The 2022 Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union
Lead Instructor: Jennifer Manner, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Echostar Corporation, and co-chair of the Commerce Dept. Spectrum Management Advisory Committee.
This course will provide an overview of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), describe the role of the ITU’s Constitutional Conference known as the Plenipotentiary Conference in general, and discuss the issues before the upcoming 2022 Plenipotentiary Conference. The course will begin with a short overview of the ITU, its history, its mission, and what it looks like today. This includes a description of membership roles, organizational structure and why it is important, key issues the ITU is facing, how the ITU has continued to thrive for over 160 years, and how it operates vis-à-vis other international organizations. This is followed by an overview of the Plenipotentiary Conference, which is the Constitutional Conference that is held every four years. This course then focuses on the 2022 Conference, including its elections and the issues will likely arise including cyber security and internet governance. Finally, the course provide a more detailed explanation the three sectors and their regular conferences: (i) the Development sector, (ii) the Telecommunications sector, and (iii) and the Radiocommunications sectors. There will be detailed case studies associated with each sector. Finally, the course will conclude with a short summary of where things are going in the future.
- This course is intended for people who wish to understand the upcoming ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference. It will be accessible to those with little prior knowledge of the ITU or the role of its
Plenipotentiary, but after the introductory sections of the course, will delve into material that
may interest those with greater knowledge. - Upon completing the course, participants will have greater understanding of a variety of the
Plenipotentiary in general, of the upcoming Plenipotentiary in particular, and of the workings of
the ITU. - No prior knowledge of the ITU or the Plenipotentiary Conference are assumed. We only assume
that participants are generally conversant in the kinds of telecommunications policy issues that
might come before the ITU.