SATRC-23 was held from 14 to 16 November 2022 in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran with hybrid format (both physical and virtual/online attendance through Zoom meeting). The meeting was hosted by Communication Regulatory Authority (CRA) of Islamic Republic of Iran and was attended by 124 delegates representing 9 SATRC Members, 2 other Members of APT, 3 Affiliate Members, and other organization.
SATRC-23 consisted of five features which are as follows:
· Firstly, Silver Jubilee Celebration of SATRC: This year, 2022, marks the 25th Anniversary of the SATRC. SATRC Members along with other APT Members and International Organizations celebrated this special occasion during SATRC-23. APT launches SATRC Web Portal (https://satrc.apt.int/) during this occasion.
· Secondly, Regulators’ Roundtable among the Heads of Regulators of the SATRC Member countries discussed and shared insights as well as experiences on ‘Universal and Meaningful Digital Connectivity’.
· Thirdly, Regulator-Industry Dialogue among SATRC Members and industry representatives exchanged their views on ‘Development and Status of OTTs in South Asia’.
· Fourthly, Business Dialogue on ‘Developing the 5G Ecosystem in South Asia’ among industry representatives brought up the regulatory issues on 5G ecosystem from the industry perspective.
· Fifthly, SATRC Members shared their policy and regulatory best practices and experiences on aspects of new and emerging technologies to support the development of digital transformation, digital innovation and digital economy.
In addition, based on the decision of the 45th Session of the Management Committee of the APT (MC-45) regarding usage of gender-neutral language, SATRC-23 reviewed and proposed the revision of the Working Methods of SATRC for approval of the 46th Session of the Management Committee of the APT (MC-46).
Moreover, SATRC-23 reviewed the activities of SATRC Action Plan Phase VIII in 2022 i.e., report of the implementation of SAP-VIII, report of the WG PRS, report of the WG SPEC and discussed the way forward.
The 24th Meeting of the SATRC (SATRC-24) will be held from 3 to 5 October 2023 in Bangladesh.
