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GSR 2025

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

​​​​​​Updated: 02 March​ 2022​

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  1. What is the status, dates, and location of WTSA and GSS?
    • As indicated in ITU Circular Letter 21/39, the next WTSA will be held physically from 1 to 9 March 2022, preceded by the Global Standards Symposium (GSS-20) on 28 February 2022, both in Geneva, Switzerland.
    • As announced in TSB Circular 203, WTSA-20 will be a physical meeting with interactive remote participation facilities provided to delegates.
    • The WTSA website is https://www.itu.int/go/wtsa
    • As announced in TSB Circular 204, all delegates are invited to participate in GSS, which will be organized in line with Plenipotentiary Resolution 122 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010).
    • The GSS website is https://gss.itu.int/
  2. Is there COVID-19 specific information related to participation in WTSA and GSS?
  3. ​ Is there guidance for room seating due to COVID-19 regulations?
    • Wearing a mask is required within the CICG, CCV, and ITU conference premises.​
  4. What if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 within the meeting, either through an ITU staff or a delegate, and the need for transparency on that – especially if asymptomatic?
    • A contact tracing system will be in place during the entire event (through the RFID badges)
    • ITU Medical service will clinically manage potential symptomatic suspect cases, perform rapid antigen testing if necessary, and refer delegates to healthcare facilities if needed.
    • Current Swiss requirements for persons tested positive is to isolate for 5 days.
    • In the unlikely event that a participant (delegate or ITU staff) is developing severe symptoms requiring a hospitalization, the subsequent costs fall under the personal responsibility. Participants, especially those coming from a foreign country should ensure the health-related costs billed in Switzerland can be covered by their personal healthcare plan.
      https://www.hug.ch/en/invoice
      https://www.hug.ch/en/you-are-domiciled-outside-geneva
  5. What cleaning / air circulation will occur in the meeting rooms for both between meetings and at the end of each day? And what about the status of air conditioning/circulation in the CICG and ITU buildings?
    • The CICG rooms air circulation capacities are modelled with the CARA dedicated application (developed by the CERN). The tool models the COVID-19 concentration in the air and is used in the ITU scenarios for Business Continuity.
    • The cleaning protocol with the CICG is in line with the “clean and Safe” label https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/planning/about-switzerland/clean-safe/
  6. Will COVID-19 testing facilities be available for WTSA-20 and GSS-20 delegates?
    • Rapid Antigen Testing is currently freely available in pharmacies and other medical facilities in Geneva.
    • ITU Medical service will clinically manage potential symptomatic suspect cases, perform rapid antigen testing if necessary, and refer delegates to healthcare facilities if needed.
    • PCR testing facilities will be identified to facilitate testing for GSS-20 and WTSA-20 participants needing a test to return home. For those delegates requiring a PCR test performed 72 to 48 hours prior to departure, a PCR testing facility will be set up in CCV premises on 7, 8, and 9 March 2022, on appointment outside of conference hours, with results available in less than 24 hours, testing costs at the expense of the delegate.
  7. What happens if COVID-19 persists and travel would not be possible in March 2022?
    • ITU Council will be consulted for contingency plans.
  8. How will participant registration for WTSA-20 and GSS-20 be done?
    • The list of registered participants is available here (TIES access):  https://www.itu.int/online/mm-new/scripts/s/gensel23?_event=C-00007543&_event_type=ZSET
    • Registration for WTSA-20 and GSS-20 is carried out exclusively online at https://www.itu.int/go/wtsa/reg and http://www.itu.int/go/gss/reg, respectively. Registration is required for all WTSA-20 and GSS-20 participants (either physically present or remote). This is applicable also to the representatives from local Permanent Missions because Permanent Mission badges will not give access to the CICG.
    • Registration is carried out exclusively online by each participant. Participants who wish to participate remotely may select this option upon online registration. Participants are required to complete an online registration request, which will be sent automatically for approval to the designated focal point (DFPs) of the member organization. For this purpose, DFPs will receive an e-mail notification to approve/reject each registration request.
    • A registration confirmation e-mail will be sent to participants as soon as their DFP for registration have approved the requests for registration.
    • DFPs need an ITU user account with TIES access to approve the online registration system.
    • The list of registered DFPs is found at https://itu.int/online/mm/scripts/s/gensel77.
      (An ITU account with TIES access is required to access this list.)
    • Administrations or entities wishing to modify the contact details of a DFP are kindly requested to provide updated details to wtsa-reg@itu.int.
    • Badges for WTSA-20 and GSS-20 will be photo badges and can be collected at the Varembé Conference Centre (CCV), directly across the street from CICG.
      • CCV Badging Opening hours:
        • Thursday 3 March : 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
        • Friday 4 March: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
        • Saturday 5 March: 9 AM to 5 PM ​(ITU Montbrillant)
        • Sunday 6 March: 9 AM to 5 PM (ITU Montbrillant)
        • Monday 7 March: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
        • Tuesday 8 March: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
        • Wednesday 9 March: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM​
    • Visa support will be available for the ITU membership. Request for visa support should be done at the time of registration by selecting the specific check box in the online form.
    • While registering for the event, please duly take into consideration the information related to the sanitary measures and conditions of entry in Switzerland.
  9. Are fellowships offered to participate in WTSA-20?
  10. Are there preferred hotels?
    • Several Geneva hotels offer preferential rates for delegates attending ITU meetings and provide a card giving free access to Geneva’s public transport system. A list of participating hotels, and guidance on how to claim discounts, can be found at: https://www.itu.int/travel.
    • Please check the cancellation policy of the hotel before booking.
  11. Where will GSS-20 take place?
    • GSS-20 will take place at the CICG.
  12. Where will WTSA-20 meetings take place?
    • WTSA meetings will be largely in CICG. When necessary, ITU HQ meeting rooms will be used.
    • During the week of 7 March, ITU will share CICG with another event of UNHCR. Therefore, some of the committee meetings will be in ITU.
  13. At what time is CICG accessible?
    • CICG is accessible from 0700 to 1900 hours (Geneva time) for GSS-20 and WTSA-20.
  14. At what time are ITU HQ meeting rooms accessible?
    • Meeting rooms at ITU HQ are accessible at any time.
  15. Could meeting rooms be reserved for regional organization coordination meetings?
    • Yes meeting rooms at CICG and ITU are available for reservation.
    • Please email conf-logistics@itu.int for reservation with an indication of the time of the meeting, the number of physical participants in Geneva, and if zoom is needed.
  16. How to submit a Contribution to WTSA-20?
  17. What is the WTSA Contribution deadline?
    • Delegations are invited to submit contributions to WTSA-20 four weeks before the opening of WTSA-20 (Monday, 31 January 2022), noting that, as decided in Plenipotentiary Resolution 165 (Rev. Dubai, 2018), there is a firm submission deadline of 21 calendar days prior to the opening of WTSA-20 (Monday, 7 February 2022 at 2359 hours Geneva time)
    • Contribution’s deadline is now closed.
  18. How to access the WTSA-20 Contributions received so far?
    • Contributions are posted "As received" on the SharePoint site here.
    • Official versions of Contributions are available in all six official languages of the Union on the WTSA-20 Documents webpage.
  19. What tools will be used to manage WTSA-20 Proposals?
  20. What’s the deadline for the nomination of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen to TSAG, SGs, and SCV?
    • The web page https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/wtsa20/candidates lists candidatures already submitted by various administrations/organizations. Should your administration/organization also like to propose a candidate for a post of chairman or vice‑chairman of an ITU-T study group, TSAG or SCV, or support a currently serving chairman or vice-chairman, nominations are appreciated by 30 November 2021, but nolater than 14 February 2022, the name and biographical profile highlighting the qualifications of the individual concerned.
    • Please see Circular 202 for further details
    • Nomination deadline is now closed.
  21. What will be the structure and leadership of WTSA-20?
  22. Once WTSA is held in 2022, when will be the subsequent WTSA?
    • WTSA would go back to its initial four-year cycle and the next WTSA would be held in 2024.
  23. What is the designation of this and next study period?
    • TSAG-TD1015 (2021-01) Current and next Study Period designation: Historical data concerning identification of the study period (SP) ranges points to designating the current study period (SP16) planned to end 9 March 2022 as 2016-2021; and the next study period (SP17) planned to end in the 2nd half of 2024 as 2022-2024.
    • Despite 2017-2021 being now the official year range for SP16, for best business continuity, documentation will continue to bear the range 2017-2020, and existing IT resources (e.g., URLs) will continue to use the same SP range until the end of SP16.
  24. Will remote participation be made available to all meetings: Plenary, Committee, ad-hoc groups, drafting groups, etc.?
    • Yes, ITU will provide remote participation facilities to all meetings, with the understanding that there is a finite number of parallel sessions limited by the number of physical meeting rooms that are enabled to provide remote participation.
  25. Who can participate in decision making?
    • As WTSA is a physical meeting, decisions will be taken by delegates physically present in the Plenary meeting.
  26. What can TSAG decide on, vis-a-vis WTSA?
    • Documents C20/INF/23 and VC-2/3 identify the areas where TSAG is already authorized to act.
    • CS/Art.18 and CS/Art.19 governs the duties of WTSA; duties and responsibilities of WTSA are governed in CV/Art.13; duties and responsibilities of TSAG are governed in CV/Art.14A; WTSA-16 Resolution 1 Section 4, WTSA-16 Resolution 22, and WTSA-16 Resolution 45.
  27. Is decision making in WTSA different from TSAG and SG meetings?
    • Since April 2020 when Covid-19 prevented travel to ITU meetings, TSAG and ITU-T SGs have been meeting virtually and have agreed to take decisions by consensus in their virtual meetings.
    • However, ITU Council decided to have WTSA-20 as a physical meeting and hence decisions will be taken by delegates physically present in the meeting room of the WTSA Plenary.
  28. Which arrangements are being made for Committee 5 (Editorial) to keep this meeting "open" and with remote participation? Will it be meeting physically?
    • Like all other committees of WTSA-20, Committee 5 will meet physically with remote participation provided.
    • COM5 is typically convened with a small team. A meeting room in the ITU HQ could be reserved for COM5 to allow for the meeting to have flexible meeting hours and remote participation.
  29. Is it possible to agree that all WTSA-20 meetings would be time-bound to 8:00 to 19:00 hours Monday through Friday (meaning no evening session and no weekend meetings)?
    • This is an arrangement that would need to be decided at the opening Plenary of WTSA.
  30. Is it possible to ensure that all meetings (of any type) would only be held with remote participation being provided?
    • This is an arrangement that would need to be decided at the opening Plenary of WTSA.
  31. If there is no consensus on certain modifications to resolutions, what is the resulting conclusion?
    • If consensus could not be reach on modifications, then there is usually no change to existing text.

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