The Federal Communications Commission reorganized its International Bureau, saying the changes make work more efficient and “enable new analyses of trends” in international telecommunications.
It consolidated spectrum rulemakings in the Satellite Division and moved economic reporting and statistical analysis responsibilities that had been distributed throughout the bureau to its new Telecommunications and Analysis Division. Chief Mindel De La Torre was quoted in the announcement saying the change “elevates and expands the role of economic analysis and improves our international coordination role.”
In detail:
The bureau’s Strategic Analysis and Negotiations Division becomes the Global Strategy and Negotiation Division. It works with multi-national organizations such as the ITU, CITEL and OECD and handles cross-border negotiations. It also merges two branches — the Regional and Bilateral Affairs Branch and Multilateral Negotiations and Industry Analysis Branch — into one called the Multilateral and Regional Affairs Branch. The division’s Cross-Border Negotiations and Treaty Compliance Branch and the International Radiocommunication Branch remain the same.
The bureau’s Satellite Division now takes over international spectrum rulemaking functions from the Policy Division. Notifications to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will be processed by the Satellite Division.
And the bureau’s Policy Division is renamed the Telecommunications and Analysis Division as a result of consolidating the economic analysis and statistical reporting functions within the bureau. This TAD “continues its important international communication policy portfolio, including foreign ownership review and licensing of international section 214 authorizations and submarine cables, and now gains responsibility for economic analysis and reports.”
