ITU is the specialized agency of the United Nations for telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICT). ITU organizes the WTSA event every four years for global collaboration on the development of the next period of study for ITU-T, the ITU sector focused on international standards for telecommunications [see related news article].
WTSA-2016 will take place October 25 to November 3 in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia. The NTIA's preparatory process is intended to ensure that U.S. proposals and positions presented at the WTSA support the nation's ICT policies, promote economic growth and digital innovation, and do not duplicate the standards development processes of other bodies.
The NTIA is particularly interested in input related to ITU-T's restructuring, work methods, and rules of procedure. While a set of 10 specific multi-part questions can be found in the notice, NTIA welcomes input on any issues being advanced by other countries, private-sector organizations, and stakeholders in relation to WTSA-2016. Comments will be posted on the NTIA website at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2016/wtsa16-rfccomments.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) strongly encourages all standardization and ICT stakeholders to submit comments for consideration by the NTIA in developing U.S. positions on ITU-T activities. Comments should be emailed directly to [email protected] by June 16, 2016.