By Fabio Leite, Radiocommunications Bureau, ITU
ITU organizes approximately every two years a Radiocommunication Seminar in Geneva and, periodically, regional Radiocommunication Seminars outside Geneva in the area of radio-frequency spectrum management.The ITU Regional Radiocommunication Seminar will be held in Porto Seguro, Brazil, in the period from 21 to 25 November 2005.

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The Telecommunications Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union and the Mexican Administration, through its National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People and the Communications and Transport Secretariat are organizing the I Indigenous Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies in Mexico DF, Mexico, 28 to 30 November 2005. The general objective is to foment this regional initiative to facilitate and promote the telecommunications development in the indigenous communities of the Americas Region.

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By Clovis Baptista, Executive Secretary of CITEL
The Fourth Assembly of CITEL will be held in San José, Costa Rica, February 20 to 23, 2006. A Special Meeting of the Assembly comprised of representatives of governments and the private sector will be held on the afternoon of February 20, 2006. Also, is scheduled on the morning of February 21, 2006, a roundtable of high authorities with responsibility for telecommunication policy in each Administration.

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The videos of these workshops that took place during the VII Meeting of the Permanent Consultative Committee I, Telecommunication Standardization  (Washington, DC, September 2005) may be seen at the following links:

• Workshop on Number portability

• Workshop on Telecommunication International Regulations

By Efrain Guevara, Industry Canada
The Inter-American MRA is a multi-lateral, single sector agreement between participating OAS Member States that agree to streamline conformity assessment processes by allowing recognized Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) from the exporting member states to test (Phase I) or certify (Phase II) telecom products to the mandatory technical requirements of the importing Member States.

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By Victor Martinez, National Telecommunication Commission
Paraguay is located in the interior of South America, with an area of 157,048 square miles (406,752 square kilometers) and a population of 5,163,168 (2002 census).    In 2004, its economy grew by 4%, with a GDP of US$6,260,000.

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By Carlos Neira Manager, CCIT
Figures for Internet and personal computer penetration in Colombia are intensely debated year after year with the annual publication of official figures by the Telecommunications Regulation Commission (CRT).

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By Nyurka Rodríguez, Compañía Anónima Nacional de Teléfonos
To help reduce the digital divide in Venezuela, the Cantv Corporation and the Ministry of Education and Sport jointly developed the Super@ulas (“Superclassrooms”) Program, with the aim of providing access to new information and communications technologies for pupils at schools located in rural areas of Venezuela.

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By Rosa M. Delgado, ICT Expert
This article explores the features of the new Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and its ability to fulfill the requirements of the air-transport industry which, for the effects of this article, includes airlines, airports, civil aviation and aerospace. It addresses potential benefits and challenges that can be derived from adopting the IPv6 protocol.

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By José Alberto Benitez Gómez, Center for Technological Innovation
of the Engineering School of Paraguay
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy is an international standard for high capacity telecommunication fiber optic networks.  It is a synchronous digital transport system aimed at providing a simpler, and more economical and flexible telecommunication network infrastructure.

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By Inés Salas, Ricardo González, Oscar Riveros, SUBTEL
Civilization is now in an era of profound and global change, the “Information or Knowledge-based Society.” The development, globalization, and declining cost of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are leading to “the death of distance.”

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At its 365th regular meeting, the Governing Council of the National Telecommunication Agency (Anatel) adopted draft amendments to the Regulations on Conditions for Use of the 3.5 GHz Frequency Band, in force since September 2002. One amendment provides for division of the band into 0.25 MHz blocks. Provision is also made for division of the band into larger blocks, of 3.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 7 MHz, and 10 MHz, for use in different applications and emerging technologies now generating interest among multimedia service providers, such as, among other applications for digital inclusion, broadband Internet. (ANATEL, 14 October 2005)

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In accordance with the provisions of Articles 37 and 38 of the Regulations to the Organic Telecommunication Law on Universal Telecommunication Service, the NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION COMMISSION (CONATEL) extends an invitation to the operators that have notified CONATEL of their intent to provide service, pursuant to Article 23.4 of the Organic Telecommunication Law, and that satisfy CONATEL’S requirements under Article 27 of the Regulations to the Organic Telecommunications Law on Administrative Authorizations and Concessions for Use and Exploitation of the Radio Spectrum. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 49 of the Regulations to the Organic Telecommunications Law on Universal Telecommunication Service, the public opening ceremony of the envelopes containing the amount of effective subsidy made by the parties concerned will be held on December 12, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., at the following address: Corpoandes Headquarters Building, Avenida Los Próceres, Parque La Isla entrance, Mérida, State of Mérida. No bids will be accepted after the conclusion of the envelope reception ceremony. (CONATEL, 14 October 2005)

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The National Telecommunication Commission (CONATEL) wishes to advise operators, equipment manufacturers, and the general public that the updated List of Approved Trademarks and Models of Equipment and Devices is now available via CONATEL’s official Internet portal, in fulfillment of the provisions of Article 8 of Resolution No. 253, which contains the list of recommended foreign entities and agencies for the homologation and certification of telecommunication equipment, published in Gaceta Oficial No. 37.698 of May 27, 2003. (CONATEL, 13 October 2005)

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The government’s broadband promotion policy has been amply discussed with the sector for over a year, based on the document “Promotion and Provision of Mass Broadband Access in Colombia.” One alternative proposed in that document is to use wireless technologies as an instrument to provide mass broadband access, with a view to raising low levels of penetration, now under 2%. (Ministry of Communications of Colombia, 13 October 2005)

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The new internal regulations of the National Telecommunication Agency (Anatel), adopted by the Governing Council on September 22, will come into force on October 24, 2005, the implementation date for the Agency’s new organizational and functional structure. The result of the reorganization project first envisaged in 2000, the new regulations, published in today’s edition of the Diário Oficial da União, introduce a series of amendments that will streamline the Agency and make it more effective in carrying out its activities, underscoring its public relations. Said changes, however, are not procedural. Therefore, the first part of the current internal regulations, Articles 1 to 98, remains unchanged. (ANATEL, 11 October 2005)

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José Leite Pereira Filho, member of the Governing Council of the National Telecommunication Agency (Anatel), today affirmed that Brazil is adopting hybrid regulations to resolve the issue of licensing for convergent services, i.e., voice, data, and video, the “Triple Play” (3G).(ANATEL, 6 October 2005)

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The authority has issued this measure in response to the expansion of fixed telephony in Chile. Initially, the primary areas of Valparaiso and Concepción will be determined. The resolution provides for an increase of up to 7 million in the numbers available for assignment in each such primary area. Prior to this measure, the total universe available in Valparaiso and Concepción was approximately 750,000 numbers each, of which a total of 120,000 remained available  (SUBTEL, 4 October 2005)

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The National Telecommunication Commission (CONATEL), in connection with the notice “To all companies interested in the 800 MHz band,” dated August 8, 2005, announces a request for public comment from all interested parties.  The purpose is to ascertain the requirements of the telecommunications industry sector regarding the most appropriate planning and distribution within this range, so that the various telecommunication services may be delivered in a more efficient manner.  To submit comments on this subject, please visit the CONATEL website (www.conatel.hn).(CONATEL, 26 September 2005)

Unless otherwise indicated, the materials published on this web site, including opinions expressed therein, are the responsibility of the individual authors/compilers and not those of the Organization of American States (“OAS”), GS/OAS, CITEL and the OAS Member States or its member countries.

ITU Regional Radiocommunication Seminar on Spectrum Management for the Americas
Indigenous Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies
Fourth Assembly of CITEL
Workshops on Number portability and Telecommunication International Regulations
Introduction and Implementation of the Inter-American MRA
Regulatory Framework for the Homologation of Telecommunication Equipment and Devices in Paraguay
Installed Base of PCs and Internet Penetration in Colombia – 2004
Super @ulas program: education without exclusion
Workshops on Number portability and Telecommunication International Regulations
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)
Formulation of sustainable universal access projects using information and communication technologies (ICTs)