The IARU E-Letter, Number 4
December 2006

ITU ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM

After a spirited campaign and three ballots, the Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) attending the 17th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Plenipot) in Antalya, Turkey, have elected Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré of Mali as Secretary-General of ITU for a four-year term. Dr. Touré topped a field of six candidates to succeed Japan's Yoshio Utsumi, who was not eligible for re-election.

The ultimate authority in the ITU, the Plenipot, held every four years, is the occasion for representatives of ITU Member States to consider proposed changes to the organization's constitution and convention, adopt strategic and financial plans and elect senior management.

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Larry Price, W4RA, says the ITU member states chose wisely. "Hamadoun Touré is someone with whom IARU has worked for the past eight years," Price said, "and he has a proven record of understanding the importance of the Amateur Services, especially their importance in emergency and disaster communications." Touré has served two terms as director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.

IARU Vice President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, who attended the first half of the conference, congratulated Touré in person on behalf of IARU and its member-societies. Ellam says Touré told him that it's important for IARU to "continue its good work in the ITU," adding that the IARU "has an important role to play in the future."

Addressing the conference after the vote, Touré told the 1500 delegates from around the world that he would work with transparency, objectivity and vigor to realize the two main objectives that were central to his campaign: to eliminate the digital divide and to ensure that cyberspace would become more secure.

Houlin Zhao of China, who has served two terms as Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, was elected Deputy Secretary-General. He said that he would do his best to assist the Secretary-General elect and the three directors as well as the membership to make ITU a more dynamic organization that would contribute to the emerging global Information Society.

ITU Radiocommunication Bureau Director Valery Timofeev of the Russian Federation was eligible for re-election and ran unopposed. Sami Al Basheer of Saudi Arabia was elected Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau and Malcolm Johnson of the United Kingdom was elected Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. The new team of elected officials will take office on January 1, 2007.

One of the successful candidates for the 12 seats on the part-time Radio Regulations Board was Robert W. Jones, VE7RWJ. Bob served two terms as Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau and following his retirement from that post was a consultant to the IARU at the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference.

While many delegates recognize that the word "telecommunication" is insufficient to encompass the entire scope of the organization's responsibilities, the name of the ITU remains unchanged. However, ITU-watchers can expect to see and hear more references to the abbreviation for "information and communication technologies" (ICT). As Conference Chairman Dr. Tanju Çataltepe of Turkey observed at its conclusion on November 24, "The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference noted the many developments that have occurred in a rapidly changing telecommunication and ICT environment that will have significant implications for ITU. It set the guidelines for ITU, as the pre-eminent intergovernmental organization in ICT, to foster the sustained development of telecommunications and ICT networks so that people everywhere can participate in the emerging Information Society and benefit from its vast potential."

IARU International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, HB9AQS/F5VKP, attended the second half of the conference. Hans reports that the conference adopted a resolution in support of the Tampere Convention on the provision of telecommunication resources for disaster mitigation and relief operations. See http://www.iaru.org/emergency/tc-hams.html for information on how the Tampere Convention relates to Amateur Radio.

PLENIPOT DELEGATES SEE AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEMONSTRATED

The IARU member-society for Turkey, Telsiz ve Radyo Amatörleri Cemiyeti (TRAC), organized a demonstration station and exhibit of Amateur Radio emergency communications capabilities for participants in the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. TRAC's well-equipped emergency communications van was brought to Antalya and parked on the hotel grounds adjacent to the conference site. Operating under the special call sign TC4PP, the station made contacts worldwide with just 100 watts and a wire antenna. ITU Secretary-General Elect Touré and other newly elected officials visited the station, along with many delegates from all over the world.

IARU International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, HB9AQS/F5VKP, reports that TC4PP was active in the IARU Region 1 Emergency Communications "Get-together Party on the Air" on November 18, contacting 18 of the participating Region 1 member-societies' headquarters stations.

This is the third time since 2000 that TRAC has been called upon to organize such a display station at a major ITU event held in Turkey. Congratulations to TRAC on another job well done!

IARU READIES DISPLAY AT TELECOM WORLD 2006

Amateur Radio also will be on display at ITU Telecom World 2006. Hong Kong is the host of this major telecommunications exhibition, December 4-8. With assistance from IARU Region 3 and the Hong Kong Amateur Radio Transmitting Society, the IARU International Secretariat has organized an exhibit in space provided by the ITU.

100 YEARS OF VOICE OVER RADIO

December 2006 marks the 100^th anniversary of what is generally regarded as the first transmission of voice over radio, achieved by Canadian experimenter Reginald A. Fessenden. The Fessenden station, located at Brant Rock, Massachusetts, USA, is said to have operated on a frequency of about 88 kHz using an alternator with a maximum power output of about 300 watts.

A century ago, radio - then called wireless - was amazing the world. A century later, radio - once again being called wireless - is still amazing the world in new ways. Surely Fessenden, who later in life was an active radio amateur from his station VP9F in Bermuda, would marvel at the progress that continues to be made in digital voice and other technologies that could hardly have been imagined in 1906.

What new breakthroughs will 2007 bring?

Until next month (and next year),

Sincere 73,

David Sumner, K1ZZ
Secretary, IARU