At the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) meeting earlier this month, preparations were begun for the World Telecommunication Development Conference, due to take place in March 2006 in Doha, Qatar.
The aim of the meeting was to approve studies that will better assist developing countries in their transition to an information society and to present new issues of analysis for consideration at the conference.
According to the ITU, the topics discussed included interconnection, universal access and service, application of telecommunication in healthcare, strategy for migration from existing networks to next generation networks and the examination of access technologies for broadband communications.
"These studies will help developing and least developed countries to create strategic plans that will strengthen their telecommunication sectors and fulfil the declaration of principles signed by a number of heads of state during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society," says Hamadoun Tour'e, director of the ITU Development Bureau.
"The outcome of the meeting provides practical guidance to help developing countries in the management and extension of their telecommunication services and networks."
He says innovative solutions for the management and financing of universal service and access policies were focused on, and one study group looked into ways in which these policies are developed, implemented and financed.
The study group`s report will contribute to the Global Symposium for Regulators 2004 session to be held in Geneva from 8 to 10 December, by promoting cost-effective broadband and Internet services.
The report highlights the fact that in order to gain the benefits of the information society, there must be political will and sector reform, public and private civil society partnerships and involvement of local groups and rural communities.
A report on the implementation of IP telephony in developing countries explains how nations can benefit from ICT and identifies the potential challenges that developing countries experience in attempting to evolve to or implement IP-based networks and broadband access capabilities.
In the area of satellite regulation, the ITU highlighted the increase in competition in satellite services and new applications, recommending that regulators and satellite service providers work together to expand access to services, to increase competition and technology innovation and to lower prices.
A separate study group, which covered development and management of telecommunication services and networks, presented guidelines for the smooth transition of existing mobile networks to IMT-2000 in developing countries.
The guidelines are intended for use by telecommunication operators, policy-makers and regulators, in order to facilitate development of strategies and policies for this transition.
Another pressing concern that emerged at the meeting was that the majority of developing countries, particularly least developed countries, have a desperate need for a national frequency fee calculation model.
To tackle this challenge, the second study group presented a report bringing together the calculation formulas and frequency fee amounts applied by countries for radio communication usage in various frequency bands.
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