By Claudio Bermúdez, ViceChair of COM/CITEL
The region’s highest telecommunications authorities will meet in Costa Rica from February 20 to 23 to consider the challenges and opportunities ahead. Such ministerial meetings are organized every four years by the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

On the first day of the event Special Sessions will bring together government decision-makers and major players from the private sector to talk about “An Agenda for the Future.” Several panel discussions will offer perspectives of technology leaders and providers of services and infrastructure in the region.

“This type of interaction between the public and private sectors is crucial to the development of the telecommunications industry in the region,” said Mr. Claudio Bermúdez, ViceChair of COM/CITEL. “We hope this forum will help both government officials and company executives have a better understanding of each other’s concerns and priorities,” he added.

The Fourth Regular Meeting of the CITEL Assembly, which opens on the evening of February 20, will elect new authorities for the regional commission and consider structural reforms, programs and proposals to help countries face new challenges. The Assembly will adopt a political declaration that will define the region’s goals and mandates in telecommunications, as well as the CITEL Strategic Plan for 2006-2010.

Part of the Organization of American States (OAS), CITEL brings together the countries of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean to advance connectivity and promote the dynamic, efficient and harmonized development of telecommunications.

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The Working Group on Preparation for the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) of Permanent Consultative Committee I, Telecommunication Standardization, will hold a meeting on the morning of February 24, 2006, in San José, Costa Rica.

The Conference Preparatory Working Group (WGCP) will have its X meeting on February 24, 2006 in San José, Costa Rica, to continue its preparations for the World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2006 (Doha, Qatar, March 7 to 15, 2006) and the Plenipotentiary Conference in (Antalya, Turkey, November 6 to 24, 2006).

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By Josefina Cano, Chief, Transmission Projects Division, COPACO – PARAGUAY
In 2005, COPACO launched a new service: to offer bandwidth, initially of 155 Mbps, based on a secure and scalable IP platform, edge network (international network) or part of the backbone, with the leading technology on the Paraguayan market and of the region’s countries, with the aim of offering a Next Generation Network (NGN) for data to the country as a whole over a single packet-switched transport network providing good quality and different bandwidths for a wide range of services.

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By Alex José Chávez Ramírez, INICTEL
The main characteristic of a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) is that its communication systems concentrate on a typical 10-meter area surrounding the location of an individual or device, whether or not in motion.  “Unlike a wireless local area network (WLAN), a connection made through a WPAN involves little or no infrastructure or direct connectivity to the world outside the link.”  This type of technology also aims at efficient resource use, so that simple protocols optimal for each communication need and application have been designed.

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By Aldo Castaña, Engineering and technology University, Catholic University of Uruguay
The executives and professional staff of all telecommunication operators, and that of all other types of companies, are constantly faced with situations in which they must take different types of decisions, such as whether to incorporate new services to offer their customers, which investment alternatives to select, how to price services, etc. In taking such decisions, they must first gain a full understanding of the environment in which the decision is to be taken so that the most appropriate course is chosen, with the aim of ensuring the success of the company.

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Public Consultation No. 659, proposing the allocation of radio frequencies in the 381,025-381,750 MHz and 391,025-391,750 MHz bands to the Private Limited Mobile Service (SLMP) for public security activities, is now open for comments, suggestions, and contributions. Contributions to the public consultation may be forwarded, preferably electronically, via the National Public Consultation Monitoring System (SACP), available at the portal www.anatel.gov.br, until midnight, February 20, 2006.  Communications sent by letter, fax, or e-mail will also be considered until 6:00 p.m. on February 15, 2006, at the address found at the link below. (ANATEL, 27 January 2006)

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On January 25, at its 379th Meeting, the Governing Council of the National Telecommunication Agency (Anatel) adopted new provisions on certification and homologation of mobile satellite telecommunication access terminals, which establishes minimum technical requirements and procedures for terminal evaluation. The Agency is also seeking to ensure telecommunication service users of reliable, high quality products.(ANATEL, 25 January 2006)

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The Government of Colombia and the Colombian academic sector today approved the establishment and launch of operations of the National Advanced Technology Academic Network (RENATA), which will enable academic and scientific information to be exchanged via connection to the next generation research and education networks GEANT2 in Europe and INTERNET2 in the United States and, via these, to the rest of the world’s advanced academic networks. (Ministry of Communications, 24 January 2006)

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The Undersecretariat for Telecommunications has reported that new mobile telephony numbering structure will come into effect on August 19.  The decision was taken in response to the growing numbers of cell phone subscribers. As of that date, mobile telephony numbering will incorporate a mobile virtual area code, identified by the number 9, so that the mobile network’s numbering structure would have the following form: National number (9 ) = mobile virtual area code + mobile subscriber or user number. The decision will make available 80 million number combinations for mobile telephony. (SUBTEL, 20 January 2006)

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Nearly half (47.89%) of the 86,210,336 mobile telephony subscribers recorded at 2005’s close are in the four states of Brazil’s Southeast region – with 41,286,865 cell phones in operation for its 78,472,017 inhabitants (Brazil’s total population is 184,184,264, according to Brazilian Foundation Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) estimates). (ANATEL, 16 January 2006)

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The National Telecommunication Agency (Anatel) published in the Diário Oficial da União a summary of Public Consultation (CP) No. 660:  “Proposal for Planning Cable TV and Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System (MMDS) Services.”  (ANATEL, 11 January 2006)

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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.

Looking to the Future of Telecommunications
Next meetings of Working Groups to prepare WCIT, WTDC-06 and PP-06
Technology of Advanced Networks: Paraguay - Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones S.A. (COPACO S.A.)
Wireless Personal Area Networks
Decision making in the evaluation of projects of network services
 

XVII Meeting of COM/CITEL
San José, Costa Rica, February 23, 2006

X Meeting of the Conference Preparatory WG
San José, Costa Rica, February 24, 2006

Meeting of the Working Group on Preparations for World Conference on International Telecommunications  
San José, Costa Rica, February 24, 2006