the required information wherever possible from existing sources, and containing concrete proposals on improving ITU activities and such cooperation, and shall be distributed widely among the Member States and Sector Members, the advisory groups of the three Sectors and other groups involved one month before the Council session;
  • 2 based on this report, to continue collaborative activities related to IP-based networks, especially those related to the implementation of the relevant outcomes of the two phases of WSIS;
  • 3 to propose to the 2011 session of the Council that a special forum under Resolution 2 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference or workshop be convened in the first quarter of 2013 to discuss all the issues raised in this resolution and also in Resolutions 102 and 133 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference, preferably collocated with other relevant major ITU events,
• invites the Council
  • to consider the above-mentioned report and take into account comments, if any, made by the advisory groups of the three Sectors through their respective Bureau Directors on implementation of this resolution and, when appropriate, undertake further steps, and to study the Secretary-General’s proposal calling for a forum under Resolution 2 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) or workshop to address all issues related to this resolution and to Resolutions 102 and 133 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference,
• invites Member States and Sector Members
  • 1 to participate in, and follow the progress of, the current work of the Sectors of the Union;
  • 2 to increase awareness at national, regional and international level among all interested non-governmental parties and to encourage their participation in relevant ITU activities, and in any other relevant activities emanating from the Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) phases of WSIS