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Cybertelecom
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International Telecommunications Union
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International Telecommunications Union |
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"The International Telecommunication Union, previously the International Telegraph Union, is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies. ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world and establishes worldwide standards. ITU also organizes worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums, such as ITU TELECOM WORLD, bringing together representatives of government and the telecommunications and ICT industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology. The ITU is active in areas including broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, TV broadcasting, and next-generation networks. ITU is based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a member of the United Nations Development Group and its membership includes 193 Member States and around 700 Sector Members and Associates". - Wikipedia
ITU work is treaty based (and in terms of the USA must be ratified by the US Senate).
International Telecommunications Regulations enacted 1988 (ITRs) .
Art. 9: Interconnection of information services.
See WTO agreement on Internet Interconnection
World Conference International Telecommunications (WCIT) December 2012 Dubai
Is the ITU looking to expand its authority over the Internet (or ICTs) in the areas of
- Internet Governance
- Internet number assignment (RIR)
- Domain Name System
- ENUM
- Cybersecurity
- Standards
- VoIP
- Backbone Interconnection (see also Internet eXchange Points IXP)
European Network Telecommunications Organization (ETNO) Proposal ITRs (Sending Party Pays for Internet Interconnection)
- Proposal (version posted to Wikileaks) of the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association
- Art. 2
Definitions
For the purpose of these Regulations, the following definitions shall apply. These terms and definitions do not, however, necessarily apply for other purposes.
2.11 IP interconnection: IP interconnection refers to technical and business solutions and rules to ensure the delivery of IP traffic through different networks.
2.12 End to end quality of service delivery and best effort delivery:
- End to End quality of service delivery refers to the delivery of PDU (Packet Data Unit) with predefined end-to-end performance objectives.
- Best-effort delivery refers delivery to of a PDU without predefined performance targets.Art. 3
International Network
3.1. Members States shall ensure that Operating Agencies cooperate in the establishment, operation and maintenance of the international network to provide satisfactory quality of service. Member States shall facilitate the development of international IP interconnections providing both best effort delivery and end to end quality of service delivery.
3.2 Operating Agencies shall endeavour to provide sufficient telecommunications facilities to meet requirements of and demand for international telecommunication services. For this purpose, and to ensure an adequate return on investment in high bandwidth infrastructures, operating agencies shall negotiate commercial agreements to achieve a sustainable system of fair compensation for telecommunications services and, where appropriate, respecting the principle of sending party network pays.Art. 4
International Telecommunication Services
4.4 Operating Agencies shall cooperate in the development of international IP interconnections providing both, best effort delivery and end to end quality of service delivery. Best effort delivery should continue to form the basis of international IP traffic exchange. Nothing shall preclude commercial agreements with differentiated quality of service delivery to develop.
USG
TXT TXT Papers
- A Giant Step Backward or the Way Forward An Analysis of some Proposals before WCIT Rohan Samarajiva| Chair and CEO, LIRNEasia| September 2012 ("ETNO wants the ITU to designate Internet content providers as “call originators” and subject them to a “sending party network pays” rule that would allow telecommunications operators to charge them rates they believe are commensurate with the bandwidth their content consumes.")
- DeNardis, Dr. Laura, Governance at the Internet's Core: The Geopolitics of Interconnection and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in Emerging Markets (March 27, 2012). 2012 TRPC. ("Recently, the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) submitted a proposal in advance of the 2012 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) that suggested three global policy alterations pertinent to Internet interconnection: 1. Expansion of International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) to include Internet connectivity; 2. Involvement of nation states in ‘facilitating’ interconnection; and 3. The prospect of compensation between providers based on ‘sending party network pays.’ ")
- ETNO Proposal Theatens to Impair Access to the Open, Global Internet
News and Blogs
- Leslie Harris, My Dinner with ETNO, CDT Sept 24, 2012 ("if ETNO's proposal becomes treaty law, it would put countries seeking to preserve a neutral Internet in violation of their treaty obligations and likely increase the cost of Internet access for users, especially in less developed countries.")
- Cynthia Wong, Radical Proposal Now on Table at the ITU, CDT June 21, 2012
- Internet Interconnections Proposals For New Interconnection Model Comes Up Short Internet Society
- Larry Downes, EU Telcos Defend UN Internet Takeover Plans, CNET September 23, 2012 ("Instead, ETNO simply reiterates its view that "Perpetuating an 'unpaid peering' approach for IP interconnection that developed when traffic patterns were largely symmetric can hamper the incentive to invest in transport capacity and network quality." The group argues that over-the-top video providers including YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu are extracting more and more revenue from the network but "are not contributing to network investment." ")
- Declan McCullagh and Larry Downes, UN Could Tax US Based Web Sites, Leaked Docs Show, CNET June 7, 2012
- Declan McCullagh, European ISPs defend UN Internet Tax, CNET August 20, 2012
- Declan McCullagh, UN Takeover of the Internet must be stopped, US Warns, CNET May 31, 2012
- Geoff Huston, A Report on the OECD/BEREC Workshop on Interconnection and Regulation, CIRCLEID June 28, 2012 (discussing ETNO position)
USG Proposals
- USG Delegation
- Ambassador Terry D. Kramer, Head US Delegation to WCIT
- Eli Dourado, Research Fellow, Mercatus Center GMU Law
- Position
- August Submissions
- Review of ITRs should be at a high level
- Recommendations are voluntary
- Ensure focused on telecommunications services
- Not open to redefining telecom service to include the Internet
- Not open to redefining "operating entities" (telecom networks)
- October Submissions
- Liberalized markets successfully drives broadband deployment
- Cybersecurity - a problem - but where is the best solution. Solution must have technical expertise and participatory inclusive process
Content Proposals
Seek to block spam. Want ability to mandate traffic routing.
Significant economic problem. Highly competitive market has permitted dramatic reduction in transit costs. Consolidating traffic over few routes increases ability of the government to engage in surveillance.
India Proposals
- Equinet (Equality in Network Builds)
- Information Security
Brazil Proposals
African Region Proposals
- A Giant Step Backward or the Way Forward An Analysis of some Proposals before WCIT Rohan Samarajiva| Chair and CEO, LIRNEasia| September 2012 ("The Region’s proposal aims to impose broad regulations on the economics and content of the Internet, and seeks to redefine once-narrow ITR telecommunications definitions to encompass the much-larger ecosystem of the digital economy, including Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and Internet standards-making bodies.")
Russia
- Russia Submission released by wikileaks
- Russia Calls for Internet Revolution, RT.com May 28, 2012 ("Russia backed by China and India is pushing through a takeover of the internet by a UN supranational agency to make the web truly universal. The aim of the plan is to standardize the behavior of countries concerning information and cyberspace.")
Internet Society Submission
- Affim multi statekeholder model
- ITR not about Internet, they are about PSTN
- Voluntary standards for ITU-T
- ETNO would disincentivize creation of IXPs - people will not want to interconnect capacity to places where will have to pay to send the traffic
Links
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- International Internet Connectivity Rapporteurs Group (IIC)
- ITU-T Study Group 3 Tariff and accounting principles including related telecommunication economic and policy issues
- ITU-T Recommendation D.50 | See ICAIS
WICTleaks.org (Mercatus Center GMU)
© Cybertelecom ::Res 101 IP Based Networks Res 102 Management of Internet Domains and Addresses Res 133 Role of administrations of Member States in the management of internationalized (multilingual) domain names ITU: Political Leaders Must Address Information Society Issues - Global Governance Framework for 'Cyberspace' to be issue at World Summit ITU 11/12/02 Events
- World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) December 2012
- ITU Telecom Americas Feb 25-28 2003
- ITU Telecom World Geneva Oct 12-18 2003
- World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-02) March 18, 2002 Turkey
- World Telecommunication Development Conference to Tackle Challenges Posed by the Digital Divide , itu 2/20/02
- ITU Plenipot Fall 2002 Moroco Media Advisory: 16th Plenipotentiary Conference - International Telecommunication Union, ITU 7/19/02
- Plenipotentiary Conference Elects 46 Member States to Council - Radio Regulations Board Members Also Elected, ITU 10/7/02
- Plenipotentiary Conference Elects ITU Bureau Directors, ITU 10/7/02
- Plenipot New Room, ITU 9/26/02
- ITU Telecom Asia Dec 2-7 2002
- Jan 7-10 ITU IP Telephony Workshop for the Arab Region Damascus, Syria
- ITU Workshop on IP-Networking and MEDIACOM 2004 April 24, 2001
- Africa Regional Preparatory Meeting for the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2002, Youandé, Cameroon, May 2001
- WTDC 1998 Malta
Internet as a Human Right
- Vint Cerf, Internet Access is not a Human right, NYTimes Jan. 4, 2012 ("technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself")
- Is Internet Access a Human Right, Guardian Jan. 11, 2012
- Is Internet Access a Human Right, Amnesty International USA Jan. 10, 2012 ("And the increasing necessity of internet access for the world’s most impoverished as it relates to health, education, employment, the arts, gender equality—all things we have the right to enjoy means that Information Technologies (yes, the Internet) are inseparable from the rights themselves.")
United Nations
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Article 19: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
- UN Report Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue* May 16, 2011
- "The Special Rapporteur underscores the unique and transformative nature of the Internet not only to enable individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, but also a range of other human rights, and to promote the progress of society as a whole. Chapter III of the report underlines the applicability of international human rights norms and standards on the right to freedom of opinion and expression to the Internet as a communication medium, and sets out the exceptional circumstances under which the dissemination of certain types of information may be restricted. Chapters IV and V address two dimensions of Internet access respectively: (a) access to content; and (b) access to the physical and technical infrastructure required to access the Internet in the first place. More specifically, chapter IV outlines some of the ways in which States are increasingly censoring information online, namely through: arbitrary blocking or filtering of content; criminalization of legitimate expression; imposition of intermediary liability; disconnecting users from Internet access, including on the basis of intellectual property rights law; cyber- attacks; and inadequate protection of the right to privacy and data protection. Chapter V addresses the issue of universal access to the Internet. The Special Rapporteur intends to explore this topic further in his future report to the General Assembly. Chapter VI contains the Special Rapporteur’s conclusions and recommendations concerning the main subjects of the report."
- United National Report: Internet Access as a Human Right, LATimes June 3, 2011 (Copy of Report at LA Times)
- Internet Access is a Human Right, United Nations Report Declares, HUFFPO June 8, 2011("The report, which the Atlantic describes as reading "like a hat tip to WikiLeaks and its campaign for transparency," was met with strong praise from groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT).")
Statistics
USG
- USG is represented before the UN/ITU by the State Department (in consultation with FCC International Bureau and Dept. of Commerce, NTIA, International Office)
ITAC: US International Telecommunication Advisory Committee
- "The United States International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) advises the Department of State in the preparation of U.S. positions for meetings of international treaty organizations, develops and coordinates proposed contributions to international meetings as U.S. contributions, and advises the Department on other matters to be undertaken by the U.S. at these international meetings. The international meetings addressed by the ITAC are those of the International Telecommunication Union, the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Members of the ITAC are drawn from the government, network operators, service providers, and manufacturers involved in the telecommunications sector. "
- To join the ITAC Listserv, reported send an email to join ITAC_Listserve_Requests@state.gov and you automatically have access to ITAC.
- ITAC advises the Department of State on U.S. participation in international telecommunications treaty organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
- ITAC Website
- Old Website Archive
- ITAC has been particularly active on such issues as IP Telephony, International Internet Settlement, and ENUM.
- ITAC is administered by the International Communications and Information Policy Office, Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of the US Department of State.
- Pursuant to Exec Order 12046 (1978), both the FCC and the Department of Commerce have a consulting role with regards to the State Department and the development of US communications policy.
- USITAC WGIG Report
The Department of State announces a request for comments on the report of the Working Group on Internet Governance, which is scheduled to be released to the public on July 18, 2005. The UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), created by Phase 1 of the WSIS, was tasked ``to investigate and make proposals for action, as appropriate, on the governance of Internet by 2005.'' The text of the report will be available at http://www.wgig.org or on the Department of State's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Web site at http://www.state.gov/e/eb/cip/wsis2005. The Department of State will be accepting comments from the public on the WGIG report through August 1, 2005. Comments should be sent to Sally Shipman, International Communications and Information Policy, at shipmansa@state.gov. In addition, according to the decision of PrepCom II, all governments and other stakeholders are invited to submit written comments and proposals on the issue of Internet governance to the WSIS Executive Secretariat (to wsis-contributions@itu.int) by August 15. Thereafter, a compilation of these contributions will be forwarded to the WSIS PrepCom III, together with the report of the WGIG. Fed Reg Notice.
Reports
- International Telecommunication Union, ITU Internet Report 2006, digital.life.
Links
- Internet Governance Forum
- Internet Society
- Internet Engineering Task Force