The Preparatory Workshop for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 Program, organized by ITU annually, was held. Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, who spoke at the program, provided information about the content of the conference and the purpose of the workshop.
The World Radiocommunication Conference WRC 2019 Preparatory Workshop, hosted by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, was attended by Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, department heads, and numerous sector representatives.
President Sayan, speaking at the program, explained the purpose of the conference as follows: “The World Radiocommunication Conference (World Radiocommunication Conference - WRC), which is one of the sectors of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) responsible for tasks such as the allocation of frequencies for satellites used in communications as well as broadcasting, meteorology, space research, navigation services, scientific research, and many other fields today, determining orbit and position services, and operating them without causing harmful interference, is organized every three or four years, as you know, with the participation of member country administrations and sector members for the purpose of updating international spectrum plans.”
Stating that the Radio Regulations, an international agreement determining the procedures and principles for the use of frequency spectrum and satellite orbits between countries, are reviewed as a result of decisions taken at the WRC, Sayan said, “In light of these reviews, necessary changes are made in line with developing technologies and emerging new needs. These changes are regulated based on the WRC agenda items accepted by ITU's Council. The general scope of WRC agenda items is determined four to six years in advance and finalized by the ITU Council two years prior. Generally, between two WRCs, working groups are established within ITU with the participation of member states and sector members on topics such as the use of radio frequency spectrum in terrestrial and space communications, performance and characteristics of radiocommunication systems, operation of radiocommunication stations, and distress and safety communications. These working groups conduct the necessary studies on their topics.”
Sharing the information that the final reports prepared by the working groups are sent to the Conference Preparatory Meeting, established for preparation for the said conferences and attended by all member country administrations, Sayan said, “Immediately after the previous WRC, the first CPM meeting is held, and after the decisions taken and task distributions made at this CPM meeting, ITU-R working groups address the relevant topics and prepare a draft CPM report accordingly. The draft CPM report is updated at the second CPM meeting in line with the views from members, and this report is used to facilitate WRC works.”
President Sayan described the works carried out for the effective implementation of radiocommunication services covering the entire European Region, including our country, as follows: “Among the countries in Europe, tasks such as harmonization of radio frequency allocations, adoption of common approaches to assessments regarding the suitability of equipment, and mutual recognition of cross-border licensing methods are carried out by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), the union formed by the region countries. CEPT's activities on electronic communications are carried out by six working groups established to assist the Electronic Communications Committee in fulfilling its duties, including the Conference Preparatory Group (WG CPG), which prepares European Common Proposals (ECPs) and CEPT Briefs for conferences and meetings organized by ITU.”
Sayan also expressed the purpose of organizing the preparatory workshop as follows: “Preparatory works for WRC-19 have been initiated in our Institution, and this workshop has been organized to provide information on conference agenda items under the coordination of our Institution for the formation of Our Country's Positions regarding WRC-19 agenda items, to make task distributions among relevant institutions and organizations, and to determine working procedures and principles.”
Noting that preparations are being made to provide information on the topic in the internet environment as well, Sayan shared the following information: “In addition, as done in previous WRC preparatory works by our Institution, a page titled 'WRC-19 Preparatory Group Works' has been arranged on our Institution's web page for the preparatory working group to follow draft agenda items, form opinions, view works in other project groups, obtain information about works, access CPM meeting results and necessary links. It is planned to publish many documents on this page, such as works conducted under the coordination of our Institution with relevant institutions and organizations, and CEPT preparatory meeting results for WRC-19.”
Within ITU, the ITU Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-19) will be held from October 21-25, 2019, and the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) from October 28 to November 22, 2019. The draft agenda items to be addressed at the WRC-19 conference were determined at the World Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 2-27, 2015. In this context, the first Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) for WRC-19, with the participation of member country administrations within ITU, was held following WRC-15 in 2015.