The role of the International telecommunications Union in outer space spectrum management with respect to developing nations

Abstract

From the remarks made by the then Secretary General of ITU, one envisions the possibilities of a truly connected world and upholding of tenets prescribed in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which provides for all of outer space, including the Geostationary orbit, as the province of all mankind, to be used for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development.2 On the backbone of ‘connecting the world’ is the scarce resource, spectrum, which is managed and allocated to states by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The demand for radio-based applications has been growing in line with the increasing mobility across the globe. Radio spectrum is a major global asset contributing substantial value to economies of states, whether big or small, and underlines critical aspects of their citizens’ lives. Radio communications is critical to areas such as air travel, emergency services, telecommunications, sound and television broadcasting, military defence, space research and other scientific activities Spectrum plays a very critical role in the economic development of any society as it brings connectivity, it even plays a critical role in developing economies as it serves in bridging the existing “digital divide”. However, this precious commodity is a scarce resource, the available radio spectrum is limited.4 The rapidly changing environment of electronic communications, impressive technological progress, convergence and changing habits of end-users’ consumption is creating pressure for existent spectrum as well as its regulation and management. This has necessitated the need for managing a new, previously unused, international resource – the satellite spectrum/orbit., which is becoming increasingly crowded. At the same time, the increasing use of lower Earth orbits is further increasing the need for international coordination. ITU plays a crucial role in ensuring that operators’ multimillion dollar satellite systems operate smoothly throughout their lifetimes, delivering services to billions of people without interfering with each other. The space-faring states are demanding more spectrum as they increase activities in outer space due to technological advancements, however, at what cost to the non-space faring states. At the same time the ITU is burdened with the responsibility of trying to harmonise the use of spectrum bands across the globe between the space-faring and upcoming non-space faring states, mainly the developing countries. The objective of this research is to ascertain whether, given the rapid technological changes being experienced across the globe, the ITU is still sufficient in its current state, to adequately manage and regulate the allocation of spectrum to all states, maintaining the true spirit of the principle of ‘province of all mankind’. Bearing in mind the ever increasing demands of advanced economies over the gradually increasing demands of developing economies and the concept of geostationary orbit being for the benefit of all countries irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development. countries’. It is against this background that this thesis seeks to address the following question “The role of the International Telecommunications Union in Outer Space Spectrum management with respect to developing nations”. The author will tackle this research through a quantitative lens, making use of the desktop methodology because of the nature of the research topic. A significant amount of reading will need to be done around the legal framework governing the ITU with regards to space technology. This thesis is mainly based on secondary data, retrieved from official documents, reports, news articles, academic papers and books. The research will take upon the characteristics of being critical to current legislative frameworks as well as the role of the ITU in the management and allocation of spectrum. It will be essential for the author to look at the historical legislature and how it has gradually progressed into what is currently obtaining. The thesis will take a critical approach in order to interrogate the relevance of the ITU in today’s modern era in light of the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty and the various ITU regulations particularly the ITU Convention; ITU Constitution and the ITU Radio Regulations in spectrum management and allocation including the position of developing states.