July 2023

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Recent Events:

·        The 23rd APT Policy and Regulatory Forum (PRF-23)  

·        APT Youth in ICT 2023

Upcoming Events:

·        The 11th Meeting of the Working Group of MC on APT Legal Instruments (WGMC-11)

·        The Meeting of the SATRC Working Group on Policy, Regulation and Services

·        The 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group on the Strategic Plan of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity for 2024 – 2026 (CGSP-3)

·        The 6th Meeting of the APT Conference Preparatory Group for WRC-23 (APG23-6)  

·        The 16th APT Policy and Regulation Forum for Pacific (PRFP-16)

·        The Meeting of the SATRC Working Group on Spectrum

Recent Events

The 23rd APT Policy and Regulatory Forum (PRF-23)

20 – 22 June 2023, Nadi, Fiji (Hybrid)

The 23rd APT Policy and Regulatory Forum (PRF-23) was held from 20 to 22 June 2023 in Nadi, Fiji in hybrid format with both physical and virtual attendance through Zoom meeting. The Forum was attended by 154 participants (79 physical and 75 virtual) from APT Members, Associate Members, Affiliate Members, International Organization and other organizations.

There are mainly five features that illustrate PRF-23.

·        First, PRF-23 had a special Ministerial Session where the speakers shared recent best practices of digital government, smart nation and smart island as well as the policy strategies and approaches that allow governments, businesses, and citizens to leverage digital transformation. This year’s theme was ‘Digital and Smart Government: Initiatives, Strategies, Applications and Impacts’ which are in line with the objective of the Singapore Statement adopted by the ICT Ministers of APT.    

·        Second, PRF-23 had a special roundtable session with Heads of Regulators from APT Member Administrations to identify the challenges, opportunities, and possible way forward regarding digital connectivity and digital transformation for a sustainable digital society.

·        Third, PRF-23 had three Business Dialogue sessions to provide a platform for industry representatives to express their views on conducive ICT regulatory regime, satellite constellations and 5G developments. These sessions offered an opportunity to discuss ways on how industry and policy makers and regulators collaborate to achieve a common goal. 

·        Fourth, PRF-23 organized four thematic sessions, covering disaster-resilient and emergency ICT infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence, digital forensics and incident response, inclusive and universal ICT Services. All of them are important aspects in promoting ICT markets and society.

·        Fifth, PRF-23 decided to create a Rapporteur Group in line with what was agreed at the PRF-22 in 2022. PRF-23 approved to set the topic for the Rapporteur Group’s activity to be which would develop a set of “Good Practices for Public Consultations” and it is expected that the Group is to collect, share and summarize the relevant information and show the “Best Practices” of the matter. The duration of the activity is expected to be for one year and the outcome(s) to be reported at the next PRF. 

The 24th APT Policy and Regulatory Forum (PRF-24) will be held in Q2/Q3, 2024.

Click here for more details.

APT Youth in ICT 2023

22 June 2023, Pathumthani, Thailand

The APT Youth in ICT 2023 event was held on 22 June 2023, at AIT Conference Center, Thailand. This event was organized APT in collaboration with Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.

This event was attended by 60 participants from various universities of Thailand in physical mode. The Youth in ICT is an important component of the technology industry's future, as they bring new perspectives, ideas, learnings and adapt to new technologies. The main objectives of this event were to engage and encourage youth to take an interest in ICT, to give participants more knowledge about ICT, and to introduce youth various career role models in ICT fields.

This event also focused on career development talks and experience sharing from various speakers and experts from academics, government officials, and private companies. The panel discussion on various topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain technology, Chat GPT, Entrepreneurship, tech startups, Urban Farming with IOT implication, ICT career experience and success stories, youth and women empowerment, were discussed.

Click here for more details. / Click here for Photo Gallery.

Upcoming Events

The 11th Meeting of the Working Group of MC on
APT Legal Instruments (WGMC-11)

1 - 2 August 2023, Bangkok, Thailand

APT will organize the 11th Meeting of the Working Group of Management Committee on APT Legal
Instruments (WGMC-11) from 1 to 2 August 2023 at the APT Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. WGMC-11 will be held with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation
through Zoom meeting platform (i.e., hybrid meeting).

WGMC-11 will review the tasks assigned by MC-46, i.e., Guideline on Selection of External Auditor, Issues Relevant to Code of Conduct, and others. The meeting will be followed by the 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the Strategic Plan of the APT for 2024-2026 (CGSP-3) from 3 to 4 August 2023.

The 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group on the Strategic Plan of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity for 2024 – 2026 (CGSP-3)

3 - 4 August 2023, Bangkok, Thailand

APT will organize the 3rd Meeting of the Correspondence Group for the Strategic Plan of the APT for 2024-2026 (CGSP-3) from 3 to 4 August 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. CGSP-3 will be held with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through Zoom meeting platform (i.e. hybrid meeting).

The objectives of the CGSP-3 are to continue to discuss the initial draft and deliberate further on inputs from the Members and develop the first draft of the Strategic Plan of the APT for 2024-2026.

The 6th Meeting of the APT Conference Preparatory Group
for WRC-23 (APG23-6)

14 - 19 August 2023, Brisbane, Australia (Hybrid)

The meeting will be hosted by the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA). The provisional objectives of APG23-6, as decided by APG23-5,

are as follows:

·        review the results of APG23-5

·        review the outcomes of CPM23-2 and 30th meeting of the RAG

·        finalise APT views on WRC-23 Agenda Items based on input contributions from APT Members

·        develop Preliminary APT Common Proposals for WRC-23 Agenda Items

·        review issues related to RA-23 activities and develop APT views, if any

·        develop Preliminary APT Common Proposals for RA-23, if any

·        review the activities of other regional organisations, in particular, their positions and common proposals with a view to fostering inter-regional cooperation

·        arrangement of coordination for RA-23 and WRC-23

The 16th APT Policy and Regulation Forum for Pacific (PRFP-16)

30 August - 1 September 2023, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The forum will be hosted by the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA), Papua New Guinea, and supported by the generous contributions from Department of Infrastructure,
Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Australia and
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan.

PRFP-16 will be preceded by the 4th Pacific ICT Ministerial Meeting (28-29 August 2023), which would adopt a Ministerial Declaration on the theme "Connected Pacific - Enabling Aspirations through ICT". Accordingly, synergizing these events, PRFP-16 will organise its sessions based on the priority areas agreed in the Ministerial Declaration to support the development of telecommunications and ICT policies in Pacific countries.

The sessions of the PRFP-16 will be organised on topics such as Digital Infrastructure, Digital Innovation, Security and Trust, Digital Capacity Building and Skills, and Disaster Management. PRFP-16 will have a Roundtable for Ministers and Head of Regulators to share their recent policy and regulation issues and experiences. In addition, it will also allocate time for a Business Dialogue to provide an opportunity for the ICT industry to share their insights and experiences and for ICT policymakers and regulators to discuss new challenges and opportunities for empowering the Digital Transformation.

The Meeting of the SATRC Working Group on Spectrum

19 - 21 September 2023, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Hybrid)

The meeting will be hosted by Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). The meeting is a part of the activities of SATRC Action Plan Phase VIII (SAP-VIII) which was adopted by the 22nd Meeting of SATRC (SATRC-22). This will be the second meeting of the Working Group under SAP-VIII and it is expected to discuss and finalize the draft reports of the Work Items assigned to
the Working Group by the Council.

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