World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA)

In 2024, the Internet Society will follow and participate in several regional events related to the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), culminating in the WTSA-24 global event happening in October in New Delhi, India.

The WTSA is the primary meeting of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), where the new leadership team and work program for the sector is defined for the next four years. 

WTSA is a non-treaty-level conference. However, the approved recommendations and resolutions shape the ITU-T’s future direction. They can pave the way for a much more expansive role beyond ICTs and telecommunications, including work items related to new and emerging technologies. 

During WTSA, governments will: 

• Decide whether to approve draft recommendations submitted by the study groups 
• Consider proposals to retain, dissolve or merge study groups and their questions 
• Consider proposals to add new study groups and questions that reflect new issues or priorities 
• Consider whether to add, merge, retain or dissolve other groups 
• Agree on the mandate, scope, and terms of reference for study group work programs 
• Review WTSA-20 resolutions for modification or deletion and consider Member State proposals for new resolutions 
• Elect chairs and vice-chairs of the study groups 
• Consider other policy matters 

Internet Society Contributions to WTSA-24

As a Sector Member of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), the Internet Society will participate at the upcoming World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24). 

We believe that the ITU has an important role to play in the Internet ecosystem: promoting core infrastructure development and cross-border connectivity, allocating spectrum to enable the deployment of new technologies and services, and providing technical assistance and capacity building. 

As delegates at WTSA-24 define the ITU-T’s work for the next study period and potentially lay the groundwork for future standardization work on new/emerging technologies, it is critical that delegates evaluate how such technologies and devices would impact the Internet if they were deployed on it. Will they continue to enable an open, globally connected Internet or will they fragment it? This is not to say that the ITU-T does not play a role in standardization in our digital era; it certainly does.  

We support the ITU’s role in creating an enabling environment and its international cooperation platform for telecommunications. Additionally, we will engage in discussions and follow activities related to the Internet’s technical, social, and economic development while continuing to urge that multistakeholder dialogue occur on these issues and that technical recommendations consider Open Standards.  

The Internet Society recognizes and values the importance of a distributed governance model where each stakeholder group has its own role and responsibility in the Internet ecosystem. These elements are key considerations to achieving successful outcomes at WTSA-24 whereby the ITU’s role is clearly delineated within scope and mandate, and the ITU’s commitment to collaboration with other standards development organizations is deepened.