India to host World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly in 2024

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India will host the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly next year in a bid to advance 5G and 6G networks in the country. Vaishnaw said that the WTSA is the governing conference of the ITU Standardisation Sector, one of the three world conferences of the International Telecommunication Union and part of the United Nations system. The conference is held every four years.

While addressing the India Mobile Congress 2023 in New Delhi, the minister highlighted the importance of India’s role in technology adoption, noting that the world is closely watching the country’s technological achievements.

The Minister also stressed upon the country’s commitment to telecom standards development, highlighting the recognition of the indigenous 5Gi standards by ITU as one of the pivotal technologies for 5G implementation.

In addition, he addressed the historical shift in India’s mobile device landscape, pointing out that the country, which used to import approximately 98 percent of mobile phones a decade ago, has now emerged as a mobile export hub with exports worth Rs 90,000 crore in the past year.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that on March 3, 2022, Minister Vaishnaw and Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), signed the Host Country Agreement (HCA) for the establishment of an Area Office and Innovation Centre of ITU in New Delhi. This agreement provides the necessary legal and financial framework for the setup and operations of the area office.