WASHINGTON-For all of the grumbling that some in the communications industry do about the Federal Communications Commission, what would happen if it didn’t exist? One leading telecommunications policy maker is finding out.
Brian Fontes, senior vice president for policy and administration for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, recently returned from Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) where he is serving as one of seven members of an international commission engaging in spectrum management in that war-torn country.
“It was a humbling experience to see how much destruction exists in Sarajevo … it was very sobering to see the human side of the war. But, as sobering as it was, it was exhilarating to see the reconstruction of civilization especially the telecommunications sector … When you think of all of the elements in the [Yugoslavian civil] war, you don’t normally think of the role of telecom in the rebuilding of commerce,” Fontes said last week in an exclusive interview with RCR.
The commission’s first priority will be to establish policies, procedures, and practices of spectrum management, concentrating on broadcasting. The initial focus on broadcasting is necessary because “there are a number of people that are operating [and] there are tremendous amounts of interference,” Fontes said.
It is hoped these policies, procedures and practices will lead to some order and confidence in the spectrum. Once that is accomplished, Fontes hopes to facilitate both commercial and non-commercial spectrum uses.
As part of facilitating commercial uses, the next challenge for the commission will be to determine under what authority the wireless network in BiH exists, Fontes said. The network is run out of Croatia, but it is unclear exactly who is running it. It is possible the private entity claiming to run the network may have significant government influence, Fontes said. This is significant because it means “revenues are leaving the country instead of staying in the [Bosnian] economy.”
Since mobile communications in Bosnia tends to be more reliable than its landline counterpart, Fontes believes these revenues, including minute usage fees and roaming charges, could be substantial.
The international commission, which works in conjunction with the Independent Media Commission, was created by the Office of the High Representative, the entity established at the Dayton Peace Agreement as the final governing authority in BiH. Fontes was appointed to be on the panel by the High Representative, Ambassador Carlos Westendorp of Spain. He will serve for three years.
The commission includes Fontes, one former member of the Bundestag (the German parliament), one former head of the Independent Broadcasting Authority for the United Kingdom and four BiH citizens. Prior to the commission’s creation, there have been a series of laws on how people can receive licenses to use spectrum. With each new government, new licenses were issued. Currently, no one has the authority to legally issue spectrum licenses. The commission will not deal with the spectrum being used by the United Nations peace keeping forces because they use specially designated frequencies, Fontes said.
The commission is expected to meet at least four times each year in Sarajevo, but Fontes says he expects to return more than four times this year as the commission gets up and running. Fontes’ next trip to Sarajevo is scheduled for December.
This is not Fontes’ first experience with creating an FCC-like entity in a foreign country. For three years, 1990-1993, he served on a South African interim government tribunal that created the Independent Broadcasting Authority and partially privatized the telecommunications sector in South Africa. He also has done similar work in other west African nations.
At press time Friday, United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan had been invited by the Serbian leadership of Yugoslavia to visit the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia. The invitation comes against the backdrop of continuing reports of ethnic cleansing of Albanians by the Serbs in Kosovo. The international community has condemned the recent massacre of 13 Albanian civilians and the North American Treaty Organization has threatened air strikes.
The Serbian ethnic cleansing activities are reminiscent of what happened in BiH before the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed leading to NATO-enforced peace in the former Yugoslavia.
