28 May 2003
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=03052702.clt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
27 May 2003
(Will also promote air-borne wireless services, lead delegate says) (700) Kathryn McConnell Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The United States will recommend at an international conference that more of the world's airwaves -- or spectrum -- be allocated for advanced wireless technologies such as wireless local area data networks (WLANS), says the head of the U.S. delegation. Ambassador Janice Obuchowski outlined U.S. objectives in an interview ahead of the four-week World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC 2003), which is scheduled to begin June 9 in Geneva. She said the United States will also promote a new technology developed by Boeing Corporation that involves delivering wireless communication services from the air. Such a technology would allow access to the Internet from anywhere, including from in-flight aircraft, she said. WRC 2003 will consider 44 agenda items for setting international rules for spectrum use, the most ever, Obuchowski said. The United States will be represented by more than 160 delegates -- including 90 from private industry -- and 30 advisers. Approximately 2,000 delegates representing 180 countries will attend, she added. The conference is being organized by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU). "Without international agreement ... the world's airwaves could quickly become a chaotic jumble of competing and interfering signals," according to a U.S. delegation background document. "At stake [at the conference] are wireless frequencies (airwaves) that will be crucial to the U.S. high-technology sector, which is a vital, high-growth area of the U.S. economy," the document said. Pre-WRC regional meetings have already done much to prepare the conference agenda items, Obuchowski said. The United States met with other Western Hemisphere countries under the auspices of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States. "We have a very strong set of hemispheric proposals," Obuchowski said. The Western Hemisphere was the first region to complete its proposals and make them available for other regions to review, she added. In addition to commercial services, wireless frequencies are used in many government systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) used to guide air traffic, which is an essential component of national security worldwide, Obuchowski said. Spectrum also is used to forecast weather, to communicate with space missions, to conduct intelligence and to guide missiles. The United States wants to upgrade its GPS, which will share the same range of spectrum as Europe's soon-to-be-launched positioning system, Galileo, the ambassador said. The world's other launched positioning system is the former Soviet system, now managed by Russia, called GLONASS. In Iraq, spectrum allowed the U.S. military's remote-controlled aerial vehicles, or drones, to communicate intelligence to troops' positioning systems on the ground, making fast progress in meeting objectives possible, Obuchowski said. Wireless technology also supports a growing number of hand-held telephones, which are "vastly overtaking" standard phones in the developing world, she said. During the conference, the U.S. delegation will also work to accommodate global demands for spectrum while protecting U.S. government systems, including military radars, from harmful interference, Obuchowski said. She said the United States has received "a great deal of support" for the telecommunications policy positions it will bring to the conference, particularly from developing countries. She added she expected the negotiations to be fruitful. But the United States opposes a European proposal for setting a standard size direct television disc, she said. The United States prefers a 45-centimeter standard, she said, smaller than the 65-centimeter broadcast satellite service disc commonly used in Europe. Among U.S. government agencies represented at the conference will be the departments of State, Commerce, Defense and Homeland Security and independent agencies including the Federal Communications Commission, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation. Companies represented in the U.S. delegation include Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Cisco Systems, Intel, AT&T Wireless and Boeing. Emerging regional voting blocs include the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) and the African Telecommunications Union, the background document said. "WRC 2003 will be more global than past conferences," the background document said. "This will undoubtedly create a new dynamic at WRC 2003." (The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)