 WRC 19, the World Radio Communication Conference is being held this year in Egypt in Shama Sheikh. WRC 19 is an event that brings together around 3,000 delegates from all over the world. Mario Manovich is the director of the Radio Communication Bureau at ITU. He's agreed to jump on a security buggy with me and ride around the venue, giving us an insight into this conference from his perspective. This is the largest event of the ITU in general, and of course it's the most important one for the ITUR, the Radio Communication Community. This is an international treaty that binds all the countries of the world. It encompasses all the regulatory framework of the radio communications, meaning the use of the spectrum, the satellite orbits and everything that has to do with all the wireless services. This treaty is modified every four years by this conference, and it has to be then agreed among all member states, because this is going to be integrated in the national legislation of each country and applied in each country. So once they've agreed something here, that means that they're going to apply it in their country? Exactly, exactly. That's the beauty of it, because we will then have harmonization of use of frequency bands and equipment. That's why you can go with your phone to any country in the world and use it, because there is a harmonized spectrum used everywhere, and also the standard that your phone is using in order to work is the same one that applies in other countries. If not, your phone would not be compatible with other standards in other countries. That was the case a long time ago when we didn't have this harmonization. Who's here? Who comes down to this conference? Who's making the decisions here? So the decision makers are the member states, the administrations. So we have 160 countries that are attending here, but we have also representatives from the industry, meaning the operators, the manufacturers, also scientific organizations, international organizations that are interested like YATA for the flight-related applications. The maritime applications, and we have the WMO for the weather forecasting, as well as the research organizations and the academia. But they're not signing the treaty? They are not signing the treaty. They are contributing to the discussions, because they are highlighting the needs of their sectors and what they are expecting from the conference. But then the decision makers are only the governments. We should be that way, because somebody has to weigh in what are the priorities and what are the more important aspects to give priority, as everybody is fighting, let's say, for the same piece of spectrum. The industry, of course, that are here have got their own aims. Are they hoping to influence the conversations here? Absolutely. That's part of our work. The ITU is the only international organization of the UN system that has not only member states, but also industry members as part of the membership. So they participate not only at the conference, but in all the process that leads to the conference. That means in the study group activities, which is where you study all the topics that are coming to the conference, and you put together all the possible options for the conference to take decisions, as well as the recommendations and the handbooks that we issue every year. So the industry is one of the most important contributors to our work. Well, let's have a little wonder in, this is one of the rooms here, that all the conversations are happening in. So this room is the biggest one of the center. It's called the capital room. And we have 3,000 seats. So this is the main plenary room. So this is where all decisions are being taken in the last instance, as well as the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. And as you can see, each country has a name plate, but also as you can see in the last rows, because the first priority is for the member states. But then you have all these other members that are part of the industry and other groups that are also identified by their name plates. And the only way to communicate is via these wireless microphones and headsets in the whatever language you want to use of the six official languages. Each one of these member states, however large or small, has got an equal say in what's been decided? Absolutely. If we went to a vote, all countries would have one vote, the biggest one and the smallest one. But in ITU, the tradition is that we don't go to votes. So the spirit of consensus is what prevails. So we don't vote and we just try to work and work, even if it's until late hours at night, to build some dis-consensus and to get this consensus. What's the situation for people who have come here and they're definite they want something, a result, a solution? Do they always go home happy? No. That's part of the spirit of compromise. That means that nobody gets everything he wants. But it's very difficult that you get nothing of what you want. So everybody gets something and we say that normally the solutions that we arrive at at the end for the tricky topics are those that make everybody equally unhappy or equally happy. What's the best thing about being a director of the radio communication bureau? Radio communications today is at the edge of the modernization of the world. If you look at what people do, everything they do is linked to their phone, to their tablet, to a computer, the services and the communications are driven by wireless devices, not to mention the wearables and all these applications. So we are empowering these possibilities and we are giving the possibilities of people to get more and more benefits of everything that is available. One of my objectives is to make sure that we not only bring better services to those that already have the services but to bring them to those that don't have. And as you know, unfortunately, this is half of the population and we have to work for this half to be able to get connected. What about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? How does the work of ITU and the work of the Radio Communication Bureau feed into making those goals achievable? Well, as you know, these Sustainable Development Goals are applicable to all countries. It's not only for developing countries. So it's a major objective of humanity to achieve them and it was recognized that ICT is the driver for all of them. So we are trying to make sure to provide this platform in order for these goals to be advanced and to be achieved. But the most satisfactory one for me personally is when you see that you are making a difference for a given country or for a given region by helping them advance their agendas for connectivity. I mean, you spent how many weeks here? Five weeks here now and you've got another week to go, I think. Yes, we have one week for the assembly, four weeks for the conference and then we have half a week, say three days, to prepare the following conference. Well, the next WRC will be in four years' time, is that right? Exactly, 2023. Most of the decisions that will have been taken here will have been put into place by then and there will be other things to talk about then, I presume? Yes, and this conference is already deciding what is going to be discussed in 2023. You cannot just come to a radio conference and put new topics in the agenda at that time. They have to be studied and we have this four-year period for that so that the decisions that are taken are informed after the studies and after seeing the possible sharing and the possible interferences that those proposals made cause. Well, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today and very best of luck for the last week of the conference. Thanks very much, it was my pleasure.