Intelligent Transport Systems - Telenor

Per Hjalmar Lehne (44) obtained
his MSc from the Norwegian
Institute of Science and Technology
in 1988. He has since
been with Telenor R&D working
with different aspects of terrestrial
mobile communications.
1988–1991 he was involved in
standardisation of the ERMES
paging system in ETSI as well
as in studies and measurements
on EMC. His work since 1993
has been in the area of radio
propagation and access technology,
especially on smart
antennas for GSM and UMTS.
He has participated in the RACE
2 Mobile Broadband Project
(MBS), COST 231, COST 259
and COST 273. His current interests
are in use of MIMO technology
in terrestrial mobile networks
and on access network convergence,
where he participates in
the IST project FLOWS.
per-hjalmar.lehne@telenor.com
Telektronikk 1.2003
Introduction
PER HJALMAR LEHNE
We have in previous issues of Telektronikk’s
status section discussed the work and role of the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU),
see for example issues 4.1999 and 1.2001. In
this issue, Einar Utvik and Anne Lise Lillebø
have made a report from the highest body of the
Union, the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP).This
is the top policy making body of ITU and meets
every four years. Last year, PP-02 met in Marrakesh,
Morocco. Norway’s delegation consisted
of 12 people, of which two were from Telenor.
Telenor is a so-called Sector Member of ITU’s
three sectors (ITU-T, ITU-R and ITU-D). The
structure of ITU is shown in the figure below.
The report presented here is very comprehensive
and some items and decisions are worth mentioning.
For the first time, Norway has become
Council member from Region B (Western
Europe) from 2002 – 2006. Mr Willy Jensen
from the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications
Authority will be Norway’s Councillor.
On the whole, the impression is that reforms of
the ITU progress very slowly. It seems very difficult
for the Member States to agree on decisions.
This also makes the work on making ITU
more attractive to the private
sector very difficult.
But there are also positive
decisions and recognition of
important matters. The World
Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) was launched
at PP-98 and endorsed by the
UN General Assembly with
the purpose of developing a
common vision and understanding
of the information
society. WSIS is primarily a
policy making forum under
the patronage of the UN Secretary
General and probably
has its most important task
towards the developing part
of the world.
Another important item was
the introduction of the gender
perspective as a new element.
In this context, it is worth
mentioning that Ms Ingunn
Yssen was appointed from
Norway as a Senior Gender
Advisor to the Telecommuni-
cations Development Bureau (BDT) from Sept 1,
2002. There was also a special session on Gender
Issues at PP-02 chaired by Ms Eva Hildrum,
Director General from the Ministry of Transport
and Communications.
Two regional initatives received whole-hearted
support: New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD), and The Agenda for Connectivity
in the Americas and Quito Action Plan. Also
PP-02 agreed on assistance to ‘Countries in Special
Need’ (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina). A more
delicate question has been the assistance and
support to the Palestinian Authority, but it was
in fact agreed that an action plan from 1994
should be continued and enhanced.
It seems that ITU has still an important role in
the global society, not so much for the part of
the world which has a well developed telecommunications
infrastructure and service level, but
very much for the developing countries in order
to ensure a good development to the benefit of
trade and industry as well as the general public.
Structure of the ITU (from www.itu.int)
137