The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Afghan government have signed a two-year agreement to begin the restoration of the nation's telecommunications and broadcasting sectors. ITU will provide both funding and technical expertise to assist the government in developing a regulatory framework suitable for the digital age, according to a press release from the agency's Geneva headquarters.

Afghan Minister of Communications Masom Stnekzai said, "Afghanistan has moved backwards toward the stone age at a time when we need to enter the digital age and we need the assistance of an impartial international organization like ITU."

ITU will help the Ministry of Communications in projects such as establishing internal procedures for effective operations, developing telecommunication policy and laws, and improve planning and management of the nation's frequency spectrum.

Starting From Scratch - ITU Assists Afghanistan in Rebuilding Telecom and Broadcasting Infrastructure

Geneva, 4 December, 2002 - The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will provide emergency support to the government of Afghanistan in its efforts to restore its heavily damaged telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure. In a two-year project document signed between His Excellency Mr. Masoom Stanekzai, Afghanistan's Minister of Communications and Hamadoun Touré, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU will strengthen Afghanistan's institutional competence to govern the sector.

The Minister stated, "Afghanistan has moved backwards toward the stone age at a time when we need to enter the digital age and we need the assistance of an impartial international organization like ITU to ensure we again move forward in telecommunication development." A national framework is needed to "help Afghanistan leapfrog to the digital age and create an environment that will ensure our people have the right to access communications," added the Minister.

The flight of qualified persons during 24 years of war has resulted in a severe shortage of skilled staff in the country and ITU's timely assistance will pave the way for a restructuring of the Ministry of Communications, equipping it to deal with governance issues on a day-to-day basis during the emergency phase and beyond.

In readiness for a large-scale deployment of wireless communication services, ITU will also play a role in the orderly planning and management of the national frequency spectrum, develop a national frequency plan, install a spectrum management system and put in place coherent licensing and assignment procedures.

"There is a great urgency in restoring domestic and international telecommunication services in Afghanistan, as they represent an essential input to all other rehabilitation and reconstruction activities taking place in the country," explains Ismet Hamiti, ITU Coordinator for Asia-Pacific and focal point for Afghanistan. "However at the same time, the rapid deployment of wireless-based services also highlights the importance of managing the radio spectrum efficiently."

"The confidence in ITU expressed by the government of Afghanistan to carry out fundamental reform and reconstruction in Afghanistan is proof of ITU's role as a source of top-quality, unbiased and cost-effective expertise in telecommunications and ICTs," said Hamadoun Touré, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau. "ITU is committed to ensuring that assistance and support to the government of Afghanistan is as effective as possible."

The project is funded by ITU with a contribution of over half a million dollars from the ITU Telecom Surplus. One of the objectives of this fund, which derives from surplus income from the ITU Telecom exhibitions, is to reach out to countries in special need, helping them to rehabilitate their networks. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has joined forces with ITU to provide experts to Afghanistan on a cost-sharing basis. ITU is also inviting other partners to provide integrated support to the Afghan government.

Project Details

To help boost the key ministry functions, ITU will help establish internal working procedures and practices for the effective functioning of the Ministry; assist in drafting a telecommunication sector policy and a Telecommunication Act; propose a regulatory structure tailored to the specific needs of the country and prepare a programme to develop competence within the Ministry of Communications in policy, regulation and legislation.

To help Afghanistan better plan and manage its frequency spectrum, ITU will establish an equipped and operational Frequency Management Unit within the Ministry of Communications and will prepare a table of frequency allocations; update the national administrative regulation; assess present and future spectrum requirements; work out a country-wide coverage map for MW, FM and TV broadcasting; elaborate a guide for spectrum monitoring and station inspection; establish a computerized frequency management system and training for local staff in frequency spectrum planning and management activities. Afghanistan's Ministry of Culture and Information, which is responsible for frequency assignment for broadcasting use, will also be a beneficiary of this project.