The National Communications Authority (NCA) in collaboration with the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), will host the 1st African Preparatory Meeting (APM-1) for the 2028 World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-28) in Accra.
The preparatory meeting, scheduled for Apirl 13 to 17, 2026 at the Palms Airport City Hotel, marks the beginning of a strategic journey to unify the continent’s voice in the global digital landscape.
A statement from ATU said Accra was chosen for the meeting because it stands tall as the digital gateway to West Africa, and therefore provides the perfect backdrop for this pivotal assembly.
Under the theme “Strengthening Africa’s Common Position for WTSA-28,” delegates from across the continent will gather in Accra to move Africa from being “rule-takers” to “rule-makers” in ICT standardization.
The WTSA is the primary meeting of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), where the new leadership team is elected, and work program for the sector is also defined for the next four years. The various regions across the world often come to the meeting with a united front to push for global standards that are relevant to the needs of their respective peoples.
In a strategic move to address immediate regional challenges, the Africa preparatory meeting is being held back-to-back with two high-level regional workshops, as well as the ITU-T Study Group 2 Regional Group for Africa (SG2RG-AFR) and the ITU-T Study Group 3 Regional Group for Africa (SG3RG-AFR).
All events will take place during the preparatory meeting in Accra.
The meeting will also feature a workshop to establish Africa’s position on a number of industry standards, including Over-the-Top (OTT) services. Participants will deliberate on the economic and regulatory frameworks governing OTT services, focusing on the “fair share” debate to ensure sustainable investment in Africa’s network infrastructure.
There will also be a workshop on the implementation of a Common Emergency Number (CEN) in Africa, highlighting a critical safety priority. That workshop aims to harmonize emergency communication standards across the continent, ensuring that every African citizen can access life-saving services through a unified and standardized number.
Strategic Objectives of WTSA-2028
The week-long event serves as the foundational platform for:
• Establishing the governance structure and working groups for the WTSA-28 cycle.
• Identifying priority technical areas including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, and subsea cable resilience.
• Fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration between industry, academia, and civil society to ensure that emerging standards remain inclusive and human-centric.
The outcomes of these deliberations will form the bedrock of the African Common Positions (ACPs), ensuring that Africa’s unique socio-economic needs remain at the heart of future global ICT standards.
