both voice and data.
Future direction for NGN
The ITU/APT Workshop on NGN Planning made some key recommendations:
Regulators and policy makers to provide clear and
consistent enabling environments for NGN and be involved in the NGN
planning, implementation and educational process
Develop standardized planning tools to assist
developing countries to migrate from traditional telecommunication networks
to NGN
Regulators to ensure that service providers meet
agreed quality of service standards equivalent to traditional circuit
switched voice networks
NGN Requirements to include security levels that
meet the needs of end users and provide confidence in the use of
applications and services in NGN-compliant networks
Establish NGN standards to make emergency and
location-based services available seamlessly and reliably across the entire
network
Raise greater awareness on the various issues
related to NGN planning
Mr Malcolm Johnson, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization
Bureau, said, "NGN has the potential to accelerate the deployment of
telecommunication networks and services in developing countries." As cost and
revenue are the drivers of this development, the capital cost of deploying NGN
technology, both in the core of the network, and the operating costs are
significantly lower than circuit switched technologies. "This will enable rapid
expansion of network capabilities," Mr Johnson added. "NGN will also enable a
range of multimedia services to be provided more easily and with less cost, and
so increase potential revenues. It offers the opportunity for developing
countries to leapfrog several generations of technology." He also stressed the
importance of "bridging the standardization gap" by planning for NGN at regional
levels.
Executive Director of APT, Mr Amarendra Narayan said, "We need to urgently
address the needs of the Asia-Pacific region for cost effective options of
Broadband access while finalizing the international standardization framework
for NGN. This is particularly important for developing countries and rural and
remote areas. APT and ITU can play a key role in ascertaining Asia Pacific
regional needs". He added that a range of APT programmes are already heavily
involved in NGN standardization as well as policy and regulatory issues. This
includes the work being undertaken by the Asia Pacific Telecommunity
Standardization Programme (ASTAP) and associated policy and regulatory forums.
Ms Kim Eun-Ju, Head of the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,
said, "This is the first step towards meeting the main objectives of the
Asia-Pacific Regional Initiative on NGN Planning, which was adopted at the World
Telecommunication Development Conference in Doha in 2006. It aims to assist
developing countries in our region to migrate smoothly from existing networks to
NGN." She urged participating State and Sector Members to be more pro-active in
implementing next-generation networks by building partnerships to satisfy the
paradigm shifts in the NGN era.
The Workshop served as a platform for discussion and exchange of views on
practical guidelines on NGN planning, exploration of ways to deploy
cost-effective NGN technologies and to find solutions for NGN implementation in
rural and remote areas.
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