GENEVA-A 26-member Reform Advisory Panel, comprised of ministers and other senior government officials, industry heads, regulators and operators, met in Geneva to agree on key principles that should guide the reform of the International Telecommunication Union.
The panel made broad recommendations for changes ranging from the very nature of the organization, its mission, its stewardship of scarce resources, to policy development and coordination and the role of the ITU as a neutral third party.
The ITU’s role in Internet governance was a cornerstone of the reform agenda. The panel recognized that the Internet had evolved without formal structure or government regulations but questioned whether it could continue the same way in the future. As the Internet itself is branching into telecommunications, whether voice telephony, mobile communications or digital broadcasting, the ITU felt there was clearly a role for itself.
The panel’s recommendations will be submitted to the next meeting of the ITU working group on ITU Reform next month.
