From 4 to 5 June 1996, the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) will be hosting the APT Preparatory Meeting for the first ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum in Suntec City ...
Singapore, 4 June 1996 | For Immediate Release
From 4 to 5 June 1996, the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) will be hosting the APT Preparatory Meeting for the first ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum in Suntec City.
The first of its kind, the World Telecommunication Policy Forum will be organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from 21 to 23 October 1996 in Geneva to discuss "Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite", or GMPCS. The Forum will give ITU member countries the opportunity to discuss policy and regulatory issues raised by GMPCS. Such systems include Odyssey, Globalstar, Iridium and ICO, which aim to allow a person to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world using a handheld mobile satellite terminal. The Forum will also permit private sector participation to add breadth to the debate on a global response to GMPCS.
The 1 1/2 day APT Preparatory Meeting is organised by the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) for countries in the Asia Pacific region to discuss and build regional consensus on GMPCS in advance of the ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum.
More than 100 senior officials representing about 65 APT members, associate and affiliate members will attend the Preparatory Meeting. The Meeting will discuss the globalisation of telecommunication services resulting from the emerging GMPCS systems and the scope for international cooperation. Participants will deliberate on the role of GMPCS systems in the provision of basic telecommunication services in developing countries, and in rural and remote areas. They will also consider measures that are necessary to achieve the transborder use of GMPCS mobile terminals, the interconnection necessary for achieving fair access, as well as other policy and regulatory issues relevant to GMPCS systems and services.
Representatives of GMPCS systems operators will be invited to attend the Preparatory Meeting to give APT members the chance to learn more about the technical and service capabilities of the proposed GMPCS systems. APT members can also discuss with these operators issues which GMPCS raises for regulators in the region.
The APT Meeting hopes to produce a consolidated view on GMPCS issues. Recommendations and opinions on various GMPCS policy and regulatory matters that result from the Meeting may also be submitted as contributions to the ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum.
TAS is host of the Meeting to contribute towards harmonising the views of APT members and building a regional consensus on GMPCS. TAS recognises that the Meeting will provide a unique platform for countries in the Asia Pacific region to highlight to the international telecommunication community the opportunities presented to and challenges faced by regulators in the region with the emergence of GMPCS.
Note to editor:
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialised UN agency on telecommunications. It group 184 countries and is the only global inter-governmental telecommunication organisation with private sector participation.
The Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) is a regional inter-governmental telecommunication organisation with private sector participation. It comprises 28 Members, 4 Associate Members and 33 Affiliate Members.
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