India Hosts ITU’s FG-AINN Meet: Shaping the Future of AI-Native Telecom Networks

India took center stage in global telecom innovation by hosting the 3rd International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) Focus Group on AI-Native for Telecommunication Networks (FG-AINN) in New Delhi from June 11–13, 2025. The meeting, organized by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), aimed to redefine how future telecom networks operate using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a core, rather than an auxiliary, component. This marks a significant step forward in shaping globally intelligent, adaptive, and autonomous communication systems.

Why in News?

The 3rd FG-AINN meeting kicked off in New Delhi on June 11, 2025, focusing on AI-native telecom networks. India also proposed to host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2030 (PP-30) and nominated Ms. M. Revathi as the first female and regional candidate for Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau (2027–2030). The event featured a Build-a-Thon 2025, encouraging real-time co-creation of AI-based telecom solutions. Discussions explored key advances such as federated learning, 6G use cases, AI agents, and facial recognition in telecom.

Key Objectives and Goals

• Redefine Telecom Architecture: Embed AI at the core for self-optimizing and resilient networks.
• Promote Global Cooperation: Collaborate on standards and innovations for future-ready telecom.
• Support Ethical AI Use: Ensure deployment is inclusive, explainable, and respects digital sovereignty.

Event Highlights

• Organized By: Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), under DoT.
• Inauguration: Mr. Sanjeev Bidwai emphasized the role of AI in 3GPP standards, Bharat Gen LLM, and CDOT innovations.
• Global Participation: Senior DoT officials, industry leaders, and ITU representatives, including:
• Seizo Onoe, Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau
• Atsuo Okuda, ITU Regional Director (Asia-Pacific)

India’s Strategic Announcements

• Proposed to Host: ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2030 (PP-30).
• ITU Council Nomination: For term 2027–2031.
• Ms. M. Revathi’s Nomination: For Director of ITU Radiocommunication Bureau, making her the first woman and regional candidate for the post.

About FG-AINN (Focus Group on AI-Native Networks)

• Established: July 2024 by ITU-T Study Group 13.

Focus

• Explore architectural redesigns required to embed AI at network cores.
• Develop next-generation telecom applications: smart cities, healthcare, disaster-aware systems.
• Address challenges like call drops, network latency, and real-time adaptability.