[governance] ITU definition of "telecommunication" and importance of "Best Bits"

[Norbert Bollow]

Dear all,

FWIW, I've submitted some comments to the ITU consultation on the ITRs
(in my own name, identifying myself simply as a Civil Society person in
Switzerland); these are already online at
http://www.itu.int/ml/lists/nomenu/arc/wcit-public/2012-08/msg00002.html

My main point is about "clarifying" that the ITRs apply only to
classical telecommunication services (including the cases when
classical telecommunication services are provided over the Internet, or
when Internet access is provided via a variant of classical
telecommunication services, as is the case e.g. with DSL services) but
not including ICTs and the Internet in general.

This is the interpretation of e.g. the Swiss government of the current
ITRs text, even if it is in my view not really justifiable on the basis
of what that text actually says. Many of the proposed modifications
would make that interpretation even harder to sustain.

In my opinion, if the ITRs get changed at all, clarifying this
definition and thereby limiting the scope of the IRTs is really
important. If the ITRs are not changed, you can argue that the meaning
of the definition is what it meant when that version of the ITRs was
adopted, and you can (somewhat weakly) argue that this excludes the
Internet. But if the same old definition text is in a version of the
ITRs that are adopted now, the meaning of the definition is the meaning
of the words of the definition in todays's world, making it even
harder to argue that this does not include in Internet as a whole.

I think that it is very important to create a powerful, internationally
coordinated demand of civil society for getting the definition of
"telecommunication" clarified in a way that does not include the
Internet and ICTs in general.

The best opportunity to build an international movement with the power
to protect the future of the Internet, civil liberties in information
society, etc., is probably the "Best Bits" meeting in Baku on the
weekend before the IGF, which Jeremy just pre-announced. I would
suggest to everyone here to make that event a personal priority. I
certainly will. 

Greetings,
Norbert

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