Key Points

This ITU event is being organised by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), technical arm of Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Addressing at the inaugural session of the three-day event, Sanjeev Bidwai, Member (T), DCC, emphasised that AI-Native Networks (AI-NN) represent a fundamental shift in telecom design.

He noted the growing role of AI in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, enabling intelligent orchestration across domains. Bidwai highlighted India's ongoing efforts in this space, including national initiatives like 'Bharat Gen'-India's first indigenously developed, government-funded, AI-based Multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) for Indian languages, as well as other projects led by IITs and CDOT in AI-based network automation and digital twins.

He also emphasised the importance of deploying AI in an ethical, inclusive, and secure manner, highlighting the need for explainability, digital sovereignty, and the evolution of regulatory frameworks.

In a video address, Seizo Onoe, Director of the Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau, ITU, underscored the potential of AI-native networks to deliver next-generation performance through intelligent automation, self-management, and real-time optimisation.

Atsuo Okuda, ITU Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, highlighted the region's pivotal role as a digital innovation hub, emphasising that AI-native networks are essential to building smart, secure, and responsive communication systems. She drew attention to the need for collaborative frameworks to bridge the digital divide and power emerging use cases in smart cities, healthcare, and education.

During the event, India sought support of ITU members for its bid to host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2030 (PP-30), continued membership in the forthcoming ITU Council (2027-2031) and for Indian Nominee, M Revathi, as the first woman and first Regional candidate for Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau (2027-30).

The event witnessed participation of Niraj Verma, Administrator (DBN), Rudra Narayan Palai, Member (Designate), DoT, Deb Kumar Chakrabarty, Member (Designate), DoT, Shubhendu Tiwari, Advisor (Technology), Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT, Tripti Saxena, Senior DDG, TEC and other senior officers of DoT, academicians, technologists, and industry representatives from India and abroad.

This event marks a significant milestone in shaping the future of AI-native telecommunication networks, with the potential to revolutionise the global communications landscape. As AI continues to evolve, the work done by the Focus Group will be instrumental in laying the groundwork for more intelligent, adaptive, and efficient networks.

- ANI