January 2025

New Year Message from Secretary General

As we welcome 2025, I extend my sincere gratitude to all members and partners for your unwavering support and collaboration over the past year. Together, we have made significant milestones in advancing ICT and regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

With the APT Ministerial Meeting as a major highlight on our agenda, this year has a lot of potential. It will be a pivotal opportunity to shape the future of our region in connectivity, innovation, and sustainability. I look forward to your active participation and collective contributions to ensure that 2025 becomes another successful year for us all.

Wishing you a prosperous, healthy, and fulfilling New Year!

Masanori Kondo

Secretary General

Welcome New Affiliate Member

We are delighted to announce that the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) - Singapore has joined the APT as our newest Affiliate Member, effective 1 January 2025.

Joining the APT means becoming part of a dynamic network that fosters collaboration, innovation, and the exchange of knowledge among governments, regulators, service providers, and industry leaders. Collectively, we will continue to drive progress and innovation in the Asia-Pacific telecommunications landscape.

We warmly welcome GSOA - Singapore to the Telecommunity.

Upcoming Events:

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

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

· APT Symposium on Spectrum Management

· The 3rd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 (APT WTDC25-3)

· The 34th Meeting of the APT Wireless Group (AWG-34)

Upcoming Events

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, Hybrid Meeting

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 with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through Zoom (i.e. hybrid meeting).

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).

APT Symposium on Spectrum Management

18 - 20 February 2025, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Hybrid Meeting

The APT will organize the APT Symposium on Spectrum Management from 18 to 20 February 2025 in Dhaka, Bangladesh with physical attendance as well as virtual/online participation through Zoom meeting platform (i.e. hybrid meeting). The event will be hosted by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). The Symposium was supposed to be held from 29 to 31 July 2024 in Dhaka, Bangladesh and was postponed due to unavoidable situation.

The objective of the symposium is to discuss and share understandings on policy and regulatory issues in spectrum management taking into the account the outcomes of WRC-23, possible approaches toward new ICT trends and to facilitate regional cooperation in relevant areas, including but not limited to:

• Connectivity needs and national spectrum strategy

• Spectrum policy and technological consideration for enhancing rural connectivity

• Meeting demand for spectrum bandwidth and developing spectrum roadmap

• Spectrum management vision of the future

• Best practices and experiences in spectrum management among members.

The Symposium will encourage dialogue among high level policy makers, regulators and industry in the region on the issues above mentioned.

The 3rd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25

(APT WTDC25-3)

17 - 18 March 2025, Bangkok, Thailand, Hybrid Meeting

The APT will organize the 3rd Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 (APT WTDC25-3) from 17 to 18 March 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand with physical attendance and remote participation using online platform (i.e. hybrid meeting). This meeting will be followed by the ITU’s Regional Development Forum (RDF) and Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) at the same venue.

The objective of the APT WTDC25-3 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 is expected to:

· Elect the Vice-Chairs of APT WTDC-25;

· 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;

· Discuss and develop members’ views on Regional Initiatives of Asia-Pacific region.

The 34th Meeting of the APT Wireless Group (AWG-34)

31 March - 4 April 2025, Kathmandu, Nepal, Hybrid Meeting

The APT will organize the 34th Meeting of the APT Wireless Group (AWG-34) from 31 March to 4 April 2025 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Plenary will be conducted in hybrid mode (there can be online participation) and the breakout meetings will be conducted in physical mode (no online participation). The meeting will be hosted by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of Nepal (MoCIT) and Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).

AWG covers various aspects of wireless systems to meet the emerging digital convergence era in the Asia-Pacific region. It also assists in providing effective radiocommunication solutions and facilitating the transfer of technology and knowledge. In its 34th meeting, the AWG will continue to study the existing work items, report on the progress of studies and discuss the proposal of new work items as well as other relevant issues.