EDITORIAL

HEADLINES OF THIS ISSUE         

Welcome to the second  edition of the ITU-R e-Flash 2008 of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector.

The ITU-R e-Flash is your information source to follow the ITU-R Sector activities and milestones in the rapidly changing world of international wireless communications.

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ITU-R e-Flash back issues: No.1/08

Promotion & Membership / BR

Preface by Director, ITU Radiocommunication Bureau, Mr. Valery Timofeev -- The year 2008 has been largely piloted by implementation of the results of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) and the Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-07). As we enter the last quarter of 2008, I would like to describe here the major achievements of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector in the current period:

Directly related to the implementation of the WRC-07 results have been the publication of the WRC-07 Final Acts, the 2008 Edition of the Radio Regulations and the implementation of the emergency frequency database called upon by Resolution 647 (WRC-07), and the software developments to reflect the conference decisions on space and terrestrial services, particularly for the FSS Plan of RR Appendix 30B. In addition, BR has been working on the integration of the GE-06 Agreement into the Terrestrial Radiocommunication Systems (TerRaSys).

ITU-R Study Groups have been heavily involved with initiating the new study period and in particular with implementing the new Study Group structure adopted by RA-07. Preparation for CPM-11 has been kicked off with the involvement of several ITU-R groups .. 

Photo: ITU BR Director Mr Valery Timofeev speaks at the Forum session: "The wireless future" at ITU Telecom Africa 2008 - Photo credits: ITU/J.M.Ferr�

Mark your calendar! World Radiocommunication Seminar 2008 -- WRS-08 deals with the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the satellite orbits, and, in particular, with the application of the provisions of the ITU Radio Regulations.  WRS-08 will cover the international frequency management aspects of the terrestrial and space services, including the related work of the ITU-R Study Groups.  Special attention will be given to the decisions of the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07).  

ITU-R publications news -- ITU-R Publications constitute an essential reference source for all those wishing to remain abreast of the rapid and complex changes occurring in the world of international radiocommunications, such as government agencies, public and private telecommunication operators, manufacturers, scientific or industrial bodies, international organizations, consultancies, universities, technical institutions, etc. Recent ITU-R regulatory and conference publications are the '2008 Edition of the Radio Regulations' and the 'WRC-07 Final Acts'. A number of ITU-R Handbooks are also soon to be published ... 

Heritage of Radio  --  On 26 September 2008, the ITU recognized the site named "Pierre Berg�re" in Salvan, for its invaluable contribution in the heritage of telecommunications, thanks to experiments of wireless communications Guglielmo Marconi did in that location of Switzerland .. 

'Long-term efficiency of the space regulatory framework'  -- Satellite technology offers effective technical and economic solutions for the establishment of state-of-the-art telecommunication networks, providing trunk telephony and data, direct digital radio and TV and broadband services to fixed and mobile user terminals.  Satellites are also key elements in emergency telecommunications, meteorology, global positioning systems, environmental monitoring and communication services, that ensure safety of life on land, at sea and in the skies. Accordingly, the demand for satellite capacity has grown, and with it, the demand for use of the orbit/spectrum resource.  As the options for such use are limited by a combination of technical and economic factors, the problem of resource scarcity has arisen, along with the concern that the development of new satellite applications and networks may be held back.  The successful introduction of any radio system thus depends on the availability of radio frequency spectrum as a valuable common resource ..  

'IMT-Advanced' -- 'International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced ' systems are mobile systems that include the new capabilities of IMT that go beyond those of IMT-2000. Such systems provide access to a wide range of telecommunication services including advanced mobile services, supported by mobile and fixed networks, which are increasingly packet-based. ITU-R Working Party 5D has been coordinating efforts of government and industry and private sector in the development of a global broadband multimedia international mobile telecommunication system, known as IMT.  Since 2000, the world has seen the introduction of the first family of standards derived from the IMT concept.  ITU estimates that worldwide mobile cellular subscribers are likely to reach the 4 billion mark before the end of this year of which IMT systems technology will constitute a substantial part considering that already in May 2007, there were more than 1 billion IMT-2000 subscribers in the world! ..

'3D Television' -- ITU-R Study Group 6 has agreed on a �new Study Question� on 3D Television which will be submitted for approval by the ITU-R Membership and calls for proposals for worldwide agreements on 3D Television. In the past, the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) has approved many ground-breaking Recommendations for the broadcasting community - some examples are for �standard definition� digital television (Rec. ITU-R BT.601 which is the basis for digital television throughout the world); formats for higher resolution television (Rec. ITU-R BT.709, Rec. ITU-R BT.1543, and methods for quality evaluation (Rec. ITU-R BT.500).  It is now turning to �3D Television� ..  

ITU Council 2008 -- The 2008 session of the Council will take place at ITU Headquarters in Geneva from Wednesday 12 November to Friday 21 November 2008. Council 2008 will deal with some important ITU-R issues, including the decision on the date, venue and agenda of WRC-11, satellite cost recovery and financial implications of WRC-07 decisions. The opening of the Council will be followed by a High-Level Segment (HLS 2008: 12-13 November) designed to provide Ministers from Member States of Council and Councillors with an opportunity to exchange views on issues of strategic importance to the Union and on emerging trends in the Sector. HLS 2008 includes sessions on ICTs and  climate change and cybersecurity.

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