Declaration of San José

The representatives of the telecommunications administrations of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), at the Fourth Regular Meeting of the Assembly of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), held in San José, Costa Rica, February 20-23, 2006,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:

That implementation of the telecommunication-related mandates of the Summits of the Americas and of the Agenda of Connectivity for the Americas is moving forward satisfactorily through the efforts of member states, in collaboration with the private sector and civil society;

That at the World Summit on the Information Society, world leaders declared their common intent “to build a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge,” and, in particular, paragraph 21, which states that “Connectivity is a central enabling agent in building the Information Society. Universal, ubiquitous, equitable and affordable access to ICT infrastructure and services, constitutes one of the challenges of the Information Society and should be an objective of all stakeholders involved in building it.”;

RECOGNIZING:

That telecommunications, and especially connectivity, has a strategic and vital part to play in political, economic, social, and cultural development as an activity in and of itself and as a vehicle and support for other industries and sectors, and that it plays an important part in, inter alia, achieving greater inclusion and societal welfare;

That technological convergence and new technologies are creating new opportunities for the sector, through the advantages and opportunities they provide not only to developing and developed countries but also between urban and rural areas of the countries themselves. However, their implementation may pose a major challenge to some developing economies owing to their limited telecommunications infrastructure. This in turn widens the divide between those who "have" and those who "have no" access to the opportunities afforded by information and communication technologies (ICTs);

That if the region is to be successfully incorporated into the Information Society, coordination of positions must be effected among the different stakeholders, governments, the private sector, and civil society;

That the development and implementation of next generation networks continues to require investment by both operators and equipment manufacturers, and that this matter is a priority in generating growth and employment;

That telecommunication infrastructure provides the means and links necessary for disaster prevention and mitigation and improves relief operations, and is needed still more by people who live in extreme poverty and/or who are without access to basic communications facilities that would enable them to receive disaster alerts;

That technological advances have led to extensive development of wireless communications, which are an important means to provide basic and advanced services. At the same time, they are spurring steep growth in demand for radio frequencies, and creating demand for transparency in frequency allocations and for efficient spectrum use, as well as a need for harmonized network deployment that takes account of environmental protection and public health,

DECLARE:

Our commitment to advance toward an equitable Information Society that includes all societal sectors, based on the universal principle of effective access to information and optimal use of the population’s skills;

Our conviction that the development of information technology infrastructure and effective and universal access to telecommunications must remain of the highest priority for all countries;

Our commitment to achieving economic growth and Information Society integration targets based on a regional model that affords real opportunities for social inclusion;

WE AGREE:

To make recommendations, through CITEL, for the establishment of policies and regulations that promote technological innovation, market development, telecommunication infrastructure expansion, and the promotion and development of sustainable medium and long-term applications, e-commerce, network security, and provision of government service applications;

To promote equitable and affordable access to innovative and continuous services, taking account of the impact of technological convergence;

To recommend that the member states adopt public policies and an appropriate regulatory framework to promote universal access, reduction of the digital divide, social integration, and the introduction of new services and technologies. To that end, they will facilitate productive investment and will carry out actions aimed at promoting infrastructure development, especially in rural and remote areas, which would have positive impact on the growth of small and medium-scale businesses located within and outside urban centers and on generating wealth and employment and, in general, on the economic growth of the region;

To accord priority to implementation of the second phase of the Agenda for Connectivity and Plan of Action of Quito in accordance with the principles of equity, solidarity, and universality, with the aim of achieving access by all citizens to information infrastructure, creating online communities in the areas of education, health, business, and government, and promoting job creation and economic development, especially of small and medium-scale businesses, commerce and services, tourism, the agricultural and export sectors, culture, and recreation;

To continue implementing the telecommunication-related commitments of the Summits of the Americas and to promote and disseminate implementation of the recommendations of CITEL in accordance with the national legislation of the member states;

Through CITEL, to continue and step up cooperation among member states, seeking the exchange of knowledge, identification of best practices and experiences, and implementation of other activities in close coordination with the Associate Members;

To promote broadband access and deployment at affordable prices so as to implement processes of social inclusion, improve the competitiveness of the productive sector, and generate the development of new businesses;

To develop policies and regulatory frameworks intended to promote the development in the member states of satellite technology and its applications, fundamentally in areas where terrestrial infrastructure is not economically feasible;

To strengthen the CITEL telecommunication human resource training program in coordination with CITEL’s Regional Training Centers, the Center of Excellence for the Americas region of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the private sector, regional and subregional organizations, and other civil society entities;

To develop strategies for reducing the vulnerability to natural disasters of telecommunication infrastructure and to promote the use of all types and media of communications that may contribute to access to communications in case of disaster. The member states are urged to accede to the Inter-American Convention on an International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP) and its Protocol of Amendment;

To promote the establishment of legal bases designed to strengthen confidence in and the confidentiality of communications, permit the ongoing growth of infrastructure, and combat the use of ICTs for criminal ends, thereby creating a culture of cybersecurity that ensues from the OAS cybersecurity strategy;

To adopt transparent and nondiscriminatory spectrum management policies and to establish mechanisms to achieve effective and efficient spectrum planning, management, allocation, and assignment and the technical monitoring of emissions, in accordance with national regulations, taking particular account of the convergence of services, in accordance with the recommendations of CITEL and the provisions of the ITU and World Health Organization (WHO);

To strengthen coordination and cooperation with other international telecommunication bodies and financial institutions in designing efficient and sustainable development programs, taking into account of the need to attract investment;

To foster coordination with other international and regional organizations, recognizing the central part played by CITEL in its capacity as the region’s leading telecommunication organization, in which the public and private sectors and other telecommunication organizations participate; to reaffirm the need to strengthen it, bearing in mind its recent achievements, so that it obtains in a timely manner the resources it needs for effective implementation of its mandates, thereby fulfilling the role assigned to it, and

To present this declaration to other regional and international forums for their information.

In witness whereof, the delegates of the member states participating in the Fourth Regular Meeting of the Assembly of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission hereby adopt this Declaration in the city of San José, Costa Rica, on the twenty-third day of February 2006.

CHAIR OF THE ASSEMBLY