The World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12) ran from 3 to 14 December, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and concluded on 14 December. The WCIT-12 is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for telecommunications and the information society.
This conference was focused on conducting a review of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR), which is an international treaty adopted in 1988 and ratified by 178 member states. The regulation sets out the way international telecommunications services are agreed between operators and service providers.
Given the significant evolution seen in international telecommunications since 1988, a review of the ITR became a matter of some urgency and a process that has been ongoing at the ITU. The review was completed during WCIT-12.
However, the fundamental differences that have marked the entire review process resulted in a final text that is not in line with decisions at European Union (EU) level and that is considered by many countries as going beyond the ITU's mandate.
As such, Portugal and other EU countries, as well as other developed countries, did not sign the Final Acts of the conference, while reserving the right to sign the treaty at a future date after consulting on its content with their respective governments and other relevant stakeholders.
Further information:
- Final Acts - World Conference on Internacional Telecommunications (Dubai, 2012) http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Documents/final-acts-wcit-12.pdf
- World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Pages/default.aspx
