Inter-American Telecommunication Commission

Abstract

At this revolutionary time in the development of telecommunications, universal access/service is the fundamental tenet to be taken into account in the development of telecommunications policies and legislation. The new context of international trade, the increasingly competitive environment, convergence, technological progress, the establishment of consumers’ rights and the implementation of the Global Information Society (GIS) and Global Information Infrastructure (GII) are adding new dimensions to the concept of the universal access/service in every country in the Americas. The member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) have undertaken to note efforts to promote and achieve economic and social development with equity. They have also recognized the vital role of telecommunications as a tool to achieve that objective. They have thus placed special emphasis on the need to consolidate and promote telecommunication modernization and coordination in the region. Among the numerous attempts to increase cyber security in the Americas, the largest share of the burden has assumed the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) on itself. The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission was established at 1994 under the auspices of the Organization of American States. It consists of public sector – 35 Member States and over 200 Associate Members (international, national, professional and non-governmental organizations) – private sector. CITEL serves as a permanent forum that brings together the government and the private sector for coordinating the Member States’ diverse political, economic, social and technical perspectives required to assist in meeting their specific infrastructure needs. CITEL’s evaluations include relevant legal, regulatory and technology-related issues such as universal access to ICTs, common standards, network interoperability and compatible use of the radio spectrum. CITEL has technical autonomy to perform its functions within the limits prescribed by the OAS Charter, its statutes and the mandates of the General Assembly. Its objectives include facilitating and promoting the continuous development of telecommunications in the Hemisphere. These CITEL activities uniquely promote country and regional economic development and contribute to consolidated representation of the Members’ positions at regional, hemisphere and international policy meetings. Contributing to the region’s economic and social development is the objective of all elements of the work of CITEL, whether it is coordinating the rules needed to facilitate infrastructure deployment and telecommunication service delivery, harmonization of the radio frequency spectrum to reduce the cost of providing wireless services, information and communication technology (ICT) training, or helping countries devise telecommunication development strategies. There are a number of factors regarding the organization and operation of CITEL that are rather obvious. Probably, the most important of these is the fact that CITEL must confront the future in partnership with the private sector in order to position itself to be of assistance to the member states. With the increased participation of the private sector, it is anticipated that the scope of activities CITEL will be addressing in the future will also broaden. This is already taking place, especially in support of the establishment of a free trade zone in the Americas. One obvious step in this direction would be the expansion of the standards coordination activities into the area of information technology standards, which not only supports the trade negotiations but also the implementation of the global information infrastructure.

U mnoštvu pokušaja da se poveća sajber-bezbednost na američkom kontinentu, najveći deo tereta na sebe je preuzela Interamerička telekomunikaciona komisija (CITEL – Inter-American Telecommunication Commission). Ova organizacija je nastala 1994. godine, pod patronatom Organizacije američkih država, a čine je: javni sektor – 35 država članica, kao i preko 200 međunarodnih, nacionalnih, strukovnih i nevladinih organizacija iz svih delova sveta – privatni sektor. CITEL deluje kao permanentni forum, koji doprinosi i javnom i privatnom sektoru bezbednosti u koordinaciji različitih političkih, ekonomskih, društvenih i tehničkih perspektiva i zahteva država članica i organizacija, a takođe pomaže i da se ovi subjekti sastaju u zavisnosti od infrastrukturnih potreba. Kroz ovu organizaciju procenjuju se relevantna pravna, regulatorna i tehničko-tehnološka pitanja kao što je univerzalni pristup bazama podataka, zajednički standardi, mrežna interoperabilnost i kompatibilna upotreba radio-spektra. Sve ove aktivnosti koje promoviše CITEL su nacionalnog i regionalnog razvojnog karaktera i doprinose usklađenom predstavljanju zemalja članica na regionalnim i međunarodnim sastancima.