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ANNELIES VRBOVÁ – MARKÉTA NOVÁKOVÁ – MARTIN BULÁNEK
CYIL 4 ȍ2013Ȏ
Introduction
The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) raised
a lot of emotions and discussions not only among state administrations and experts
but also the public all over the world. It was held in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates,from 3
rd
till 14
th
December 2012 under the chairmanship of the Director
General of the National Regulatory Authority, Mr. Mohamed Nasser Al-Ghanim.
What was it all about? What was the involvement of the Czech Republic like? There
is no exhaustive description of what happened in Dubai. The following article aims
at capturing the most crucial and important moments that affected the final decision
of the Czech Republic.
I. WCIT-12
The only purpose for organizing theWCIT-12 was the revision of the International
Telecommunications Regulations (more known as ITRs). ITRs have set rules for
international telecommunication services for administration agencies (governments and
their bodies) and/or recognized private operating agencies. They cover definitions, rules
for international network and services, rules for safety of life and telecommunications
priorities, special rules for charging and accounting, suspension of services or
dissemination of information. Furthermore, they include 3 Appendices, which define
accounting principles, provisions for maritime telecommunications and service and
privilege telecommunications.
ITRs, as a set of rules, mainly for international telephone services provided by state
owned telecommunications companies,that the governments of 178 states signed in
Melbourne in1988, became obsoletedue to the rapidchanges in the telecommunications
markets of many countries. In many countries market liberalisation led to rapid
technical development enabling the creation of a wide range of telecommunications
services. Mobile communication does not limit users any longer, and developments in
technologies make telephony, as well as current arrangements for it at the international
level, obsolete. Moreover, a completely new and extremely efficient means of
communication has emerged – the Internet. European countries are, therefore,
concerned about the benefits of the ITRs and of the opinion that we do not need
them anymore. Other states, especially – but not only – developing countries with
non-liberalized markets, however, believe that the ITRs should be maintained.
Being one of the oldest international organisations, the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialised agency of the United Nations. Its
highest decision-making body, the Plenipotentiary Conference, decided in 2010 that
a conference on ITRs would be held in Dubai in 2012. Preparations took place not
only in a specialised working group within the ITU but also at the regional level. There
are six regional groups of the ITU Member States – the CIS, also known as the RCC
(comprised of Russia and others from the former Soviet Union), Asia and the Pacific,
the Americas, Africa, the Arab Region and Europe. In general, each region (except