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U.S. Department of State Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs 
What We Do |
Internet for Economic Development Initiative | Contacts | Documents | Advisory Committees |
Glossary of Acronyms | Related Sites |Organization
International Communications and Information Policy is organized into three offices: Bilateral and Regional Affairs The Office of Bilateral Affairs (CIP/BA) works with foreign governments to help create a pro-competitive regulatory environment in foreign markets and to advance the interests of American businesses and consumers. The office's goal is to convince foreign governments to adopt policies that unleash market forces and foster telecommunications development. U.S. delegations led by CIP/BA typically are comprised of representatives from the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Federal Communications Commission. They meet with foreign telecommunications authorities to exchange ideas and experiences and to promote the U.S. telecommunication and information policy goals of competition, privatization, open markets, independent regulation, and universal service. CIP/BA officers also work with U.S. companies and foreign governments to resolve market access issues and regulatory concerns. The office also supports the President's initiative on global electronic commerce, which fosters commerce over the Internet by minimizing unnecessary regulations and establishing global policies that advance U.S. interests. In cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development, CIP/BA officers manage the Leland Initiative, a program that connects some 20 sub-Saharan African countries to the Internet, and the Internet for Economic Development Initiative, which is designed to foster the Internet and electronic commerce in a wide range of developing countries. CIP/BA officers negotiate agreements with neighboring countries on spectrum utilization and orbit positions, including the introduction of new technologies such as digital television and digital radio services. Additionally, they work closely with the FCC to reduce international long-distance settlement payments, in keeping with the FCC's 1997 Benchmark Order. CIP/BA also serves as the Secretariat for the Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy, a senior-level industry group that advises the U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy regarding telecommunications and information policy issues. The Office of Multilateral Affairs (CIP/MA) represents U.S. telecommunications interests in multilateral organizations, including:
CIP/MA officers head U.S. delegations to meetings at these multilateral organizations and coordinate U.S. positions with the domestic telecommunications industry through the International Telecommunications Advisory Committee and other groups. Officers aim to harmonize the interests of various U.S. constituencies and to promote those interests effectively in the international arena. At the International Telecommunication Union, CIP/MA represents the United States at Policy Forums and in yearly Council meetings. In the ITU's development sector, officers prepare for the quadrennial World Telecommunications Development Conference and regional conferences focused on financing telecommunications development. In the radiocommunication sector, they guide U.S. efforts at the World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) that amend the radio regulations concerning radio spectrum and satellite orbital positions for U.S. companies and government users. In the telecommunication standards and radiocommunication sectors, MA officers encourage the ITU to adopt U.S.-developed technologies as global standards in areas such as cellular phones, high definition TV, satellite systems, fiber optic networks, and modems. At meetings of the OECD Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy, APEC Telecommunications Working Party, and CITEL, CIP/MA promotes such issues as liberalized and pro-competitive regulatory policies and the expansion of electronic commerce under private sector leadership. Strategic Planning and Satellite Policy The Office of Strategic Planning and Satellite Policy (CIP/SP) focuses primarily on foreign policy issues concerning U.S. and international communications satellite systems and sensitive foreign telecommunications policy matters. In particular, it coordinates U.S. Government policy concerning the intergovernmental satellite organizations: the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT), which provides global fixed satellite communications services and the International Mobile Satellite Organization, which oversees the public service obligations of Inmarsat, Ltd., a mobile satellite service provider. CIP/SP objectives are to increase competition in global satellite communications markets and to ensure fair opportunities for all service providers so consumer costs fall while service choices expand. Notably, delegations led by CIP/SP officials have played a leadership role within the international community to restructure and privatize the intergovernmental satellite organizations. CIP/SP, in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission, provides instructions to Comsat Corp. (the U.S. commercial representative and investor in INTELSAT), regarding issues of public policy concern. While working to privatize INTELSAT, CIP/SP also aims to preserve INTELSAT's public service obligations, which includes providing global connectivity, particularly access to telecommunications for developing countries. CIP/SP also leads bilateral satellite services negotiations for U.S. satellite service providers, including direct-to-home broadcasters and mobile communications providers, to enter foreign markets. It works to resolve foreign satellite licensing problems and radio interference difficulties between U.S. and overseas systems. It also helps protect U.S. interests relating to such systems as the Global Positioning System, a satellite-based navigation system. In the undersea cable sector, the office promotes an open global market. It also coordinates the Executive Branch review of license applications for foreign telecommunications firms seeking to land cables in the U.S., taking into account national security, trade, and foreign policy concerns. In its strategic planning role, CIP/SP monitors Federal Communications Commission regulatory actions, acts on specific international telecommunications trade and spectrum management issues, and serves as a liaison with the Department of Defense.
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