International Telecommunication Union Accra, Ghana, June 2009 AN AFRICAN VIEW ON THE OUTCOMES OF WTSA-08 Joshua Peprah Director, Regulatory Administration, National Communications Authority ITU FORUM ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS OF WTSA-08 (Accra, Ghana, June 2009)

International Telecommunication Union Background Prior to WTSA-08 the African group held a preparatory meeting in Accra aimed at coordinating African views on issues considered to be of importance to the region. Hot issues such as Study Group restructure, Bridging the Standardization Gap in developing countries Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union Background (Cont.) Ways of enhancing the relevance of Study Group activities for developing countries Possible creation of regional groups for different standardization topics the election of new SG and TSAG chairs and vice-chairs, Inclusion of new categories of members were discussed Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African positions Vs the WTSA-08 outcomes About twelve (12) African positions were submitted Seven were adopted. Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union Item African common proposals Add.1 AFCP1 Resolution 72 - Measurement concerns related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields Add.2 AFCP2 Resolution 59:Enhancing participation of telecommunication operators from developing countriesEnhancing participation of telecommunication operators from developing countries Add.? AFCP3 Resolution 58 - Encourage the creation of national Computer Incident Response Teams, particularly for developing countries Add.4 AFCP4 ITU Type Approval of telecommunication equipment. Merged into Resolution 76 - Studies related to conformance and interoperability testing, assistance to developing countries, and a possible future ITU markResolution 76 - Studies related to conformance and interoperability testing, assistance to developing countries, and a possible future ITU mark Add.7 AFCP7 Resolution 17 - Telecommunication standardization in relation to the interests of developing countries Add.10 AFCP10 Resolution 44 - Bridging the standardization gap between developing and developed countries Add.12 AFCP12 Resolution 54 - Creation of regional groupsesolution 54 - Creation of regional groups Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African positions Vs the WTSA-08 outcomes The African group also strongly supported the adoption of Resolution 26 – Assistance to regional groups of study Group 3, Resolution 50 - Cybersecurity Resolution 70 - Telecommunications/ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities Resolution 71 – Admission of academia, universities and their associated research establishments to participate in the work of ITU-T. Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African views on WTSA-08 outcomes The regional development forum on bridging the standardization gap has been successful and the African Group welcomes its continuality WTSA-08 adopted the African proposal to reduce the number of study groups from 13 to 10 to enable effective participation. Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African views on WTSA-08 Outcomes Study GroupTitle 2Operational aspects of service provision and telecommunications management 3Tariff and accounting principles including related telecommunication economic and policy issues 5Protection against electromagnetic environment effects 9Television and sound transmission and integrated broadband cable networks 11Signalling requirements, protocols and test specifications 12Performance, QoS and QoE 13Future networks including mobile and NGN 15Optical transport networks and access network infrastructures 16Multimedia coding, systems and applications 17Security Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African views on WTSA-08 Outcomes WTSA-08 revised some existing resolutions, adopted new ones and suppressed others in support of developing countries. It is worth noting resolutions 44, 54,59,71, 72,76 serve as catalyst for bridging the digital divide. Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African views on WTSA-08 Outcomes Resolutions 76 clearly sets the course for developing countries to ensuring that communications systems are certified to be conformed to ITU-T Recommendations and also present a higher probability of Interoperability. Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African views on WTSA-08 Outcomes Resolution 54 present opportunity for African region to create our own regional study groups. Resolution 72 is aimed to assist developing countries in the measurement of EMF related Health related issues Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union African views on WTSA-08 Outcomes Res. 59 encourages Developing Country’s Operators to fully participate in ITU-T activities. The African group is now visibly represented in all ITU-T activities Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union Way forward The African group should continue to work closely with the TSB and provide inputs into the ITU Mark program vis-à-vis the proposed study to establish regional type testing center in the region. We need to continuously participate and contribute effectively in the ITU- T activities Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union Way forward We should seek to create regional study groups that are of most importance and relevance to the region in accordance with res. 54 ATU should coordinate and look into the issue of the creation of a flagship group for African Accra, Ghana, June

International Telecommunication Union THANK YOU!!!!!!!! MERCI! Accra, Ghana, June