Geneva, Switzerland, 28 (PM) June 2016

Contact: tsbworkshops@itu.int

Introduction  

Resolution 188 (Busan, 2014) of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, on Combating counterfeit telecommunication/information and communication technology devices resolves to instruct the Directors of the three Bureaux to assist Member States in addressing their concerns with respect to counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices, through information sharing at the regional or global level, including conformity assessment systems.

Also, the ITU workshop on "Combating counterfeit and substandard ICT devices" in November 2014 identified  the scope of problems and the negative impact of counterfeiting ranging from lost taxes, royalties and other revenues; decreased sales, prices and operations; erosion of brand value, goodwill and reputation; reduced incentive to innovate and invest; lower employment and economic growth rates; network disruptions and interoperability challenges resulting in poor quality of service delivery and reception; and risks to health, safety and environment.

Going forward, there is the need for actions to be taken to combat ICT product counterfeiting.  Consequently, ITU-T SG11 Question 8(Q8) is currently leading the studies to determine every possible technical solution to combat counterfeit ICT devices. Q8 has published a technical report on counterfeit ICT device and a number of new work items have been established including draft new Recommendation “Framework for Solutions to Combat Counterfeit ICT Devices".
Also, within the ITU and around the world, there have been debates as to whether or not conformance and interoperability programmes could be one of the technical solutions to combat counterfeit ICT devices.

Objectives

This workshop aimed: 

• To create awareness of the studies currently on-going in ITU-T SG11 Q8 and particularly to foster development of the technical Recommendation “Framework for Solutions to Combat Counterfeit ICT Devices".
• To determine whether or not conformance and interoperability programmes can assist to combat counterfeit ICT devices;
• To understand new trends and mechanisms in ICT counterfeiting, tempering and/or duplication of unique device identifiers;
• To understand 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;
• To continue raising awareness of the problem of counterfeiting of ICT devices and the dangers they pose; and
• To solicit views, proposals and ideas from ITU experts and experts around the World for further studies during the next study period.

​Target Audience

Both ITU members and non-members were invited. In particular, the participation of vendors and manufacturers, research institutions and academia, laboratories, regulators, operators, NGOs, custom authorities and security agencies, standards and conformity assessment bodies and other such similar organizations were welcomed.