Page 1 of 8
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 06
July 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 95
An Appraisal of the Global Legal Regime
of Telecommunications
Dr Muawiya Dahiru Mahmud; Dr Kabiru Garba Muhammad
Lecturers, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto – Nigeria
kaybeedlaw@gmail.com
Abstract
Telecommunication is a dominant global
economic agent. This is what makes it a hot
‘topic’ for both domestic and international
law. At the international level, several
foundation-level actions have occurred
within different stakeholders of the sector
resulting into the creation of central global
body, International Telecommunications
Union (ITU). Correspondingly, the efforts of
the ITU and the United Nations (UN)
resulted into a substantial body of rules that
combined with the provisions of related
treaties giving birth to the current legal
regime. This regime allows international
networks of organizations, corporations and
states to thrive and eventually lead to
liberalization of the sector. This paper
broadened the understanding of the
consequential global regime.
Introduction
The focus of the article is on the existing
framework for the telecommunication and
radio communication at the global level
upon which all other countries draw benefit
from. There is healthy development of
telecommunications sector globally.1 A
1 Report: Global Telecommunications Industry
Revenue to grow at 5.3% annually,
<http://www.rcr.wireless/com/20120105/wirelessrep
pointer to this is the ‘matriculation’ of
breakthrough new telecom products and
services in almost daily bases. This viability
of the sector is not only because the telecom
firms are successful but equally because of
the delicate balance maintained between
global and local regulations. The article
analyses the dynamism of the international
legal regime in the ongoing development of
telecommunications.
Indeed, states have widely different
interpretation on key aspects of the
International Legal Regime of the
Telecommunications. However, the
controversies over regime theories are not
within the purview of the article; let that be
left to the world politics or international
relations in a particular way. What suffices
for the purpose of the article is that there are
some structured “codes of conduct” agreed
upon to govern the telecommunications
sector and had remained in the mainstream
of telecommunications development. These
are conventions and treaties that reflect the
commitment of member or signatory states
in seeing the improvement and/or
liberalization of telecommunication services.
ort.global-telecom-industry-revenue-to-grow-at- 5.3%> accessed on 12/5/15.
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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
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e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 06
July 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 96
Core International Instruments
The foundation of telecommunication
regulation largely rests with some notable
conventions. In Article 38(1) (a) of the
Statute of the International Court of Justice,
convention is referred as “international
convention, whether general or particular as
a source of law”. A number of conventions
relating to telecommunications have been
adopted at international and regional levels.
The notable one however is the International
Telecommunications Convention, Madrid
1932.2 This convention is an amalgamation
of two existing conventions, namely: The
Telegraph Convention of 18753
and the
Radiotelegraph Convention of 19274
. These
two conventions were combined into a
single convention embracing the three fields
of telegraph, telephony and radio. The
amalgamation deal brought together the
Plenipotentiary Telegraph Conference and
the International Radiotelegraph Conference
(both of which met simultaneously at the
same time and venue) into a single entity,
International Telecommunications Union
(ITU).
5 Thus, the countries accepting the
new convention which came into force on 1st
January 1934 formed the International
Telecommunication Union.6
2 This Convention as signed was in the French
language only. The English translation has been
added in London.
3
International Telegraph Convention, St. Petersburg,
1875.
4
International Radiotelegraph Convention,
Washington, 1927.
5
International Telecommunication Convention
<http://www.nation.encyclopedia.com/United
Nations related agencies> accessed on 17/04/09.
6
Ibid.
It is this convention that established the
legal existence of the ITU setting forth its
purpose, composition, structure and
functions. Highlights of the convention are
the provisions relating to formation, working
and protection of installation and channels
of telecommunications. There are also
general provisions for radio
communications. The convention has been
revised six times. The first time was in 1947
when the Plenipotentiary Conference of the
ITU, meeting in Atlantic City radically
modified the provisions of the convention to
enable the union enter into relationship with
the United Nations Organization.7 Further
changes led to the establishment of a new
permanent organ, the International
Frequency Registration Board which was
created to cope with the overcrowding of
certain transmission frequencies. In addition,
changes were made to the Frequency
Allocation Table including the decision to
identify a place on the frequency spectrum
for radio navigation service.8 Furthermore,
new provisions were included that allow
aircrafts to use a certain frequency in the
maritime service; and the maritime
frequency bands are sub-divided into
categories namely: “Calling”, “Passenger
Ship Working” and “Cargo Ship Working”.
More so, the Cairo Regulation was
broadened to include allocation for
aeronautical mobile service and high
frequency broadcasting.9
7 This relationship was formalized in 1949.
8 Plenipotentiary Conference,
<http//www.itu.int/en/history/pages/plenipotentiaryco
nfernc.uspx 7conference=78dms>.
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e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 06
July 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 97
The Convention was further revised in
certain respect by the plenipotentiary
conferences in 1952,
10 1959,
11 1965,
12
197313 and 1982.
14
Significantly, whereas
the convention remains the cornerstone for
the legal framework of telecommunications,
it cannot be viewed in isolation of other
supplementary conventions that kept
appearing over decades. These include
International Telegraph Convention of
1865,
15 International Telegraph Convention
of 1868,
16 International Telegraph
Convention of 1872,
17 International
Radiotelegraph Convention of 190618 and
International Radiotelegraph Convention of
1912.
19 There is also Tampere Convention
on the provision of Telecommunication
Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Radio
Operations which was adopted in 1998 and
entered into force in January 2005.20
9 Cairo Regulation refers to the first Administrative
Conference of International Radio Communication
held simultaneously with administrative Telegraph
and Telephone Conference under the banner of the
International Telecommunications Conference,
(Cairo 1938).
10 International Telecommunications Convention,
Buenos Aires, 1952
11 International Telecommunications Convention,
Geneva, 1959.
12 International Telecommunications Convention,
Monteux, 1965.
13 International Telecommunications Convention,
Malaga-Torremlinos, 1973.
14 International Telecommunications Convention,
Nairobi, 1982.
15 International Telegraph Convention, Paris, 1865.
16 International Telegraph Convention, Vienna, 1868.
17 International Telegraph Convention, Rome, 1872.
18 International Radiotelegraph Convention, Berlin,
1906.
19 International Radiotelegraph Convention, London,
1912.
Notably, this Convention makes provisions
for dismantling of regulatory barriers to the
use of telecommunication resources by
parties for disaster mitigation and relief.
This includes removal of restrictions on
import or export, or on the use of particular
types of equipment, or the use of particular
radio frequency spectrum in disaster periods.
All these conventions form the cornerstone
of the efficient global regulation of
telecommunication.
ITU Constitutional Framework
The ITU constitution contains the main
principles that generally govern
telecommunications; as such it is part of the
evolution of its global legal regime. In fact,
it constitutes the basic document that at the
moment establishes the legal basis for the
Union and defines its principles and
structure. All the regulatory functions of the
ITU were conducted within the ambit of this
constitution. This Constitution was
established in 1989 by the Plenipotentiary
Conference in Nice. However at that time, it
never received the required number of
ratifications; and as such had never come
into effect. It was only in 1992 that a
thoroughly revised constitution and
convention of the Union was adopted by the
Plenipotentiary Conference in Geneva.
Subsequent plenipotentiary conferences
adopted only amended instruments to the
1992 document.
ITU Regulatory Mechanism
20 International Regulations of Telecommunications
in disaster relief
<http://www.frc.org/docs/pubs/telecommunication
background.pdf > accessed on 09/01/10.
