Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

History

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) traces its origins to the creation of the Pacific Cable Board in 1901. In 1896, The Pacific Cable Committee had been formed to consider how the last element of a global electrical telegraph network connecting all parts of what was then the British Empire could be completed across the Pacific. By 1872, messages had been able to be sent from London to Adelaide or Sydney, and Australia had been linked to New Zealand by cable in 1876, but there was no connection across the Pacific to the west coast of Canada. Following the Committee’s deliberations, a Pacific Cable Board was created in 1901 consisting of eight members (three from Britain, two from Canada, two from Australia and one from New Zealand), and work commenced on laying the cable in 1902.

Subsequently, in 1928 the Imperial Communications Advisory Committee was formed to advise the British government on technical as well as international and Commonwealth issues. Chaired by a Cabinet Minister, it comprised members of the defence services, the Post Office and the Commonwealth. In 1944 this committee became renamed the Commonwealth Communications Council, and in 1949 it became the Commonwealth Telecommunications Board.This coincided with the London Declaration of 1949 which paved the way for a new kind of Commonwealth, based upon membership of the newly independent countries that had once been part of the British Empire.

Subsequent changes in the central organisation for the Commonwealth’s telecommunications sector closely reflected the growth and change of both the Commonwealth and also the telecommunications industry over the next fifty years. In 1965 an important Commonwealth Telecommunications Conference was held in London, which reconvened in 1966 and recommended that a new Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) should be established, consisting of a Council composed of members of partner governments and a bureau based in London under the control and direction of the Council.

The first meeting of the CTO’s Council took place in 1967, and in 1968 the Commonwealth Telecommunications Act repealed the provisions relating to the Commonwealth Telecommunications Board, replacing these with provision for a new legal entity to be known as the Commonwealth Telecommunications Bureau which took over the old Board’s functions in 1969. In the same year a Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Financial Agreement was put in place to provide a new unified accounting mechanism for the organisation, and this was superseded by new agreements in 1973 and in1983.

At its annual conference in 1992, member governments agreed to Council’s proposal that the scope of the organisation’s Programme for Development and Training (PDT) should be expanded, while terminating the CTO’s preferential adjustments under the Commonwealth Accounting Arrangements. Funding thereafter became a central issue of concern, and during the mid-1990s Australia and New Zealand widthrew from the organisation largely because of their concerns over proposals for financial contributions, with Canada subsequently withdrawing in 2001. In its modern form, the CTO has therefore existed since 1967 as an international treaty organisation, independent of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and with diplomatic status in its host country, the UK. Its constitution was first agreed by Commonwealth Governments in Ottawa in 1972, and has been revised subsequently on various occasions. The current Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the CTO came into force in 2002. The CTO is currently governed by its Council, with an Executive Committee overseeing the activities of the Secretariat between Council meetings. Formerly based in central London, its offices are now located to the west of the city in Hammersmith.

Strategic Plan

The CTO is an international organisation committed to supporting its members in using information and communication technologies (ICTs) appropriately and effectively for development (ICT4D). During the Strategic Plan period (2012/13 – 2015/16) the CTO’s activities will be focused around delivering five main interlinked outputs: Vibrant CTO membership committed to its vision Enhanced ICT4D capacity development amongst members More effective multi-stakeholder ICT4D partnerships operating in Commonwealth countries Greater engagement by the private sector in ICT4D initiatives in Commonwealth countries CTO as thought-leader in 6 niche areas of expertise Underlying all of these, a sixth crucial element of the plan is to have a robust CTO Secretariat capable of delivering transparently and professionally on the needs of its members. The CTO’s six niche areas of focus are:

Broadband, especially mobile broadband for rural development (including food security)

Cybersecurity and cybercrime

ICTs for people with disabilities

Regulatory environments (including convergence and digital broadcasting switchover)

The use of ICTs in education, with particular reference to skills development and entrepreneurship

Youth and ICTs

Governance

The CTO governance is based on:

The Constitution and the Rules of Procedure were adopted in 2002 by the CTO Council while the Ethical Framework was adopted in 2012. At its Council meeting in October 2012 in Mauritius the Council adopted revisions to the Constitution that were recommended to it by a working group of Council members.

Primarily the CTO’s Governance is exercised through four organs:

Council – Consisting of representatives nominated by Full Member Countries, the Council is the highest policy-making body of the CTO. It meets annually to examine the progress of the Organisation and to suggest future programmes. Council elects the Chairperson, the First Vice Chairperson and the Second Vice Chairperson of the CTO who hold office for one year. Executive Committee (ExCo) – Consisting of the Chairperson, the First Vice Chairperson, the Second Vice Chairperson, a Sector member representing the Development Partners, a Sector member representing the Industry Partners, the immediate past Chairperson, the Chairperson of the Programme for Development and Training and the Secretary General, the ExCo oversees the activities of the CTO between Council meetings. Forum – Held annually, immediately preceding the Council meeting, the Forum is the platform for Sector members to examine issues critically important to them. Forum also elects the Sector member representatives to the ExCo. Secretariat – Headed by the Secretary General, the Secretariat is the body that delivers the mandate of the Organisation by implementing the agreed work programme.

Mobile Broadband

The Broadband Commission consisting of ICT sector stakeholders established by UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has set four clear targets for making broadband policy universal and for boosting affordability and broadband uptake:

Given the constraints of existing infrastructures, these ambitious targets can only be achieved through an expansion in the provision of mobile broadband services, in the form of wireless Internet access through a portable or mobile device. For poorer countries, without extensive fixed line infrastructure, mobile broadband technologies are an effective way through which they can achieve the delivery of high-speed Internet access to mass markets, thereby ensuring that their populations can utilise the development benefits of such technologies.

Many companies and organisations have come together to form the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to develop a series of standards that provide the basis of Third Generation (3G) mobile broadband technologies, including EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution), CDMA2000 1X/EVDO (Evolution Data Optimised), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or W-CDMA), UMTS HSPA (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System High Speed Packet Access), and more recently LTE (Long Term Evolution) and 4G.

Mobile Broadband is a key focus of the CTO’s work, due to the potential it has to promote further development across the world; a world in which the uptake of smart phones exceeds that of personal computers in many countries. Smart mobile devices and a multitude of digital applications have enabled users to run their businesses, access financial and health records, conduct research, and complete transactions using their mobile devices. This has also meant a major shift in consumer expectations and requiring manufacturers to adopt new technologies like NFC (Near Field Communications) and to develop handsets continually to meet consumer expectations.

The CTO works with all stakeholders to encourage the rapid and effective roll out of mobile broadband. We place particular emphasis on this because mobile infrastructure and devices have the potential to provide broadband access to as many people as possible in the shortest time. The CTO has a wealth of expertise and experience in this field, and has successfully delivered international conferences, capacity development training programmes and many research projects. The focus of the CTO Forum 2012 in Mauritius, for example, was “Mobile Broadband for Development”, and other events such as the Pacific Broadband Forum, jointly organised by ITU and the CTO in 2012 also addressed this important theme.

In particular, the CTO is especially interested in ways through which mobile broadband can be used to enhance food security at a range of scales, from the national to the local. There are many exciting initiatives, for example, that can enable nomadic pastoralists to gain information about the quality of pasture through mobile sensor networks, or through which sensors can also be used to provide information to farmers about the quality of grain being stored in their granaries. Mobile broadband has huge potential to help communities and countries ensure that they are better prepared to achieve food security.

Cybersecurity and Cyber crime

Growth of connectivity, content and applications in ICT channels make ICTs an integral part of modern society. Consequently, it has become mandatory for ICT stakeholders to work together to assure the safety, security and resilience of these channels. The CTO’s Cybersecurity agenda seeks to assist member countries, with the support of its partners, to design and implement robust Cybersecurity frameworks.

The CTO’s engagement in Cybersecurity started in 2007 when two staff members took part in the High Level Experts Group of ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Agenda. Since then the CTO has contributed to a number of working groups and participated in various initiatives including its partnership with ITU’s cybersecurity executing arm, the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), to pave way for the two organisations to work towards the facilitation of information flow and resources, capacity building and the setting up of robust cybersecurity frameworks for protection against cyber crime. As highlighted by Datuk Mohd. Noor Amin, Chairman of IMPACT, the strategic alliance enables both parties to jointly enhance the global cooperation to combat cyber threats. Professor Unwin, Secretary General of the CTO, was also appointed onto the IMPACT International Advisory Board in September 2012, which further reflects the CTO’s focus on this niche area, and its close working relationship with the ITU. The annual Commonwealth Cybersecurity Forum, organised by the CTO, has been running since 2010, building capacity and facilitating partnerships.

Child Online Protection (COP) is an ITU initiative which was launched following the Global Cybersecurity Agenda which seeks to ensure safety and security for children in online environments in order to afford them an opportunity to benefit fully from the ICT revolution. Tackling Cybersecurity holistically, COP will address legal, technical, organisational and procedural issues as well as capacity building and international cooperation.

The CTO has partnered with the ITU to implement COP in its member countries starting with Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The project, launched in Mauritius on 24 October 2012, will progress through several stages to complete implementation by April 2014.

Regulatory

The CTO is committed to assist members with the development of regulatory strategies, frameworks and roadmaps that provide clear visibility and guidance in each of the above areas, through programmes in research, consulting, capacity development and training, as well as through fora for discussion at regional events and conferences.

CTO's Member

The CTO has two broad categories of members: Countries, and ICT Sector Members. Full Member Countries are member states of the Commonwealth that have given an undertaking to make an annual payment to the CTO; Member countries are all other member states of the Commonwealth. ICT Sector Members pay an annual membership fee and include other government departments or regulators, private sector companies, civil society organisation, international organisations, and other entities that share the CTO’s objectives. Non-Commonwealth countries are welcome to join the CTO as ICT Sector Members. The CTO also has a Programme for Development and Training that has separate membership, and is designed primarily to enable members to participate in each other’s capacity development and training schemes.

Partnership

Commonwealth Organisations

International and Regional Organisations

Private Sector

Civil Society and Not-for-Profit Organisations and Associations

Event

The CTO convenes three main types of events and conferences either by itself or in collaboration with our members and partners:

Research

The CTO’s research and consultancy division undertakes research and consultancy projects for CTO members and non-members.

CTO's areas of expertise for research, studies, consultancies and advisory services, include:

Policy and Regulatory Issues

Rural Connectivity

Innovative Drivers and Trends in the ICT Sector

Activities

The CTO supports its members in delivering effective ICTs through its three operational divisions: research and consultancy; training and capacity development; and events and conferences. CTO's work currently focuses on six key areas: regulatory environments, mobile broadband, cybersecurity, youth and ICTs, skills development and entrepreneurship, and ICTs and disability. The CTO provides IT support and training to developing countries to help them develop their communication infrastructure. According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, CTO has managed over 3,500 bilateral and multilateral telecommunications and ICT capacity-building projects in the form of policy, operational and regulatory training and expert assistance.