ITU-T sessions pave way for Tanzania’s digital future

ARUSHA: TANZANIA Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) is optimistic that outcomes of the just concluded ITU-T Study Group 20 (SG20) sessions in Arusha will drive critical developments in the ever-evolving digital technologies landscape.

The regulator’s Director of Industry Affairs, Engineer Mwesigwa Felician said the global event set standards and recommendations from the sector’s experts are instrumental in realising the integration of ICT into people’s daily lives.

“The deployment of these standards will pave the way for technological advancements that lead the application of ICT in our daily lives,” he stressed.

Eng Felician added that the standards will support the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT); smart cities and communities, address key challenges and opportunities in big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) usage within the communication sector and enhance security and privacy solutions.

To him, the event has boosted collaboration between Tanzania and the ITU, reflecting the global commitment to advancing the communication sector as he insisted that the outcomes are expected to have a profound impact not only on Tanzania but also on the global communication sector.

The discussions in the meeting centred on security, privacy, trust and identification for IoT and SC&C, IoT interoperability and networking, architectural frameworks for IoT application across sectors, IoT and SC&C protocols, data analytics, digital technologies and the evaluation of smart sustainable cities and communities.

Mr Ansbert Pallangyo, a resident of Arusha and an ICT expert, commented on the significance of the meetings, which have proved Tanzania’s commitment on advancing the communication sector.

“The outcomes of the meetings will have a significant impact on the development of the communication sector in Tanzania and around the world,” he said.

At the opening of the sessions, Deputy Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology Engineer Kundo Mathew, expressed Tanzania’s commitment to fully implementing the agreements reached during the meetings, particularly in the development of smart cities and communities and the metaverse.

“Dodoma city has been designated as a pilot for smart cities in Tanzania, from which other cities in the country are set to draw inspiration,” Eng Mathew told reporters shortly after he inaugurated the forum sessions.

“For Tanzania, the successful hosting of the SG20 meetings is a major achievement,” stated Mr Mathew during the opening sessions.

Dr Emmanuel Manasseh, a senior lecturer at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha and an expert in ICTs, expressed optimism about the expected outcomes of the SG20 meetings, anticipating several significant benefits for Tanzania.