Training for telcos: International Telecommunication Union of the UN conducted a workshop with the state-run National Institute of Communication Finance for officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as well as representatives of the telecom industry.

The training was based on the process for shaping up India's proposals into global standards, as per an official statement on Wednesday.

Conducted in Geneva, the two-day workshop was titled "Bridging the Standardisation Gap (BSG) on Effectiveness in Standardisation".

The workshop was organised ahead of the first-ever World Telecom Standardisation Assembly (WTSA), a global meet set to be hosted by India from October 14-24, 2024 in Delhi.

Standardisation for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) remains dominated by China and Western nations even as India is a large data producer and consumer of these services. 

There is an immediate need for capacity building of Indian officials from the public and private sector ahead of the WTSA for contributing to global ICT standards. 

The workshop by the ITU and NICF Secretariat ended with a short overview of WTSA-24. The workshop discussed participation aspects and various stages of writing contributions, including drafting, submitting, gaining support and final approval.

The workshop also trained participants on objective identification during the standards making process, as well as making interventions in the Study Group meetings. It also featured roleplay exercises and simulation sessions, training them for leadership in the standards development process.

The final session trained users on advancing participant knowledge on contributing effectively in writing, as well as negotiating the contributions.