The New International Telecommunication Regulations and the Internet [recurso electrónico] A Commentary and Legislative History

This book provides a clear and thorough account of the process leading up to the revision of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) one of the four treaties administered by the ITU. The author’s inside view of the events and his legal analysis of the new ITRs, are different from that what has been aired in most other accounts to date. His systematic approach shows how much of the criticism of the WCIT-12 process and of the ITRs themselves, is unjustified. This book provides the most accurate view to date of what the ITRs really mean and of what really happened at WCIT-12, which was undoubtedly a key event in the history of telecommunication policy and which is likely to have significant long-term effects. The book covers in some detail the events leading to the non-signature of the treaty by a significant number of states, outlines possible consequences of that split between states, and offers possible ways forward. The book includes a detailed article-by-article analysis of the new ITRs, explaining their implications and concludes with recommendations for national authorities. It concludes with an analysis of events from the point of view of dispute resolution theory, offering suggestions for how to avoid divisive outcomes in the future. "This is an excellent book, and quite rich and comprehensive. The topic is important and the book will surely be of interest to regulators, diplomats, policy experts, and all those who participated in WCIT. The author is uniquely qualified to write an analysis of the new ITRs and an account of the Conference. This book will be a good reference for the next Plenipotentiary Conference to be held in 2014 which is going to discuss follow-up to WCIT-12." Naser al-Rashedi, United Arab Emirates. "This is an authoritative expert account of a moment of high significance for vital issues with respect to international networks." Professor Dan Schiller, University of Illinois. "This is an excellent and timely work." Professor Ian Walden, Queen Mary, University of London. "Interested persons, businesses and governments can draw their policies from the assessments of a telecommunications insider as presented in this book. The manifold arguments enlightening the interpretation of the provisions of the ITRs might become an invaluable guidance for those who apply the ITRs in the future." Professor Dr. Rolf H. Weber, University of Zurich. The New International Telecommunication Regulations and the Internet:A Commentary and Legislative History 6 Richard Hill 7 Acknowledgments 9 Citations 9 Table of Contents 10 Foreword 12 Introduction 14 CHAPTER 1 19 History 19 The Convention of 1865 19 Subsequent Instruments 21 CHAPTER 2 24 The 1988 International Telecommunication Regulations 24 Contemporaneous Comments 26 Actual Effects, Relation to WTO 27 International Internet Interconnection 32 CHAPTER 3 34 The Path to Revision 34 A Brief Introduction to ITU 35 The Evolving Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Environment 36 Discussions on the ITRs from 1998 to 2006 40 Discussions on the ITRs from 2006 to 2010 41 Discussions on the ITRs from 2011 to 2012 45 The Internet Governance Issue 52 The Transparency Issue 65 CHAPTER 4 69 What Happened at WCIT 69 Conference Structure and Work 71 Analysis of the Compromise Text 74 Impact of the Media Campaign 81 Was WCIT-12 a Success or a Failure? 83 CHAPTER 5 85 Overall Analysis of the 2012 treaty 85 Content of the 2012 ITRs 85 Criticism of the 2012 ITRs 86 Analysis of the Criticism 87 Summary 95 Legal Status of the ITRs and Obligations of Member States 98 CHAPTER 6 101 Article-by-Article Commentary 101 Preamble 102 Article 1: Purpose and Scope of the Regulations 103 Article 2: Definitions 109 Article 3: International Network 111 Article 4: International Telecommunication Services 114 Article 5: Safety of life and priority of telecommunications 117 Article 6: Security and robustness of networks 119 Article 7: Unsolicited bulk electronic communications 120 Article 86: Charging and accounting 120 Article 97: Suspension of services 125 Article 108: Dissemination of information 126 Article 11: Energy efficiency/e-waste 127 Article 12: Accessibility 127 Article 139: Special arrangements 128 Article 1410: Final provisions 130 Appendix 1: General provisions concerning accounting 131 Appendix 23: Additional provisions relating to maritime communications 136 Declarations and Reservations 138 Diverging Interpretation and Resolution of Disputes 140 CHAPTER 7 141 Resolutions 141 Resolution 1: Special measures for landlocked developing countries and small island developing states for access to international optical fibre networks 141 Resolution 2: Globally harmonized national number for access to emergency services 144 Resolution 3: To foster an enabling environment for the greater growth of the Internet 145 Resolution 4: Periodic review of the International Telecommunication Regulations 147 Resolution 5: International telecommunication service traffic termination and exchange 149 CHAPTER 8 156 Conclusions and Implications for National Legislators and Regulators 156 Possible actions to consider 158 POSTSCRIPT 161 WCIT Analysed According to Dispute Resolution Theory 161 References 165 Index 186 Front Matter....Pages i-xvii History....Pages 1-5 The 1988 International Telecommunication Regulations....Pages 7-16 The Path to Revision....Pages 17-51 What Happened at WCIT....Pages 53-68 Overall Analysis of the 2012 treaty....Pages 69-84 Article-by-Article Commentary....Pages 85-124 Resolutions....Pages 125-139 Conclusions and Implications for National Legislators and Regulators....Pages 141-145 Back Matter....Pages 147-179 This book examines the new International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) treaty. It covers the events leading to the non-signature of the treaty by a number of states, outlines possible consequences of that split and offers possible ways forward