Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP RESOLUTION 137 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010)

Next-generation network deployment in developing countries1

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

• recalling
  • Resolution 137 (Antalya, 2006) of the Plenipotentiary Conference,
• considering
  • a) that, as stated in § 22 of the Geneva Declaration of Principles adopted by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a well-developed information and communication network infrastructure and applications, adapted to regional, national and local conditions, easily accessible and affordable, and making greater use of broadband and other innovative technologies, where possible, can accelerate the social and economic progress of countries, and the well-being of all individuals, communities and peoples, and that this is covered by Action Line C2, expanded to include Action Line C6;
  • b) that the existence, at the national, regional, interregional and global levels, of coherent telecommunication networks and services for the development of national, regional and international economies is a very important element in the improvement of the social, economic and financial situation of Member States,
• welcoming
  • the efforts made by ITU in paying attention to the interests of developing countries (cf. Resolution 17 (Rev. Johannesburg, 2008) of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), and annexes to Resolution 17 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC)),
• noting
  • a) that developing countries are still being challenged by rapid change of technologies and service convergence trends;
  • b) ongoing shortages of resources, experience and capacity building within developing countries in planning and deploying networks, in particular next-generation networks (NGN), and the delay in implementing and adopting NGNs in developed countries,
• recalling
  • a) the efforts and collaboration of the three Bureaux to continue enhancing work aimed at providing information and advice on subjects of importance to developing countries for the planning, organization, development and operation of their telecommunication systems;
  • b) that technical knowledge and experience of great value to the developing countries is also obtainable from the work of the ITU Radiocommunication (ITU-R), Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T) and Telecommunication Development (ITU-D) Sectors;
  • c) that, in accordance with Resolution 143 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference, the provisions in all ITU documents relating to developing countries shall be extended to apply adequately to the least developed countries, small island developing states, landlocked developing countries and countries with economies in transition,
• recognizing
  • a) that the developing countries have limited human and financial resources to cope with the ever-increasing technology gap;
  • b) that the existing digital divide is liable to be aggravated further with the emergence of new technologies, including post-NGNs, and if developing countries are not able to introduce NGNs fully and in a timely manner,
• taking into account
  • a) that, for countries, especially developing countries and many developed countries, that have already invested heavily in the traditional public switched telephone network, it is a pressing task for them to conduct a smooth migration from existing networks to NGNs;
  • b) that NGNs are considered a potential tool to meet the new challenges facing the telecommunication industry, and NGN deployment and standards development activities are essential for developing countries, especially for their rural areas where the majority of the population live;
  • c) that countries can benefit from NGNs, which can facilitate the delivery of a wide range of advanced information and communication technology (ICT)-based services and applications for building the information society, resolving difficult issues such as the development and implementation of systems for public protection and disaster relief, especially telecommunications for early warning and the dissemination of emergency information;
  • d) that the challenge, as perceived by WSIS, is to harness the potential of ICTs and ICT applications for promoting the development goals of the Millennium Declaration, namely the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowerment of women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and so forth,
• resolves to instruct the Directors of the three Bureaux
  • 1 to continue and consolidate their efforts on NGN and future networks2 deployment studies and standards-development activities, particularly those designed for rural areas and for bridging the digital divide and the development divide;
  • 2 to coordinate studies and programmes under the Next-Generation Network Global Standards Initiative (NGN-GSI) of ITU-T and of the Global Network Planning initiatives (GNPi) of ITU-D; coordinate ongoing work being carried out by study groups and the relevant programmes as defined in Hyderabad Action Plan of WTDC-10, to assist the membership in deploying NGN effectively, particularly ITU-D Study Group 2 Question 26 and the activities of BDT Programme 1, especially in conducting a smooth migration from existing telecommunication infrastructures to NGNs; and seek appropriate solutions to expedite affordable NGN deployment in rural areas, taking into consideration the successes of several developing countries in migrating to these networks, and benefiting from the experience of these countries,
• instructs the Secretary-General and the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
  • 1 to take appropriate action in order to seek support and financial provision sufficient for the implementation of this resolution, within available financial resources, including financial support through partnership agreements;
  • 2 to highlight the importance and benefits of NGN development and deployment to other United Nations specialized agencies and financial institutions,
• instructs the Council
  • to consider the reports and proposals made by the Secretary-General and the three Bureaux relating to the implementation of this resolution, making the appropriate linkage with the operative paragraphs of Resolution 44 (Rev. Johannesburg, 2008) of WTSA, and to take appropriate action so that the Union continues to pay attention to addressing the needs of developing countries,
• invites all Member States and Sector Members
  • 1 to undertake concrete actions, to support ITU’s actions and to develop their own initiatives in order to implement this resolution;
  • 2 to strengthen cooperation between developed and developing countries, and among developing countries themselves, in improving national, regional and international capabilities in the implementation of NGNs, especially in regard to NGN planning, deployment, operation and maintenance, and the development of NGN-based applications, especially for rural areas, taking into consideration also development in the near future, in order to handle future networks.