ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING

KUALA LUMPUR – The Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) have decided to formalize their collaboration to resolve issues related to spectrum allocation and protection.

APT secretary-general Toshiyuki Yamada and ABU secretary- general David Astley last January signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to resolve issues at the regional level first before presenting these to the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The APT is a regional organization of telecommunications players, including regulatory bodies and the private sector. It was set up under a joint initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific (UNESCAP) and ITU.

The ABU, on the other hand, is a regional group of broadcasters.

“The two organisations have been working in the field of frequency spectrum regulation since1995 and this relationship will further be enhanced as a resultof the MOU,” ABU Technical Department director Sharad Sadhu told APB.

The ABU said the two organisations are scheduling meetings preparatory to the World Radiocommunication Conference scheduled in 2011 (WRC-11), whose agenda includes the allocation of spectrum, the hamonisation of spectrum services and the protection of the spectrum for those currently offering services.

Collaborating at the regional level has helped the two groups resolves pass issues, such as the threat of new satellite TV broadcast services. At WRC 2007, this issue was resolved and the TV broadcasting spectrum was protected. The WRC is held every two to four years and discussions at the regional level are done prior to the conference.

With the MOU, the APT and the ABU agreed to be members of each other’s group to enable both to participate in meetings and projects to resolve issues that affect broadcasters and the telecommunications sector inthe region.

Astley said: “The MOU builds upon the ongoing relationship that the ABU has with the APT on matters of mutual interest. Both organisations will now be able to work more productively to address spectrum issues that relate to the broadcast industryin this region. “This will benefit the broadcasters and help their efforts atthe ITU. We are happy to have the APT as an Institutional Member of the ABU,” he said.

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