ITU Prioritizes AI, Metaverse, 5G in New Global Agreement

…Sets Agenda for the Future of Telecommunications

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has concluded its World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), with a focus on shaping the future of digital technologies.

The resolutions adopted at the WTSA prioritize responsible AI, inclusive metaverse applications, and sustainable digital transformation. The ITU aims to leverage these advancements to bridge the digital divide and empower developing countries.

Members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have agreed on priorities for standards and capacity development in areas from artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse to sustainable digital transformation at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) in New Delhi, India.

The conference reviewed and modified existing guidance and agreed eight new resolutions reinforcing the organization’s standards work to meet fast-evolving global needs.

“The outcomes of WTSA-24 remind us that humanity has one Earth, one human family and one shared digital future,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “Together with the global standards community, ITU is committed to ensuring that our digital future is technically strong, with innovation, inclusion and sustainability at its core.”

“What was seen as a form of communication has today become the highway on which the future of not only our countries, but the future of humanity in the next decades will be building,” said India’s Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia. “Over the past 10 days we have embarked on an extraordinary odyssey. One that has not only allowed us to envision a radiant digital future but also empower us in order to be able to sculpt for the future, for rich dialogues, audacious ideas, and transformation partnerships.”​

It is to be known that digital public infrastructure, automated driving and emergency communications also feature among priorities for the next four years.

Accelerated support for high-priority standards work

The new WTSA Resolutions all emphasize support for developing countries.

The decisions direct ITU to prioritize:​​​

• Responsible, safe, and inclusive AI, including collaboration via the AI for Good platform;
• Trusted, inclusive and interoperable metaverse applications;
• Sustainable digital transformation across multiple industries and technologies;
• Technical requirements for digital public infrastructure;
• Communication technologies for vehicle-to-everything, intelligent transport systems, and automated driving;
• Caller-location information from mobile phones to support emergency communications;
• Preparing students and young professionals as the next generation of ITU standards experts;
• Continual improvement and evolution to meet new policy objectives and market demand.

“ITU standards and capacity development must create the foundation for the digital future we want,” said Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “My top priorities are impactful standards and the strong industry engagement and support to developing countries that create this impact. The decisions of WTSA highlight ITU membership’s commitment to these goals.” ​

​All decisions of the conference are publicly available in the WTSA-24 Proceedings.​​

“As we look ahead to the future, I am confident that the resolutions that we have developed will pave the way for groundbreaking innovations, sustainable growth and greater connectivity worldwide,” said Ritu Ranjan Mittar, Chair of WTSA-24. “It is said that the march of technology will always continue, and it is the collective responsibility of all of us that standards and standardizations keep pace with it.”

Planning the way forward, together

WTSA is the governing conference for ITU’s standardization work.

The conference set out the strategy, structure and working methods of ITU’s standardization arm (ITU-T). The conference also appointed the new leadership teams of standardization expert groups and established their mandates and scope of work for the next four years.

Two expert groups were consolidated to create the new ITU-T Study Group 21 on technologies for multimedia, content delivery, and cable TV.

 

ITU’s standardization work is driven by the contributions and consensus decisions of ITU’s membership, including 194 Member States and over 1000 member companies, universities, and international and regional organizations.