WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) will conduct a radio spectrum management training seminar March 19 - 30 for leading regulators and communications professionals from nine developing countries.

"Modern telecommunications infrastructures are a major part of a nation's economic prosperity and the citizens' dynamic lifestyles," John Sopko, acting assistant secretary for communications and information, said. "Modern spectrum management methods go hand-in-hand with the development of such infrastructures. Over the past 19 years, these seminars have helped many countries develop modern spectrum management and telecommunications infrastructures that have contributed to economic prosperity," Sopko added.

Thirteen representatives from nine developing countries including Armenia, Ghana, Honduras, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, and Vietnam will participate in the training seminar which will be held in Washington.

The seminar will be conducted by NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management with assistance from experts from Comsearch and IIT Research Institute. It will address various elements of spectrum management principles, engineering analyses, and computer-aided spectrum management techniques. In the last 9 years, NTIA has trained 408 individuals from 107 countries in radio spectrum management.

The USTTI, a non-profit industry-government joint venture, was launched in 1982 at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, by Ambassador Michael R. Gardner, who was then Chairman of the U.S. delegation. It was formed to address the compelling need of developing nations for technical and managerial training in telecommunications and broadcasting. Since 1982, the USTTI has provided 936 training courses, all tuition-free, and has graduated over 5,000 telecommunications officials from 161 developing countries. The USTTI is a non-profit corporation and relies entirely upon the corporate support of Board Members for its operating expenses. The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development will provide travel and per diem scholarship funds for participants from the neediest developing countries.

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration serves as the principal adviser to the President, Vice President and Secretary of Commerce on domestic and international communications and information issues and represents the Executive Branch before the Congress, other Federal agencies, foreign governments and international organizations. NTIA also manages the Federal use of the radio frequency spectrum.

Note: A list of the USTTI Board of Directors is attached. For more information about the USTTI, please contact Dixie McDaniel at USTTI at (202) 785-7373, or visit the USTTI homepage at www.ustti.org. You may also contact Fred Matos, at NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management, at (202) 482-6493, or visit the NTIA homepage at www.ntia.doc.gov .