November 2024

Recent Events:

· APT SATRC Web Dialogue: Smart Cities and Societies for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development

Upcoming Events:

· The 25th Meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators' Council (SATRC-25)

· Seminar on Progress in APT for the year 2024

· The 48th Session of the Management Committee of the APT (MC-48)

· The 2nd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (CGMM-2)

· The 2nd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 (APT WTDC25-2)

· South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC) Workshop on Spectrum

· The 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (CGMM-3)

Recent Events

APT at WTSA-24:

15 - 24 October 2024, New Delhi, India

The World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA-24) was held from 15 to 24 October 2024, New Delhi, India and it was organized by International Telecom Union (ITU) and hosted by Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Communications, Government of India. WTSA-24 was inaugurated by the honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi on 15th October 2024. Over 3,700 delegates from 164 Member States of ITU attended the WTSA-24 including a substantial number of participants from APT region.

In 2023 and 2024, APT organized five APT preparatory meetings for WTSA-24, each of which were attended by over 150-200 delegates. APT Members endorsed a total of 45 APT Common Proposals (ACPs) which were submitted to WTSA-24. APT also provided a significant number of experts to serve as office bearers for various committees, Working Groups and Adhoc Groups of the Assembly that dealt with different topics.

During WTSA-24, a series of APT Coordination Meetings were organized to coordinate issues relating to ACPs and APT's ACP Focal Points played an important role in introducing and facilitating ACPs. Following the successful experience at the WRC-23, APT provided the web-portal for coordination and information sharing among APT Members at the WTSA-24, which served as a tool to disseminate necessary information and accelerate the coordination work among APT Members.

As a result of joint efforts of APT Members, out of 45 APT ACPs, 39 were approved as WTSA-24 resolutions. In the overall 8 new resolutions approved by WTSA-24, 5 was from APT region which cover topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Metaverse, Sustainable Digital Transformation, Next Generation experts in ITU-T standardization activities and Vehicular Communications.

In addition, two study groups (9 and 16) were consolidated into a new ITU-T Study Group 21 on technologies for multimedia, content delivery, and cable TV.

WTSA-24 draft proceedings are available at https://www.itu.int/wtsa/2024/

APT SATRC Web Dialogue: Smart Cities and Societies for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development: 30 October 2024, Virtual/Online

The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity hosted an insightful web dialogue focused on "Smart Cities and Societies for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development" on 30 October 2024. Esteemed experts from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and GSMA offered valuable insights on the roles of governments and regulators in fostering a supportive regulatory environment, addressed how global organizations establish interoperability and set global standards, alongside the industry's pivotal role in driving innovation in smart city initiatives.

This dialogue was organised as part of the ongoing initiatives under the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council Action Plan Phase 9 (2024-2025). The Secretary General of the APT graced the session by delivering opening remarks. The dialogue brought together an enthusiastic group of 78 participants from regulatory bodies, industry, and various sectors. A big thank you to our incredible panelists for making it a truly engaging session.

A collage of a person's face

Description automatically generated

Click here to watch dialogue video

Upcoming Events

The 25th Meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators' Council (SATRC-25)

11 - 13 November 2024, New Delhi, India, Hybrid Meeting

The APT will organize the 25th Meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC-25) in New Delhi, India from 11 to 13 November 2024. The meeting will be hosted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). SATRC-25 will be held with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through Zoom meeting platform (i.e., hybrid meeting).

The SATRC meeting is held annually to discuss and coordinate regulatory and other related issues in the area of telecommunication and ICT that are common for the regulators of SATRC Members. The meeting will be attended by the heads of telecommunication regulatory bodies of SATRC Member countries and designated senior level officers.

The SATRC-25 will discuss the key policy and regulatory issues in the SATRC Member countries. SATRC-25 will include sessions for Regulators’ Roundtable, Industry-Regulator Dialogue, Sharing Regulatory Experiences and Industry Sessions to facilitate the development of the telecom/ICT sector in South-Asia. The Regulators’ Roundtable will be held exclusive for the head of regulators to discuss and share thoughts on important regulatory issues that need regional collaboration specifically for the SATRC Member countries and generally to the Asia-Pacific region.

Seminar on Progress in APT for the year 2024

18 November 2024, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hybrid Meeting

The APT will organize the Seminar on Progress in the APT for the year 2024 (SPA-2024) on 18 November 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through APT Zoom meeting (i.e., hybrid meeting). The Seminar is being held in conjunction with the 48th Session of the Management Committee of the APT (MC-48) scheduled to be held from 19 to 22 November 2024, and hosted by Ministry of Communications, Malaysia.

The 48th Session of the Management Committee of the APT (MC-48)

19 - 22 November 2024, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hybrid Meeting

The 48th Session of the Management Committee of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (MC-48) is scheduled to be held from 19 to 22 November 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through APT Zoom meeting (i.e., hybrid meeting). MC-48 will be hosted by Ministry of Communications, Malaysia and organized by the APT. MC-48 will review the activities in 2024 and consider and approve the Work Programme and Annual Budget for 2025.

The 2nd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (CGMM-2)

3 - 5 December 2024, Virtual/Online Meeting

The 2nd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (CGMM-2) will be held virtually from 3 to 5 December 2024. The objective of CGMM-2 is to review and address the feedback and comments received on the zero draft of the APT Ministerial Statement (“Tokyo Statement”). Additionally, it will engage in further discussions on any additional contributions and proceed with the formulation of the first draft of the APT Ministerial Statement.

The 2nd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25

(APT WTDC25-2)

10 - 11 December 2024, Virtual/Online Meeting

The 2nd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 (APT WTDC25-2) will be held virtually from 10 to 11 December 2024. The objective of the APT WTDC25-2 is to assist APT members to prepare for the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025 (WTDC-25), scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 17 to 28 November 2025. The meeting will discuss key issues to be identified for WTDC-25 and develop preliminary positions on those matters, based on the input contributions submitted by APT members, in particular APT WTDC25-2 meeting would discuss members’ views on Regional Initiatives of Asia-Pacific region.

South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC) Workshop

on Spectrum

21 - 23 January 2025, Goa, India, Hybrid Meeting

The APT will organize the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC) Workshop on Spectrum from 21 to 23 January 2025 in Goa, India with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through Zoom (i.e. hybrid meeting). The workshop will be hosted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The SATRC Workshop on Spectrum is a part of the implementation of SATRC Action Plan Phase IX (SAP-IX) for 2024-2025 which was approved by the 24th SATRC Meeting held in 2023. The workshop will focus on NGSO satellite constellations for space-based communication services, land mobile radio systems particularly in VHF and UHF person-to-person voice communication system, Satellite-IMT integration, spectrum outlook, registration of frequency assignments in MIFR, backhaul infrastructure readiness and requirements for 5G deployment, efficient valuation and pricing of spectrum, 6G/IMT-2030 and prospects of Terahertz spectrum. The objective of this workshop is to share insights, experiences, best practices as well as engage in dialogue to identify the challenges, opportunities and possible way forward on the work items under the SATRC Working Group on Spectrum for SAP-IX in order to have better understanding on those issues. It will also provide an opportunity for the SATRC Members as well as industry to share their experiences and future plan on spectrum management.

The 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (CGMM-3)

4 - 6 February 2025, Bangkok, Thailand

The APT will organize the 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (CGMM-3) from 4 to 6 February 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.

CGMM-3 is anticipated to discuss the draft Ministerial Statement in preparation for the APT-MM 2025, alongside discussions on the agenda for the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 2025) and the overall program framework for APT Ministerial Meeting 2025 (APT-MM 2025).

Other Upcoming Events in 2025
Title	Date	Venue
1. The 3rd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 (APT WTDC25-3)	17 - 18 March	Bangkok, Thailand