Report on the 36th Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Standardization Program Forum (ASTAP-36)

1. Overview and structure of ASTAP

The international organization Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) was established in 1979 to promote information and communication technology (ICT) development in the Asia-Pacific region. At present, 38 nations and/or regions participate in APT [1]. In 1998, APT established the APT Standardization Program (ASTAP) as a standardization sector meeting. Since its inception, ASTAP has continued to be held once or twice a year. ASTAP’s two main objectives are as follows [2]:

• to construct a harmonized discussion scheme in the Asia-Pacific region,
• to effectively propose the region’s perspectives and policies to the international standards.

Table 1 shows the meeting structure of ASTAP, which comprises three Working Groups (WGs) and eleven Expert Groups (EGs) reporting to each WG.

Table 1. Structure of ASTAP.

2. Major outcomes of ASTAP-36 and action plans for ASTAP-37

Table 2 summarizes the major outcomes of ASTAP-36. WG PSC issued a new APT Report titled “Best practices and environment friendly policies for effective ICT deployment methods,” which highlights experiences on environmental protection using ICT technology. WG PSC also revised or amended three existing APT Reports: “Handbook to introduce ICT solutions for the community in rural areas,” “Asia-Pacific regional activities on human exposure to EMF,” and “Standardization activities for e-waste and rare metals,” as scheduled.

Table 2. Major outcomes of ASTAP-36.

WG NS issued one new APT Report titled “Guidelines for 5G network sharing and co-construction.” Chinese and South Korean experts provided extensive comments and proposals to this new report, implying their strong interest in sharing wireless infrastructures to facilitate effective construction and operation.

WG SA issued a new APT Report titled “Requirements and framework of IoT older person care solutions.” This WG also accomplished the revision of the existing APT Guideline “Guidelines for security use of IT devices and services.”

Table 3 summarizes the main objectives of each WG and EG toward ASTAP-37. Discussions will continue on 21 topics related to new or revised APT Reports/Guidelines. Among these 21 topics, 11 documents are planned to be approved and issued at ASTAP-37. During ASTAP-36, EG FN&NGN agreed to start discussions on a new APT Report titled “Low-altitude network and its key technology” in accordance with the proposal from China and strong support from Vietnam. In this new work item, various applications of social infrastructure management using drones will be investigated, including related key technologies. This new APT Report is expected to be issued at ASTAP-39.

Table 3. Objectives for ASTAP-37.

3. Industry workshop

ASTAP-36 included an industry workshop with its program outlined in Table 4. Three sessions were held consecutively. Session 1 focused on supply chain cybersecurity, showcasing seven experiences from Japan and China that highlighted harmonized activities among industries and governments as well as unique trials in each industry. Session 2 featured nine individual experiences on the effective use of ICT by small and medium enterprises in Japan, China, South Korea, and Malaysia. This session investigated three key aspects: sustainable development goals (SDGs), wireless infrastructure construction in rural areas, and quantum computing. Session 3 was designated as an APT/ITU workshop on establishing national standardization secretariats (NSSs) for BSG capacity building. In this session, Mr. Seizo Onoe, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), delivered the keynote speech and Mr. Akihiro Kato, Coordination Advisor, ITU TSB, explained the NSS guidelines. A panel discussion followed, enabling the sharing of various opinions and perspectives.

Table 4. Program for industry workshop.

4. Future direction

ASTAP-37 will be held in 2025, with the exact date and venue yet to be determined. A vice-chair will plan an industry workshop as part of ASTAP-37.

References

[1]	APT, https://www.apt.int/APT-Introduction
[2]	ASTAP, https://www.apt.int/APTASTAP