ABSTRACT
The radio frequency spectrum is a recent focus of the South’s overall drive for a global redistribution of resources. The issues are monopolization of communication technology and services by the North, the existing imbalance in the international flow of information, and the so-called communications gap between North and South. The debate over the New World Information Order (NWIO) is less well known than the debate over the New International Economic Order (NIEO). Trends in International Telecommunications Union (ITU) membership have closely followed the general pattern at the United Nations (UN). Advanced industrial countries already enjoy a sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure. The conference had been scheduled far in advance by the 1973 Plenipotentiary Conference. Conference details, including its agenda, were drawn up in several meetings of the ITU Administrative Council. The structure of the conference proceedings further reinforced North-South differences.
