16 May 2023
During 9-18 May 2023, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru are hosting the meeting of ITU-T Study Group 9 (SG-9) on “Broadband Cable and Television/Audiovisual content transmission and integrated broadband cable networks” at the IISc campus.
This is the first physical meeting of the SG-9 after the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also the first time that the SG9 meeting is being hosted by India. The event was attended by delegates and representatives from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Congo, Egypt, France, Gambia, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Syria, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, and other countries. In addition, representatives of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN Organisation, and many other experts attended the meeting.
ITU is the oldest UN agency, founded in 1865, to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks. ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to underserved communities worldwide. The Study Group 9 at ITU is responsible for telecommunication systems for primary and secondary distribution of audiovisual content, including accessibility services and emerging interactive media.
The ITU SG9 meeting was held at the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering, IISc. During the inaugural session on 9 May 2023, Mr Avinash Agarwal, DDG(C&B) TEC; Dr Satoshi Miyaji, Chairman of ITU-T SG9; Prof Rajesh Sundaresan, Dean of the Division of Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Sciences at IISc; Prof Pradipta Biswas, Vice-Chair of ITU-T SG9, and the TSB team from ITU Geneva were present.
The SG9 meeting organised sessions to discuss the 11 questions assigned by the ITU Membership at the previous World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly. The SG9 looks at different aspects of transmission, distribution, and rendering of cable and broadband TV, after considering multiple contributions submitted by ITU Members, of which a large part has come from India and Indian stakeholders, including a draft recommendation on a Common User Profile, which is a work item led by IISc. On Wednesday, 10 May 2023, a virtual meeting of IRG-AVA, an ITU group trying to improve accessibility of audio-visual media by coordinating inputs from representatives of ITU-D, ITU-R and ITU-T Sectors, was held.
The Study Group meeting also comprised the ITU Workshop on The Future of Television for South Asia, Arab and Africa Regions, which was held on 11 May 2023, covering regulatory and policy frameworks, emerging and convergent ICT infrastructures and services, as well as user interfaces and human factors. The workshop was held in hybrid mode and was attended by more than 200 participants from over 50 different countries. The speakers included eminent experts such as Premjit Lal​, Deputy Director General (International Relations), Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, India​; Prof Rajesh Sundaresan, Dr Satoshi Miyaji, and Mr Seizo Onoe​, Director, Telecommunication Standarisation Bureau, ITU. The event was accompanied by demos from various industries and research labs including C-DOT, Saankhya Labs, ITI, Qualcomm, Exalto, and Doordarshan as well as three IISc Labs – Centre for Networked Intelligence, 5G test bed, and I3D Labs.
Mr Seizo Oneo, TSB Director, speaking about the event, said, “I thank India’s Ministry of Communications and the Indian Institute of Science for their hard work in arranging the workshop, as well as your hospitality to ITU-T Study Group 9 as the hosts. At the workshop, while the future technologies of digital broadcasting were discussed, it was also highlighted that many countries are still facing challenges in transitioning from analog to digital broadcasting. I hope that the ITU workshop will serve as a platform for sharing best practices and help bridge the gap.”
RELATED LINKS:
ITU Future of TV: ITU Workshop on “The Future of Television for South Asia, Arab and Africa Regions”
ITU SG 9: ITU-T SG9: Broadband cable and TV
ITU: ITU: Committed to connecting the world
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