Indo-European Dialogue on ICT Standards & Emerging Technologies – 4th November 2015

1. In view of the resounding success and positive feedback of its first event held on 13-14 March 2014 in India, ETSI organized the 2nd edition of the “Indo-European dialogue on ICT standards & Emerging Technologies”, on November 4th 2015 in New Delhi. The event was organized under the scope of Project SESEI for bridging the ICT Indo European dialogue and in particular for bringing forward and promoting ETSI’s work and ongoing activities within the Indian standardization community and its actors. The event was held back to back with the 2nd EU-INDIA Co-Operation on ICT Standards Project (http://www.indiaeu-ictstandards.in/) workshop which took place on the 5thNov
2. ETSI once again brought together technical experts from its community and Indian stakeholders for sharing and learning from each other. Strengthening the existing dialogue further in key ICT standardization areas and by hearing from the Indian perspective, their specific requirements and specifications which will help us bridging the two regions even more and create a true long lasting Indo-European dialogue and relationship. This event represented another opportunity to provide stakeholders with an update of present and future ETSI standardization activities and to trigger dialogue with Indian stakeholders for assessing where potential standardization gaps can be bridged and where new venues for collaboration can be established. In summary, maintaining this dialogue strengthens 1) ETSI’s image in India as the privileged ICT SDO to collaborate with, 2) the creation of new venues for collaboration and 3) the relations with local partners and members.
3. Event Programme and side meetings: the topics identified for this 2nd dialogue were consistent and in-line with key ongoing ICT trends and policy initiatives/needs for India and Europe. Event was inaugurated by H.E. Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador designate and Head of Delegation of the European Union to India, and Shri Rakesh Garg, IAS, Chairman TC & Secretary (T), DOT, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt. of India along with Mr. Luis Jorge Romero, Director General – European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Mr. Rajan Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Dr. Asok Chatterjee, Director General, Telecom Standards Development Society India (TSDSI), Prof Sandip S Inamdar, Chairman, R&D Committee, Global ICT Standardisation Forum for India (GISFI) and Mr. T.V. Ramachandran, Chairman Telecom Sector Council, European Business Group. The conference presented the audience with an overview of the following themes while covering the European and Indian perspectives:
   1. Smart City enablers (Internet of Things, Smart Appliances and Machine to Machine)
   2. 5G enablers (Network Functions Virtualization, Spectrum choices for the future and Mobile Edge Computing)
   3. Societal enablers (Cyber Security, Lawful Intercept, 3GPP/Telecom Security and Privacy & Trust)

   Presentations are available here: http://www.etsi.org/news-events/past-events/987-2015-11-2nd-indo-european-dialogue-on-ict-standards-emerging-technologies

4. The conference was attended by over 210 participants, representing the gamut of Indian ICT stakeholders i.e. Indian Standardization Bodies, senior officials from Ministry of Communications and IT, BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), Telecom, SP/NLD (Internet Service Provider/National Long Distance) Operator community, IT and Telecom Equipment Vendors, Telecom, Industry Association and Academicians associated with standards and Technology.
   The European representation consisted of ETSI delegation, EU & EFTA Country Embassies representation / concerned officials and Delegation of the European Union to India.
5. SESEI Role: SESEI has been closely following the progress of standards development activities in India, including challenges and issues of the ICT sector. SESEI along with ETSI identified a suitable timelines to schedule conference to present the most recent standardization work and new technologies being worked at ETSI including Security work at 3GPP. SESEI maintained dialogue with ETSI and the Indian ICT Community to identify topics, themes and issues to be taken up during this two day conference and workshop. In coordination of ETSI, identified topics, sub-topics, Indian speakers, extending invitation to Indian speakers and personally ensuring their availability. Defined the progamme flow, background papers for each session and played the role of master of entire activities, ceremonies during the Conference and Workshop.
6. The event was highly successful and appreciated amongst both Indian and European ICT Communities, Ministry of Communications & IT, Vendors and operator community equally. Topics, themes, selection of speakers, flow of the event received positive comments and observation from delegates as well as speakers. Above all, the event was a constructive and positive milestone towards re-affirming the dialogue between Europe and India on ICT Standards and ETSI’s image in India.
7. Take-aways & Follow-up for SESEI/ETSI: The event provided an opportunity not only to present ETSI’s standards activities but was also instrumental for understanding where India stands in these different areas presented and what are the Indian requirements. The summarization of the event and follow-up action items emerging post the discussions held at the event are;
   1. Working together is the right way forward, Project SESEI is instrumental connecting the two regions SDOs and associated activities
   2. Security is essential, let’s work and address it together
   3. Work on Standards through TSDSI has progressed well: continue positioning India in the global space by participation, and contribution and working together.
   4. ICT sector needs global standards and India, being the 2nd largest market for the ICT sector, needs to position itself as a global player
   5. Topics such as 5G, NFV/SDN, M2M/IoT, Mobile Edge Computing etc. are the topics of mutual interest and cooperation shall continue through Project SESEI and other existing agreements in place.

The use of TV White Space is being looked favorably by the Government of India. A Workshop on “Running TVWS Pilots in the world —Best Practices” was held on April 28th 2015. The Workshop was conducted by Microsoft experts namely (i) Jeffrey Yan, Director Technology Policy, Microsoft Singapore, Sidney Roberts, Principal IT and Program Manager, Wi Fi & TVWS and Nasser Elaawar, Partner, Service Engineer, Wi-Fi and TVWS, the latter two based in Redmond, USA.

SESEI has contributed to the EBG position paper towards Telecom Chapter on Standards, Smart Cities and M2M. SEEI participates actively in the EBG Telecom sector Committee and drafted the content for the Telecom standardization body, its status and progress made for the EBG Position paper. SESEI attended the Release event of 2015 edition of EBG’s Position Paper and met with the officials of the European companies established in India and also the embassy officials.

SESEI attended the second event of the EU-STI Platform on “HOW CAN EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRY ENGAGE WITH INDIA’S NEW RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES?”
EU-STI is the consortium / or a joint platform created by several European research organizations, universities and initiatives supporting cooperation at EU scale, as well as private companies having established liaison/representation offices or laboratories in India. This platform is created to structure the network, enable information, knowledge and experiences sharing between the members, produce expertise on subjects of mutual interest, reinforce their visibility, and to be a single entry point for industries and public organizations trying to settle in India or start scientific cooperation with India.

SESEI used this opportunity to meet with the members and stakeholders of EU STI platform (European Science, Technology and Innovation Platform in India). The keynote address was given by H. E. Mr. João Cravinho, Ambassador and Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Union to India, followed by Prof. L. S. Shashidhara, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, Mr. Poul Jensen, European Business and Technology Centre and Mr. Denis Dambois, Delegation of European Union to India. Mr. Sharma interacted with the delegates and briefed them about the SESEI project.

Telecommunication Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) and Global Certification Forum (GCF) organized a Summit of selected key stakeholders in the Indian mobile phone industry. The main objective of the workshop was to create awareness among the Indian stakeholders regarding Mobile Devices Testing and Certification. The key participants in the meeting were: Telecom Service Providers (Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL, IDEA, Reliance), Industry Associations (COAI, ICA, SESEI, GSMA), Chipset Manufacturers (Qualcomm, Intel), Test Lab Organizations (Tech Mahindra), and additional participation from GoI, TCOE India, Rohde and Schwarz, etc.

SESEI participated in the summit organized by TDSI and GCF. The purpose of the summit was to consult with industry on the specific challenges of how to ensure device and service quality in India and to explore possible options for “how testing and certification could be beneficial to the Indian mobile market” and what should be the next steps. TSDSI is also actively reaching out to the leadership from the Government of India, Indian operators, mobile manufacturers, chip-set vendors, test organizations, and key ICT Industry Associations. SESEI suggested TSDSI and GCF to work with BIS & Deity in creating a test schedule for their released standards. This is an important exercise as otherwise this standards in its current form will demand repetition of tests already carried out by GCF. GCF shall also strengthen the testing infrastructure in India, which is of importance to Government of India. This will further help India to become a part of global community through MRAs.

Smart Village Forum India 2015 was held on 10th April 2015 brought together by the stakeholders and innovators from the m2m + iot space having exciting solutions targeting and addressing the basics needs of any village, encompassing the vision for a well-connected SMART VILLAGE. Smart Village Forum India 2015 highlighted key sectors that will contribute towards a CONNECTED and SMART village. During the conference deliberations were held on following themes.

• Smarter Villages – Smarter India – How m2m and iot can help build a connected Village?
• Progressing Works and the Road Forward.
• Are INDIAN Villages infrastructure READY?
  • High Speed Internet & Mobile Telephone Connectivity
  • Employment Opportunities with m2m and iot – Making Villages of India EFFICIENT and SELF SUFFICIENT
  • Smart Agriculture, Smart Dairy, Smart Schools, Smart Healthcare, Indigenous Industry Promotions
  • SAFE and HEALTHY lifestyle – towards a SMARTER BRIGHTER tomorrow
  • Energy Management Systems
  • INNOVATIONS and IDEAS – What should we look out for in 2015 and the near future?

SESEI participated as a panelist in the Smart Village Forum 2015. The topic of SESEI’s panel discussion was ‘The Smart Village Infrastructure Readiness – Future Directions of Technology Improvements and Network Architecture Evolution’. The other panelist alongside SESEI in this discussion were;

Mr. Anuj Ashokan, Chair M2M WG – TSDSI, Subject Matter Expert M2M – Tata Teleservices Ltd

Mr. Bhanwar Lal Bishnoi, General Manager – R&D, Landis + Gyr Ltd

Mr. B N Satpathy, Sr. Adviser (E&F/S&T/Industry), NITI Aayog, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Comm. & IT, Government of India

Dr. K Ganapathy, President, Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation

Prof. M P Gupta, Specialization: Information Systems, E-commerce, E-gov, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

SESEI while sharing vision of Mahatma Gandhi’s Ideal Model Village highlighted the various Government Schemes and Initiatives such as;

a) Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana b) Common Service Centers to provide e-Governance Services c) National Optical Fiber Network connecting the Village Panchayat etc. which could be effectively utilized to improve the village infrastructure and empower the villagers. SESEI also suggested important indicators such as Right to Education, eHealth, Sanitation, Bank A/c, Broadband/Wi-Fi, Power, Employment, Pukka Ghar, Accessibility etc. which could be integrated in Village Panchayat plans to step up the village to become a Smart Village. Governance structure also need to be in place for an effective implementation of schemes and funding’s.

On the occasion of the COAI Annual General Body Meeting 2015, they organised a CEOs’ roundtable session on “Accelerating the Digital India Programme”. The focus of the roundtable was to understand how the mobile telephony industry can contribute towards expediting the Digital India initiative of the Government. SESEI attended the roundtable discussions and interacted with the ICT community and COAI officials at the event. ETSI & COAI has a MoU to work in the area of standardization, policy and legislation.

SESEI was invited by EBTC to share the update on Standards activities, globally, in Europe and India.

SESEI participated as the Standardization expert from representing EU and shared the details on;

• Project SESEI in brief,
• What is Smart City
• Standards: International & European Context,
• Smart City – ICT Prospective.

SESEI presented views and work carried out by CEN, CENELEC and ETSI joint Coordination Group on Smart Cities.

The India – EU cooperation in ICT Standardization workshop was held on 19th May 2015 at India International Centre, New Delhi. The purpose of this workshop is to identify priority ICT standardization topics of mutual interest, for which EU will endeavor to extend support for Indian participation in new international standardization efforts.

SESEI was part of the conceptualization and planning of the workshop along with the EU delegation ICT Project team. SESEI addressed the delegates in the inaugural session and also moderated discussion on topics for mutual benefit and identification of 3 priority topics, to be supported in the implementation phase of the project. The following topics were defined/ identified in the workshop post discussions with the participants (including DoT and TEC)

• 5G
• M2M – ITS : In ETSI it is ITS however in TSDSI it is treated as part of M2M
• NFV/SDN

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) hosted a one-day national conference on ‘Smart Infrastructure: Supporting Policies and Regulations for M2M Communications’ on 12th May, 2015 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference was attended by multiple Central & State Governments, private sector, service providers, M2M stake holders, technical community, academia, civil society groups, media etc. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister for Communications & IT, Government of India inaugurated the conference.

SESEI has been an active members of the TEC and TSDSI M2M Working Groups and also contributed towards the ‘National Telecom M2M Roadmap’ paper prepared by Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. SESEI was also instrumental in setting up many meetings between Mr. Joachim Koss, Margot Dor representing ETSI and DoT during the preparation of the M2M paper. The main points highlighted during the conferences were;

1. Government recognizes the futuristic role of M2M and IPv6 to facilitate the role of new technologies in furthering public welfare and many initiatives have been taken in India towards M2M and IPV6
2. ‘National Telecom M2M Roadmap’ has been prepared by DoT to put together various standards, policy & regulatory requirements and approach for the industry on how to look forward for M2M.
3. The Roadmap focusses on open, scalable and interoperable M2M deployments so that various components can be reused bringing efficiency and economy in overall deployment. In addition, IPv6 based applications/ solutions can bring significant value addition in different sectors of the economy.
4. ‘Compendium on IPv6 Based Solutions/ Architecture/ Case Studies for Different Industry Verticals’ formulated by DoT, to serve as a reference document was released in the conference.

During the event TEC also released Technical Reports on Automotive, Health, Power, and Architecture. SESEI worked very closely with all of these Working Groups at TEC while finalizing these reports. Updates on behalf of ETSI and oneM2M were shared and included as part of these reports.