Concerns Linger for Spectrum Coordination, Transparency in WMO Group
GENEVA -- A new chairman of the World Meteorological Organization steering group on radio spectrum coordination, plus improved funding, have not quelled concerns after the secretariat suggested substantive redactions to a January meeting report and the introduction of a username and password system that significantly reduces transparency in the U.N. agency. A group of about 30 countries raised concerns about the secretariat’s decision-making to boost the organization’s role in the international radio frequency process (CD May 23 p8).
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The secretariat’s plan to reduce funding for the group led to worries, said Markus Dreis, a core member of the steering group from Eumetsat, an intergovernmental organization of 26 countries for the exploitation of meteorological satellites. The former chairman resigned at a January meeting over an “obvious lack of support and understanding” of radio-frequency matters by “WMO staff” that was putting the group’s work in “jeopardy,” said the restricted “final report” we obtained.
The “minutes” of the January meeting “are still being finalized,” said Jose Arimatea de Sousa Brito, the new chairman, in response to a complaint about the new username and password system that restricted access to the concerns in the meeting report. He is with Brazil’s national meteroological institute. The secretariat, in suggested revisions, deleted much of the criticism, a participant said. Meeting documents had for years been publicly available. The majority of documents relevant to meetings in January and October are now restricted.
The meeting report was restricted under a username and password system introduced just before the January meeting. Five officials in the group who were interviewed for this story didn’t know who proposed or approved the new system. The WMO appears to be implementing a username and password system similar to ITU, said Stephen Bond, a senior advisory for international policy at Ofcom U.K. Bond said he was not directly involved in the work and was not familiar with WMO procedures.
The meeting report said WMO steering group participants felt the organization’s staff “had a total lack of understanding … about the importance of radio-frequency matters,” related activities and future “serious threats” to the meteorological community, the restricted report said. ITU-R participants in many radio services have raised concerns with the push to identify more spectrum for mobile broadband at WRC-15. The NTIA had suggested a fast track approach could be used for converting certain frequencies used by meteorological services to broadband use.
A WMO press official, and other officials in the steering group and the director’s office dealing with information systems, did not respond to a query about who was responsible for approving and implementing the system. One steering group participant told us the move to reduce access to the group’s documentation was “unfortunate.” He did not want to be named because the mood in the group earlier this year had been “unpleasant.” A U.S. Department of Commerce official declined a request for information about the group’s working methods.
The report said steering group members countered the assertion of the director of WMO Observing and Information Systems that spectrum matters should be represented in ITU-R by member governments as part of their national delegations. Members of national delegations “are not entitled to represent WMO positions and speak against their national positions,” it said. A distinct representation of WMO is essential, it said. The WMO has since hired a former Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) counselor for science services under a contract through June, a spokesman said. David Thomas this month presented WMO’s position at a WRC-12 information meeting.
Wenjian Zhang, the director of WMO Observing and Information Systems, made an internal “proposal” to establish a “secretariat coordination group” on radio frequency coordination matters, the report said. It called for assisting the relevant WMO bodies to develop a strategy on radio frequency (RF) matters, offer “secretariat collective support” to WMO constituent groups for preparing reports and documents, coordinate secretariat support to spur members’ “continuous coordination on RF matters” with their national authorities, and “promote and manage the trust fund.” Steering group members said the group already handles internal WMO coordination as long as a level of funding is provided to ensure a sufficient number of meetings, the report said.
A “minimum of funds” is needed for “representation” during frequency management preparations at the regional level and the ITU, said Dreis. Funding has recently been adjusted and “is back on track,” Dreis said. The contract hiring of former BR counselor Alexander Vassiliev “shows that WMO has understood that they have to put certain effort and human resources into this group,” Dreis said. It appears WMO implementation of a similar username and password system may have something to do with the hiring former BR staff, Bond said.
The lack of transparency in the WMO group “may be linked to commercial interests,” said a high-ranking Brazilian official who is familiar with working methods at U.N. agencies in Geneva but who did not want to be named. The WMO move “goes against the trend” in Brazil, he said. The Brazilian government is doing a major review of legislation with a view to “drastically increasing transparency” in public affairs, he said.