The International Telecommunications Union concluded its first ever Global Standards Symposium this week with the determination to call for more ‘aggressive action’ to streamline standardisation work and end duplication of efforts within the sector.

The event, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, was attended by government Ministers, diplomats, senior executives from the private sector and lead offices from other standards bodies. According to an ITU statement, the current standardisation process needs more ‘clarity’ and ‘efficiency.’ Industry and standards leaders at the event argued that the bewildering array of standards bodies is costly and inefficient.

“We must ensure we all pull together and avoid duplication of effort and waste our increasingly limited resources. Even large organizations are having difficulty resourcing this effort, so how can small organizations, especially from developing countries, hope to play a role?” said ITU standards chief Malcolm Johnson.

The ITU estimates that there are over 300 ICT standards bodies in existence today while the Symposium’s delegates agreed that keeping track of them was a difficult task. Better coordination at an international level is needed between industry and standards developing organizations (SDOs) to ensure that standardization needs are met quickly and efficiently, the ITU said.

As such, the ITU is proposing to become the international coordinator of the work. While it doesn’t explain what is to be done with all those standardisations bodies, the ITU adds that it is now planning steps to establish a direct line of communications between technology leaders and its own standardisation arm. This would ensure that emerging needs are addressed in the most efficient manner and at the most appropriate place, it said.

“ITU has long championed this cause, and is committed to providing high-quality, demand-driven international standards, which are developed rapidly, in line with the principles of global connectivity, openness, affordability, reliability, interoperability and security,” Johnson said.

“Standards are a proven tool in terms of economic development,” ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun Touré said while underlined the importance of standards in times of financial crisis. He added that “standards may have a significant effect on limiting the undesirable outcomes of market failure. And, the work of ITU and other bodies in the development of global standards for ICTs and telecoms has helped the smoother, more economical introduction of new technologies.”

ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
As part of the Symposium, the attendees also address ICTs and climate change, increasing developing country participation in the standardization process, and accessibility to ICTs for persons with disabilities. The importance of the work of the ITU Focus Group on Climate Change was recognized; in particular the need for a standardized approach to measuring the impact of ICTs on the reduction of GHG emissions.

“From a standardization perspective, ITU has already produced a checklist for standards authors to ensure climate change is taken into account in the development of our standards,” Johnson said. “Industry is faced with probably its biggest ever challenge but also its biggest every opportunity in terms of corporate social responsibility. There is the challenge for the ICT industry to limit its own emissions, but also the opportunity to maximize its potential to help other sectors reduce their emissions. This could make for a tremendously good news story for the ICT industry.”

The Symposium took place one day before the start of ITU’s World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-08), a quadrennial event where ITU members decide on the direction of ITU’s standardization work for the next four years. A report from the Symposium will be submitted to WTSA-08.