Tunis, Tunisia, 30 September 2019
Contact:
tsbevents@itu.int
Note:The workshop was postponed from 16 september to
30 September 2019 due to the presidential elections in Tunisia
Introduction
The International Telecommunication Union organized the third ITU-T Study Group 11 Regional Workshop for Africa on “Counterfeit ICT Devices, Conformance and Interoperability Testing Challenges in Africa”. The workshop was kindly hosted by the Centre d'Études et de Recherche des Télécommunications (CERT), and took place at the Hotel Ramada Plaza Gammarth in Tunis,Tunisia on 30 September 2019.
The workshop was followed by the third ITU-T SG11 Regional Group meeting for Africa (
SG11RG-AFR) from 30 September 2019 to 2 October 2019 in the same venue.
Objectives
The workshop aimed to identify and discuss issues related to combatting counterfeiting and Conformance and Interoperability (C&I), with a focus in the African region and ongoing activities under ITU-T SG11 and ITU-T SG11RG-AFR. The discussion focused on:
-
problems and the impact of counterfeiting issues on the ICT market, ranging from lost taxes and other revenue to erosion of brand value, network disruptions and interoperability challenges resulting in poor service delivery; and risks to health, safety and environment;
- new trends and mechanisms in ICT counterfeiting, tampering and/or duplication of unique device identifiers;
- mechanisms to secure the supply chain management (from manufacturing, importation distribution and marketing) to ensure traceability, security, privacy and trust of people, products and networks;
- technical solutions to combat counterfeit ICT devices;
- Implementation of the ITU C&I Programme;
- C&I activities and testing laboratories in the Region;
- MRAs and Harmonized Standards Development for the Region;
- Joint ITU-T/IEC activities including CASC and joint certification schemes;
- ITU-T SG11 activities on C&I and combating counterfeiting ICT devices
The discussions was held in English with a simultaneous interpretation in French.
Target Audience
Participation was free of charge and wasopen to ITU Member States, in particular members of the African region, Sector Members, Associates and Academic Institutions and to any individual from a country that is a member of ITU who wishes to contribute to the work. All vendors and manufacturers, research institutions and academia, laboratories, regulators, operators, NGOs, customs authorities and security agencies, national standards and conformity assessment bodies and other such similar organizations within the African region were welcome to attend.
