For Immediate Release October 23, 2003	Contact: Clyde Ensslin or Ranjit de Silva, 202-482-7002

COMMERCE DEPARTMENT’S NTIA LAUNCHES PROCESS FOR NEXT WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATION CONFERENCE The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration today initiated a public review of the preparation process that will lead to the final U.S. policy positions for the next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) in 2007 by soliciting the views of industry and the public through a request for comment published in today’s Federal Register. This is the latest in a series of actions NTIA has taken to fulfill the mandates of President Bush’s Spectrum Policy Initiative to develop recommendations for improving spectrum management policies and procedures. “This will build on the framework we have established with the Federal Communications Commission and the State Department to ensure that we have the strongest and best possible unified input to the global conference that sets international regulations,” said Michael D. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information. “The 2003 WRC team led by Ambassador Obuchowski did an outstanding job,” Gallagher said. “Continued U.S. leadership requires that we sustain the cooperative effort among U.S. business and U.S. government. That cooperation doubled the amount of spectrum for WiFi and will mean jobs to the U.S. tech sector.” The notice is available on the NTIA Web site at www.ntia.doc.gov.  ###