Summary

  • Asia-Pacific proposes adding the number of countries with adopted national emergency telecom strategies, plans or frameworks to the ITU's 2031 target for resilient networks.
  • The Council draft already counts emergency plans deeper in its development-sector outcomes. The proposal would move a related measure into the headline scorecard for network resilience.

A binder can survive a power cut with perfect dignity. The network named inside it has a harder evening. That gap sits beneath Asia-Pacific's addendum 5 to the ITU's proposed 2028–2031 strategic plan. Under Goal 1, target 1.5, “Resilient networks”, the administrations propose counting Member States that have adopted national emergency telecommunication strategies, plans or frameworks. ITU's register lists the addendum as posted on 21 October for the Doha plenipotentiary conference.

The location of the number is the news. The Council's earlier draft puts quality-of-service and quality-of-experience regulatory frameworks under the high-level resilience target. It already counts countries with national emergency telecommunication plans elsewhere, among development-sector outcomes for disaster-risk reduction. The APT text would elevate a related planning count from sector work into a target meant to describe how connected the world remains under stress.

Plans have real content. ITU's own guidelines say national emergency telecom planning should cover mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. They call for coordination among governments, operators and communities, a map of required capabilities and clear roles. A country that has agreed those arrangements is easier to coordinate when a crisis arrives. A country that has rehearsed them and kept backup capacity working can show still more.

This is where a useful count can become a tempting shortcut. “Adopted” describes a policy action; resilience is experienced in power, routes, repair crews, spectrum access and the time needed to restore service. The APT indicator could make neglected planning visible. Its value will depend on the definition behind the count and on whether ITU also follows implementation and operational performance. Doha's delegates will decide the text; any reporting method comes later.

Official sources