India Mobile Congress 2024 and other key global telecom events in Oct

Billed by the government as India's premier technology event, India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024 is to be held on 15 October, alongside two key global telecom meetings in Delhi, Telecom Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw said on Monday.

India will be hosting the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA 2024) from 15-24 October 2024, preceded by the Global Standards Symposium (GSS 2024) on 14 October 2024, Vaishnaw said.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialised United Nations agency for information and communication technologies of which India is a part, conducts the WTSA every four years to plan its standardization programme.

The government believes India’s participation in the meetings is crucial for shaping global agendas in emerging technologies such as 6G, Internet of Things, satellite communications, Quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Over 2,000 technology developers, industry leaders, academicians, policymakers from 193 member countries, and 900+ ITU associate/sector members are expected to reach India for the meetings.

Held by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), IMC, in its eighth edition, should see more than 1,000 exhibitors, the Minister told industry officials.

Held together, all the events are expected to witness around 8,000-plus CXOs and industry delegates, 150,000-plus attendees, 400+ speakers, and 80+ sessions.

Spectrum Regulatory Sandbox

Vaishnaw also released new guidelines for Spectrum Regulatory Sandbox and Wireless Test Zones. Introduced by the DoT, the guidelines will enable the development of technology for using and improving the efficiency of greenfield spectrum bands.

Improving the ease of doing business, the move is expected to further give a push to indigenous telecom products by allowing experimentation in unassigned and assigned spectrum bands.

The government has also abolished the requirement for a Wireless Operating License (WoL) for establishing, maintaining, or working of telecommunication, including radio equipment.