Mr. Jones began his involvement with the ITU in 1975 when, as Chief of Broadcast Spectrum Policy, he participated in Canada's preparations for the 1977 World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) on Satellite Broadcasting. He attended this WARC and served as Canada's spokesman in the important planning committee. He continued his WARC involvement by preparing for and participating in WARC-79. As Director of Spectrum Policy at that time, Mr. Jones at WARC-79 was the person on the Canadian delegation responsible for all spectrum allocation matters.
In 1981, Mr. Jones was selected by the ITU for a senior appointed position reporting directly to the Secretary General and to the Members of the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) as the first Director of a major automation project to modernize the ITU's frequency publication, notification and registration process.
Mr. Jones continued his ITU involvement after returning to Canada in 1983 by chairing the ITU's Voluntary Group of Experts overseeing the above mentioned automation project on behalf of the ITU's Administrative Council. Mr. Jones participated in the work of the Council for more than twenty years. Mr. Jones was the Canadian member on the Panel of Experts on the Long Term Future of the IFRB which, in 1987-88, reviewed the IFRB in the light of changing circumstances.
In addition to participating as an ITU official in the 1982 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Nairobi, Mr. Jones was Deputy Head of the Canadian delegation to the 1989 Plenipotentiary Conference in Nice. In 1992, he headed the Canadian delegation to WARC-92 in Malaga-Torremolinos, Spain. He also headed the Canadian delegation to the Additional Plenipotentiary Conference held in Geneva in December 1992. Mr. Jones participated in every meeting of the High Level Committee which reviewed the structure and functioning of the ITU and whose recommendations were, by and large, adopted by the 1992 Additional Plenipotentiary Conference.
Mr. Jones was the Canadian member of the Voluntary Group of Experts which studied the allocation and improved use of the radio frequency spectrum and simplification of the Radio Regulations. Mr. Jones also headed the Canadian delegations to the 1993 Radiocommunication Assembly and to the 1993 World Radiocommunication Conference.
At the Plenipotentiary Conference in Kyoto in 1994, he was elected to the post of Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau. At the Plenipotentiary Conference in Minneapolis in 1998, he was re-elected for a second term. As the first person elected to the post of Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau, Mr. Jones was instrumental in completing the transition to the new Radiocommunication Sector. He provided leadership to the Bureau and in the technical and regulatory preparations for the successful Radiocommunication Assemblies and World Radiocommunication Conferences in 1995, 1997 and 2000. Two terms being the maximum for an elected official in the ITU, at the end of 2002, he returned to Canada where, since retiring from the Canadian government in March 2003, he has provided consulting services to a range of clients including at WRC-2003.
As Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau, in accordance with No. 174 of the ITU Convention, Mr. Jones was the Executive Secretary of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) from 1995 to 2002 inclusive. During these eight years, he supported the work of the Board including overseeing the preparation of draft Rules of Procedure for consideration by the Members of the RRB. He therefore has a first hand knowledge of the workings of the Board and has all of the necessary qualifications and experience to be an effective Member of the Radio Regulations Board.
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