Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA -Oman) has made a breakthrough when the TRA Vice President for Spectrum Affairs, Engineer Yousuf Al-Balushi, was elected Vice Chairman of the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) at a meeting in Geneva on Monday.
The election of an Omani Vice Chairman of the WRC-15 is an acknowledgment by countries that frequency management in the Sultanate has made great progress. It also shows that countries around the world are appreciating the knowledge and technical role that Spectrum Management Unit of  TRA is contributing during world radiocommunication conferences and meetings held every three or four years. The job of WRC is to review and revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits. The agenda of WRC-15 is determined by the ITU Council, which takes into account recommendations made by previous world radio communication conferences.It could also include issues determined by the ITU’s Plenipotentiary conferences.
The WRC-15 will consider the results of studies in order to review the relevant achievements within the framework of regulating spectrum in the Radio Regulations so as to be in line with the development of applications, current and future systems and technologies.  This Conference will also decide on the most efficient ways to utilize the limited radio spectrum resources and manage satellite orbits.
Engineer Yousuf Al-Balushi currently holds the position of Oman TRA Vice President for Spectrum Affairs. His previous experience includes working as Spectrum Management Unit Executive Manager since 2008 and the Manager of Spectrum Allocation, Planning and Distribution since 2003.
Internationally he served as the Conference Vice Chairman for reviewing Geneva Convention 1989  during the Radiocommunication Regional Conference  (RRC-06).  He was also elected to be part of the Advisory Group of the ITU during the period from 2007 – 2011 and from 2007 – 2015.  Regionally he  is the head of GCC group responsible for the WRC-07 preparation from 2007  – 2011 and from 2012 – 2015.
As the leading UN specialized agency for telecommunications and ICT, ITU is focused on driving innovation together with the Union’s 193 Member States and membership of over 700 private sector entities and academic institutions.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was established in 1865 and this year is celebrating its 150th anniversary. ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radiofrequency spectrum; promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits; works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world; and assists in the development and coordination of worldwide technical standards. The Union is committed to connecting the world from broadband internet to latest-generation wireless technologies, from aeronautical and maritime navigation to radio astronomy and satellite-based meteorology, from convergence in fixed-mobile phone, internet access, data, voice and TV broadcasting to next-generation networks.