WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/W/110/Add.2
15 June 1999
(99-2407)
Council for Trade in Services
Special Session on Telecommunications ServicesOriginal:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES
Official Sources of United States Technical Assistance in the Telecommunications Sector
Addendum
1. The successful conclusion of the agreement on basic telecommunications can be attributed in
large part to multilateral recognition that liberalization of trade and investment in this sector promotes
economic development.  The United States has found that its relevant public sector institutions attract
significant attention and requests for assistance from governments seeking to implement reforms andto realize the economic benefits of telecommunications liberalization.  A summary of some recent
U.S. assistance activities, listed by sponsoring agency, is provided below.  Related assistance
activities (e.g., spectrum management training) are coordinated among concerned agencies.
Additional agency activities, not listed below, are undertaken by the United States Information
Agency (e.g., the international visitors program) and the Trade and Development Administration.  TheUnited States welcomes and encourages interest in all these programs, which it continues to develop
and improve.
2. In addition, the United States (government and industry alike)  is an active participant in
activities of Bureau for Telecommunications Deve lopment of the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU-D).  Through participation in the Poli cy and Technical Study Groups of the ITU-D, the
United States aims to help identify the needs of developing countries and to work with them in critical
areas such as privatization, liberalization, the intr oduction of new technologies and services such as
GMPCS, the promotion of infrastructure and use of  the Internet, and creating a favorable climate for
investment.
A. A
GENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Contact information :
Mr. Wade Warren
United States Agency for International Development
USAID/AFR/FA 4.07.32
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20523
Tel: 1-202-712-5665
Fax: 1-202-216-3233
E-mail: WWarren@usaid.gov
3. The United States Agency for Intern ational Development (USAID) undertakes
telecommunications technical assistance efforts world-wide.  One focus of activity has been USAID’s
Southern Africa Regional Telecommunications Re structuring Program (RTRP).  The RTRP is a
five-year sector development program of the Southern Africa Transport and CommunicationsS/C/W/110/Add.2
Page 2
Commission (SATCC) funded by USAID.  The RTRP  promotes economic development in Southern
Africa through improved telecommunications.  Below is a list of the RTRP components that directly
target capacity building and process improvement in Southern Africa's regulatory structures, including
both national regulatory institutions and regional organizations and associations.
Conferences and Workshops :  Over the last four years, the RTRP has held annual regional
conferences on regulatory topics, examining issues such as interconnection, access charges, tariffs,
and the impact of new technologies and service-delivery mechanisms.
Professional Development :  Over the last four years, the RTRP has organized and funded short-term,
U.S.-based education programs for Southern Af rican telecommunications professionals.  These
programs occur several times a year, last approximately four weeks, and give African regulators the
opportunity to learn first-hand from the experiences of the Federal Communications Commission andstate regulatory agencies.
Technical Advisors :  The RTRP has placed technical advisors on short- and long-term assignment at
telecommunications regulatory bodies in Southern Africa.  These advisors help African regulators
develop strategic and professional development plans and help establish practices and policies forinterconnection, spectrum management, type approval, license processing, and performance
monitoring.  In 1998, advisors were provided to Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa,
Swaziland, and Tanzania.
Assistance with Legislative Reform :  The RTRP has helped SATCC develop a telecommunications
law that has served as a model to countries in the region as they attempt to reform their national
telecommunications sectors and bring their national legislative framework into conformity with
regional norms.
Regulators Association :  The RTRP helped establish the Telecommunications Regulators’
Association of Southern Africa (TRASA), a regional body designed to build regulatory capacity in the
region and ensure uniformity of regulation and coordinated action among regulators.  The RTRP
drafted TRASA’s charter and provides on-going assistance for its meetings and deliberations.
Policy Analysis :  At the request of SATCC, the RTRP has prepared detailed policy analysis and
recommendations documents to assist Southern African regulators on three complex issues:
interconnection, tariff rebalancing, and universal service.
B. F
EDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Contact information :
Ms. Celeste McCray
Director
International Visitors Program
International Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
Tel: 1-202-418-2117
Fax: 1-202-418-0398
E-mail: CMcCray@fcc.gov
Visitors program:   The FCC International Visitors Program, which hosted 300 visitors in 1994
through 1995, has witnessed a welcome surge in interest.  In 1996, the FCC hosted 785 visitors fromS/C/W/110/Add.2
Page 3
84 countries; in 1997, 833 visitors from 89 countries; and, in 1998, 890 visitors from 102 countries.
The Program schedules meetings with FCC staff experts based on visitors’ expressed interests.
Regulatory reform workshops:  In 1998, the FCC took new steps to respond to the growth in technical
assistance requests arising from the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement.  The FCCconducted five workshops for 44 representatives of 41 nations, with assistance from the Departments
of Commerce and State.  Topics included independent regulation, interconnection policies, spectrum
management, licensing in competitive markets, satellite policy, equipment certification and Year-2000
policies.
Other activities:  Other FCC efforts to support telecommunications sector needs of developing
countries have included:
– the sponsorship of technical training courses for visiting scholars at the U.S.
Telecommunications Training Institute (see below);
– active participation in the regulator/industry effort world-wide to create procedures to
facilitate global roaming of terminal equipment (handsets) for the new satellite-based Global
Mobile Personal Communication Services (GMPCS);  and
– the publication of an equipment certification handbook in response to requests from new
market economies.
C. U
NITED STATES TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRAINING INSTITUTE
Contact information :
United States Telecommunications Training Institute
1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 702
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: 1-202-785-7373
Fax: 1-202-785-1930
E-mail: train@ustti.org
4. The United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), established in 1982, is a
non-profit educational institution funded by United States government and industry.  Its Board of
Directors includes representatives from the Depa rtments of Commerce and State and the Federal
Communications Commission.  Its curriculum includes more than 100 courses fortelecommunications professionals, taught by USTTI,  U.S. government and industry officials.  With
the advent of the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement, USTTI has incorporated more
regulatory reform policy components into its t echnical curriculum.  Approximately one-fifth of
USTTI’s training courses include segments on regulatory reform implications of the WTO Basic
Telecommunications Agreement, including instruction on latest developments in telecommunicationslaw and regulation.
FCC regulatory reform workshops : USTTI hosted two regulatory reform workshops in cooperation
with the FCC in 1998, which focused on the de velopment of an independent regulator and
implementation of WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement commitments.  Twenty-six
individuals from fourteen developing countries participated.S/C/W/110/Add.2
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Satellite policy workshops : USTTI hosted a Global Satellite Telecommunications Workshop for nine
senior developing country officials in 1998, with  cooperation from the FCC, focusing on satellite
regulatory issues arising from WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement commitments.
D. NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION AND USTTI
Contact information :
Mr. Frederick Matos
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Room 4099
14th Street & Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230
Tel: 1-202-482-6493
Fax: 1-202-482-4396
E-mail: FMatos@ntia.doc.gov
5. The National Telecommunications and Informati on Administration (NTIA) of the Department
of Commerce provides formal spectrum management training to regulators and policymakers from
developing nations.  The NTIA spectrum management seminar, offered  through USTTI, introduces
USTTI trainees to emerging new wireless technologies. These technologies can be the basis of
developing new telecommunications infrastructures.  The spectrum management seminar is a jointgovernment and private industry cooperative effort.
6. In addition, NTIA has conducted spectrum management seminars and consultations in many
nations, including Poland, Romania, Venezuela, Nicaragua, China, Thailand, and Panama.
Regulatory reform and modernization is a major component of these seminars and consultations.
E. U.S. D
EPARTMENT OF STATE
Contact information :
Ms. Doreen F. McGirr,
Program Director
ITU Development Sector
EB/CIP, Room 4826
International Communications & Information PolicyU.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.   20520
Tel: 1-202-647-0201
Fax: 1-202-647-7407E-mail: mcgirrdf@state.gov
7. The Office of International Communications & In formation Policy of the U.S. Department of
State conducts and participates in numerous activities providing help and support to other countries
involving technical telecommunications issues.
Spectrum management seminars :  The State Department has sponsored two spectrum management
seminars and has a third one planned for the parties to the Middle East Peace Process.  The seminars
have focused on the following: 1) coordination with neighbouring jurisdictions of radio frequency
usage near borders that could cause or receive harmful interference; 2) cooperation betweenS/C/W/110/Add.2
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jurisdictions to eliminate harmful interference once it occurs; and 3) negotiation of agreements with
neighbouring jurisdictions on compatible use of the radio spectrum including cross-border service for
cellular, PCS and paging.
Internet for Economic Development initiative:   The State Department has been charged with
coordination of a Presidential initiative, “Internet for Economic Development.”  This program will
seek to accelerate the spread of the Internet and its applications (such as electronic commerce) in
developing countries.  The interagency committee working on design and implementation of the
program has selected a dozen pilot countries and is undertaking discussions with these countries and
their resident U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) missions on possible activities.  This
effort builds on experiences under AID’s Leland Initiative, which since 1996 has been bringing the
Internet to a select group of African countries.
8. The new program will have four main components:  1) policy reforms to promote a
pro-competitive environment for Internet services, 2) limited infrastructure assistance, 3) training, and
4) demonstrations of Internet applications most likely to spur economic development.  At present,
most programs will begin with existing AID funding, but partnerships with the World Bank, and theUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other multilateral institutions are being explored,
as are partnerships with the private sector.
Sponsorship of Telecommunications Training for Senior Officials of Developing Countries:   The State
Department has worked closely with AID and with  its embassies abroad to promote, sponsor and
obtain funding for telecommunications training for senior foreign officials.  Many officials fromCentral and Eastern Europe and from the New Indepe ndent States of the former Soviet Union have
received training in the United States on privatization, competition, regulatory restructuring, and
spectrum management from experts in the Government and private industry.
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