A three day International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Next Generation Networks (NGN) conformity and interoperability testing centre workshop opened  today at Nairobi’ s Intercontinental Hotel. In his opening speech read on behalf by RiccardoPasserini,   the BDT (Telecommunications Development Bureau) director, Sami Al-Basheer said the workshop was meant to address the challenges of connectivity. Sami refers to the Connect Africa summit held in Kigali which had two of its goals focused on the connectivity of capital and major cities including villages with broadband networks by 2012. 

Sami says that a requirement to establish NGN conformity and interoperability testing centres and test beds in Africa arose from the "NGN and Broadband Networks - Opportunities and Challenges" forum held in Lusaka in 2009. "One of the resolutions of the WTDC-10 , Res 47, emphasizes on enhancement of knowledge and effective application of ITU Recommendations in developing countries, including conformance and interoperability testing of systems manufactured on the basis of ITU recommendations".

WTDC-10 Resolution 47 also seeks to assist developing countries in testing of equipment and systems in relevance to their needs and to also hold such testing events especially in the developing countries.  Sami also refererd to the January African Union summit which declared the ICT sector a top priority in member states’ development programmes as a means of achieving the Millenium Development Goals.

Charles Njoroge, Communication Comission of Kenya's Director General in a highlighted the growth and quick succession of telecommunication devices and standards on the African continent.  However, he remarked: " As a net consumer of technology, the continent's need to ensure the vast array of eqipment and technologies imported into the region meet the requisite standards, can interwork with one another and are safe for human use has assumed unprecedented urgency and significance."

The lowering of tariffs in Africa  due to competition and demand of cheap mobile handsets in the low-end market had seen the importation of sub standard handsets in the market. Njoroge also stated that illegal importation continued where regulators tried to clamp down on sub-standard imports and lack of testing labs for ICT equipment worsened the situation.

Therfore, the establishment of conformance testing centres in Africa would help avert the "looming danger" caused by dumping of obsolete and poor quality equipment. Njoroge said that Africa was happy with resources and time that ITU had invested in developing standards for Next Generation Networks, and especially the assistance to developing countries towards bridging the standardization and digital access gaps.