The ITU Regional Radiocommunication Conference

A treaty agreement is expected to be signed on 16 June, at the conclusion of ITU’s Regional Radiocommunication Conference (RRC-06) in Geneva, heralding the development of ‘all-digital’ terrestrial broadcast services for sound and television.

The State Secretary for Transport Dražen Breglec, will be signing the agreement in the name of the Republic of Croatia. This will confirm the all the good results Croatia has achieved in the area of digital radiocommunication.

The digitalization of broadcasting in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Islamic Republic of Iran by 2015 represents a major landmark towards establishing a more equitable, just and people-centred Information Society. The digital switchover will leapfrog existing technologies to connect the unconnected in underserved and remote communities and close the digital divide.

"The most important achievement of the Conference," remarked Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of ITU, "is that the new digital Plan provides not only new possibilities for structured development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but also sufficient flexibilities for adaptation to the changing telecommunication environment."

The agreement reached at RRC-06 paves the way for utilizing the full potential of information and communication technologies to achieve the internationally recognized development goals. The date of transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting in the year 2015 is intended to coincide with the targets set by the Millennium Development Goals.

The regional agreement for digital services has been reached in the frequency bands 174 - 230 MHz and 470 - 862 MHz. It marks the beginning of the end of analogue broadcasting.

The Conference confirms that the transition period from analogue to digital broadcasting, which begins at 0001 UTC 17 June 2006, should end on 17 June 2015, but some countries preferred an additional five-year extension for the VHF band (174-230 MHz).

The Regional Radiocommunication Conference is chaired by Mr Kavouss Arasteh of the Islamic Republic of Iran.