Report on World Radio Conference Geneva, Switzerland, 1959

A report on the world radio conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, during the last four months of 1959 is presented. The Conference was held under auspices of the International Telecommunication Union, the specialized agency of the United Nations which deals with radio and other telecommunication matters at international level. The organization of the conference is described, to show the mechanism by which engineers and telecommunication administrators from many nations work together to produce what amounts to international legislation in a highly technical field. The four principal work areas of the conference were: Radio spectrum allocations; frequency management techniques; definition of technical terms and establishment of technical standards; and operating regulations in the aeronautical and maritime radio services. Major decisions of interest to engineers in the United States are summarized, including new terminology which engineers will be expected to learn gradually in the years ahead.