APT Training 2023

— Developing fundamental network planning skills in regional communities tobridge the digital divide —The ITU Association of Japan
International Cooperation Department
Since FY2017, the ITU Associationof Japan has been conducting an AsiaPacific Telecommunity (APT) training
pro g r a m ＊1 a s a hu m a n-r e s o u rc e
development support program to teachnetwork planning skills, in an effort toeliminate information disparity in urban
and rural areas of developing countries, inthe APT.
Over the eight days＊2, from October
11 to 20, 2023, we held a face-to-facetraining program for the first time in fouryears, since 2018. This year, the training
was held approximately one month earlier
than most years, so there was only about
one month—less than usual—to recruit
participants, but with the help of the APT
administration, nine trainees were selectedfrom the APT. One was selected fromeach of Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal,Palau, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
and Tuvalu. The trainees stayed at theHotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, near thesouth exit of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo,
and the training was held in a meetingroom on the fourth floor of a building next
to the hotel.
In an effort to eliminate information
disparity in urban and rural areas ofdeveloping countries, trainees gained skills
to analyze the state of communication
networks in their countries, to use basic
network design methods for eliminating
information disparity, and to apply thosemethods designing a communications
network optimized for their region. The
trainees were given to several tasks. Before
the training, each trainee had to submit
a country report analyzing the state andissues with communication networks intheir own country. Then, at the end of
the training period, they had to select anunder-populated area in their own country,
study what would be the best type ofnetwork for that area using the network
design skills they had learned, and submit
an action plan summarizing the results of
their study.
The training proceeded with lecturesand drills for practice. Mr. Takayoshi
Hamano, formerly of NTT, conducted the“Network Planning” lectures and drills,
regarding technical skills for overcoming
digital disparity. To complement this,“Optical Fiber” lectures were given by Mr.
Kazuhide Nakajima, who is from NTT.
The schedule for the eight-day training
program was as follows.
･ Day 1 AM O
 rientation , Opening
ceremony
PM P
 resentation of traineecountry reports, Welcome
reception.
･ Day 2 AM P resentation of Japancountry report
PM L
 ectures by Mr. Hamano,Mr. Nakajima.

･ Day 3	Visit to Kanagawa Institute ofTechnology･ Day 4 to Day 6 Practice with variousdrills･ Day 7 Create an action plan･ Day 8 AM P
 resentation of actionplans by trainees, closing
ceremony, farewell lunch
meeting
A detailed description of each dayfollows.
The first day began with an orienta­
tion, providing guidance regarding
the training program. This included anoverview of the schedule and the areasurrounding Shinjuku station. An icebreaker was then held to help diffuse anytension, in which trainees introduced
themselves to each other in pairs. Anopening ceremony was held in theafternoon, with an opening greeting byMr. Yujiro Hayashi from the Ministryof Internal Affairs and Communications(MIC) (Figure 1). This was followedby presentations of country reports,■ Figure 1: Group photo from the opening ceremony＊1 A training program to convey Japanese technologies and services to communications technologists and government-related people in APT member countries, using funding
contributed by the Japanese government.
＊2 Excluding the weekend (Saturday, Sunday)

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■ Figure 2: C ountry reportpresentation

which trainees were required to prepare
beforehand (Figure 2). The trainees
presented the state of telecommunicationsin their countries, including issues such as
the digital divide, with local data such as
the various regions, population, geography
and the available equipment and facilities.
Through the presentations and Q&A
sessions afterward, participants shared
the state of the telecommunications
environment in their countries withthe lecturers and other participants.
A welcome reception was held after
presentation of the country reports,
helping to build closer relations among
the trainees and with the lecturers andsecretary staff. In the morning on Day 2,
the ITU-AJ Secretary General, Kazuhiko
Tanaka, gave a presentation on the stateof mobile communications in Japan as acountry report for Japan. In the afternoon,
Mr. Hamano gave a lecture on network
planning and wireless technology, which
trainees would work on starting on Day
4 (Figure 3). Finally, Mr. Nakajima fromNTT gave a lecture on optical fiber,
providing the trainees with details ofoptical fiber technology.
On Day 3, trainees visited Kanagawa
Institute of technology, so they could see■ Figure 3: Network planning lectureby Mr. Hamano■ Figure 4: Group photo from Kanagawa Institute of Technology

an advanced technology research facility inJapan (Figure 4). In the morning, trainees
learned about smart-house technology
in a lecture by Kanagawa Institute ofTechnology Professor Masao Isshiki. In
the afternoon, they visited the university’ssmart-house experimental building, andlearned how smart-house technology isactually being used through explanationand demonstration (Figure 5). Thiswas followed by tours of various otheruniversity facilities.
From Day 4 to Day 6, trainees studied
basic network design methods throughpractice and discussion, using drills createdfrom different types of geographic data oneach of the three days.
During the mornings, the lecturer
would explain the drills, and individual
students would think about a network
plan for that geography. In the afternoon,trainees divided into three groups to■ Figure 5: Tour of smart house test
facility at Kanagawa
Institute of Technology

discuss the network plan for the geography
in that drill. This discussion was repeated
two or three times, rearranging the groups,
to derive the best network plan. Finally, a
representative from each group presented
their best network plan, and the lecturer
gave comments regarding the presentations
to evaluate them (Figure 6, 7).
Day 7 was for creating presentationmaterials regarding the action plan. The
trainees selected a region in their country,
considered concrete aspects of this area
■ Figure 6: G roup discussion for adrill■ Figure 7: Presentation after group
discussion for a drill

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such as population, geography andavailable facilities, investigated an optimal
network plan for eliminating the digital
divide, and prepared the materials.
On the last day of the training, trainees
presented their action plan (Figure 8). The
lecturer and other trainees held Q&As
about the presented action plans, which
led to lively discussion. After presentationof the action plans there was a closing
ceremony, where IT U-AJ Genera lSecretary, Mr. Tanaka, presented eachtrainee with a certificate for completing thetraining (Figure 9). This was concluded
with each trainee giving their comments
regarding the training program. After theceremony, a farewell luncheon was held at■ Figure 8: Action plan presentationa Japanese restaurant, where they enjoyed asoba and mini-donburi lunch.
It h a s b e en fou r y e a r s si nc e
training was held in-person, so wegave consideration to having a training
environment that would encourage active
discussion among participants. One effort
was to provide drink and snack cateringin the training room, to encourage more
active communication among trainees
and with lecturers and secretary staff. The
trainees gathered there during each breakand it became a good communication
tool. A second effort was to prepare large
printed maps showing the regions for eachof the drill problems, so that the network
plan could be drawn directly on the map.
This also encouraged discussion. We
arranged the desks into the three groups
for group discussions, so that trainees
could sit around the map while discussing
the problem. We also rearranged groupmembers for several discussions soeveryone could hear a range of opinions
when studying network plans, to help
create more-comprehensive network plans.
Each day we had a representative fromeach group present their network plan, but■ Figure 9: Presenting completion certificates

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we also tried to ensure that everyone had achance to give a presentation. As a resultof these efforts, we received action plan
reports from all of the trainees on the finalday.
Because telecommunications technolo­
gy advances so quickly, we want to consider
selection of lecture content and locations
to visit so that participants are exposedto the latest technologies. Although thebasic concepts of designing and building
communication networks do not changemuch, we also want to ensure that thecontent of drills are reviewed appropriately,accord ing to t he latest t rends incommunication technology, so that we canoffer a more meaningful training program.
In conclusion, we would like to offer
sincere thanks to everyone at the APT andMIC for their guidance and cooperation
in offering this training program, to Mr.
Hamano for his efforts preparing lecturematerials and guiding the trainees, toMr. Nakajima from NTT for his lecture,
to Prof. Isshiki and to all others from
Kanagawa Institute of Technology for their
help with the lecture and facility visit.