CEPT Eyes Greater ITU Role, More Political Clout
STRASBOURG, France -- The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) needs more political clout, its president said Wednesday at a CEPT conference on technology and regulation. With 27 countries in the EU -- and many others aligning their policies with the EU -- CEPT wants to be more than a technical body, said Anthony De Bono, citing the need for a larger presence at the ITU. CEPT’s Electronic Communications Committee brings together the radio and telecommunications regulatory authorities of the 48 member countries.
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A CEPT task force created last year studied the need for reform, and its recommendations will be presented in June at the General Assembly in Malta, De Bono said. The panel published preliminary findings in February for public comment, he said. Those responding praised the quality of CEPT technical work and its open methods, among other things, but urged more input from small and medium-sized enterprises, academia and consumer groups, he said.
Many respondents said CEPT too often does technical work case by case, De Bono said. They want a higher profile for the organization, and more leadership in technical matters, with technical issues assessed from an economic standpoint, he said. Many complained about inadequate cooperation between CEPT and the ITU, he said.
CEPT needs better cooperation with regional bodies and more flexible decision-making, said Valery Bugaenko, chief of the Russian Federation communications agency. Russia wants CEPT to expand to meet new challenges such as studying national spectrum use priorities and cybersecurity, he said. CEPT would be more efficient if it split its postal from its telecommunications functions, he said.
CEPT should weigh economics in analyzing usage conditions and technical aspects of spectrum management work but leave socioeconomic objectives to other forums, Ericsson said. The company urged CEPT to “remain a down-to-earth organization where practical technical coordination work and national regulations can be aligned” instead of competing with the EU in the political or social area.
CEPT must adapt to technological changes, De Bono told us. The body considers its lack of political visibility a problem, although not a big deal, he said. The conference continues Thursday.