The World Telecommunication Development Conference held in Buenos Aires in 1994 was the first WTDC held since the establishment of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector in 1992. The purpose of the conference was to review the progress made in telecommunication development since the publication of “The Missing Link” and to set goals and objectives that would address the serious imbalance in world telecommunications development. The Buenos Aires Declaration and Action Plan, as well as a number of Resolutions and Recommendations were adopted. The Conference also confirmed that ITU would hold one world and two regional telecommunication development conferences in developing countries during the period from 1995 to 1999.
The conference declared that telecommunications was an essential component of political, economic, social, and cultural development. This was emphasized in the speech delivered by Al Gore, the then Vice-President of the United States, at the inaugural ceremony. In what has since become a landmark speech, Mr. Gore called for the creation of a global information infrastructure (GII), or “information superhighways,” that would facilitate information sharing and the ability to connect as a global community by enabling sustainable development, economic growth, and the promotion of democracy around the world.
The Buenos Aires Declaration highlighted the potential of telecommunications and information technologies to close the development gaps between developed and developing countries, as well as between densely and sparsely populated areas within individual countries. Addressed to governments, the Declaration contained the visions, goals, and objectives of telecommunication development to be achieved by the end of the twentieth century.
The Action Plan, consisting of three chapters, translated the points outlined in the Declaration into a solid and realistic work programme for the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) that covered the period 1994-1998. It updated existing programmes and studies that had been previously carried out by the Technical Cooperation Department, as well work already initiated by the BDT. In addition, the Action Plan instructed the BDT to undertake 12 new programmes related to: policies, strategies, and financing; human resources management and development; elaboration of a business-oriented development plan; development of maritime radiocommunication services; computer-aided network planning; frequency management; improvement of maintenance; mobile cellular radio telephone system; integrated rural development; broadcasting infrastructure; information services; and the development of telematics and electronic networks. Amongst the proposed actions laid out in the Plan were producing surveys and studies (handbooks), organizing seminars and workshops, and preparing guidelines and training materials. Moreover, the conference adopted Resolution No. 2, which established two new study groups that would provide essential input to the programmes included in the Action Plan.
The conference recognized the importance of paying special attention to the needs of the least developed countries (LDCs) and made work in this area a priority. It adopted Resolution No. 1, which endorsed the creation of a special programme of assistance to LDCs and instructed the Director of the BDT to fully implement it. Furthermore, the Secretary-General was requested to convey to the Kyoto Plenipotentiary Conference the need to review the ITU regular budget allocated to LDCs. The third chapter of the Action Plan specified that at least 70% of the resources allocated for the 12 programmes would directly support LDC activities.
