Africa Concludes Weeklong WTSA-28 Preparatory Meeting and ITU-Related Sessions
Africa Concludes Weeklong WTSA-28 Preparatory Meeting and ITU-Related Sessions
April 17, 2026 – Africa has taken a significant step forward in shaping its digital future following the successful conclusion of the First African Preparatory Meeting for the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly 2028 (WTSA-28) held in Accra from 13th to 17th April, 2026. The meeting was hosted by the National Communications Authority (NCA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations (MoCDTI).
The meeting brought together delegates from across the continent with the shared objective of repositioning Africa from being passive adopters of global standards to active contributors in shaping them. It also addressed immediate regional priorities and was held alongside high-level engagements including regional workshops and meetings of the ITU-T Study Group 2 and Study Group 3 Regional Groups for Africa.
Key discussions included the Regional Workshop on Over-the-Top (OTT) Services where stakeholders examined economic and regulatory frameworks, particularly the “fair share” debate, to promote sustainable investment in telecommunications infrastructure. Another critical focal point was the implementation of a Common Emergency Number (CEN) across Africa, aimed at harmonising emergency communication systems and ensuring universal access to life-saving services.
The meeting further served as a platform for establishing governance structures and working groups for the WTSA-28 cycle, identifying priority technical areas such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, and subsea cable resilience, and strengthening multi-stakeholder collaboration among industry, academia, and civil society. These efforts are geared towards ensuring that emerging ICT standards are inclusive, resilient, and reflective of Africa’s development priorities.
It also provided an opportunity to reintroduce Ghana’s candidate for the Radio Regulations Board, Rev. Ing. Edmund Y. Fianko, who is seeking re-election. His candidature reflects a continued commitment to strengthening the integrity of the Board’s work through fairness, consistency and transparency, while upholding the principles of the Radio Regulations and the Constitution and Convention of the Union. In this regard, he respectfully appealed to Member States for their support, citing the advantages of continuity and the gains to be derived from his experience on the next Board.
The successful hosting of these meetings further reinforces Ghana’s role as a regional hub for ICT development and standardisation and highlights the NCA’s continued leadership in driving inclusive and forward-looking digital policy across Africa.
The Authority also acknowledges the valued support of its partners namely, Comsys, GlicoHealth, MainOne, MTN and Telecel, whose contributions were instrumental to the success of the programme.
