ITU-T e-FLASH
Telecommunication Standardization Sector
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New Country, new Number - Country code 211 officially assigned to South Sudan
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ITU is pleased to announce that the world’s newest nation, the
Republic of South Sudan, has been assigned the international
dialling code 211, following the country’s formal recognition as
a UN Member State.
The fledgling South Sudan Ministry of Telecommunications
and Postal Services welcomed the new code, which has particular
resonance for South Sudan’s citizens as representing the year in
which South Sudan gained independence (2011), the date of its
referendum (which took place in the first day of the first month
of 2011), and a symbol of good fortune. The number had been
specifically requested following a special Council of Ministers
Resolution.
Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General, ITU: “A country
code may seem like a small thing, but it is a real signifier of
sovereignty and independence. We join with the international
community in congratulating the government and people of South
Sudan on achieving full nationhood. As a young developing
country there will be challenges, but the power of modern
connectivity will bring a tremendous boost in areas such as
commerce, health and education. ITU is here to help with advice
on the necessary steps towards improved connectivity.”
On independence and recognition by the UN General
Assembly, a country can apply to ITU for a country code. In this
case, ITU officials had been in contact with South Sudanese
officials since January 2011 to explain the procedures in the
case of independence, which meant the country code could be
pre-allocated and assigned as soon as the UN General Assembly
gave South Sudan recognition.
The global country code numbering system is defined in an
ITU standard known as ITU-T Recommendation E.164. ITU
communicates this information to other Member States and the
world’s telecommunication operators in a publication called the
ITU Operational Bulletin, which will also detail the
transitional numbering plan from the previous to the new country
code. In addition to the country code, the Government of the
Republic of South Sudan will be assigned a mobile country code
(MCC) and a signalling area/ network code (SANC). SANCs
facilitate all telephone calls by indicating how calls should be
routed. |
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Technology a key tool in addressing environmental sustainability
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Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-17) in Durban,
South Africa, attendees at the ITU Symposium on ICTs and Climate
Change in Ghana have renewed calls for global leaders to
recognize the power of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) to mitigate and adapt to the effects of
climate change.
An outcome document asks that ITU, as the UN specialized
agency for ICTs, lead a coalition urging COP-17 delegates to
look to the enormous potential of ICT solutions to cut emissions
across all sectors. The document calls for the adoption of a
‘closed loop’ approach to manufacturing and recycling which will
reduce the need to extract and process raw materials. It also
asks for recognition of the value of ICTs in monitoring
deforestation, crop patterns and other environmental phenomena.
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Workshop on relay services for persons with disabilities
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ITU is calling for contributions to a
. The event will take place at ITU
Headquarters, Geneva on 25 November 2011.Relay services allow
people with disabilities to communicate with standard telephone
users. Communication may be made by speech, text, video or any
combination. Video connections are particularly important for
those who wish to use sign language. Modern relay services are
making increasing use of the Internet, which permits a much
wider range of communication terminals for users with
disabilities. Smartphones, laptops, tablets and normal desktop
PCs have all been used and more devices will appear in the
future.
Article 9 of the promotes the use of ICTs to enable
full participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects
of life, on an equal basis with others. It requires governments
to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to
communications and information technology. The increasing number
of countries adopting the UNCRPD will need advice on the
provision of relay services and this workshop aims to meet that
need. ITU-T
is currently studying relay services
with an aim to advise in those areas through ITU-T Technical
Papers and Recommendations. In this context, the workshop is
intended as a forum where ideas, problems and good practices can
be shared. Existing and future relay service suppliers will be
able to share experiences with governments, regulators,
standards makers, user groups and users; the outcomes will be
fed into the Q26/16 studies.
This workshop will address the following topics:
- Experience with operation of relay services, both positive and negative
- User requirements
- Performance parameters
- Innovation in the design or implementation of relay services
- The use of relay services to access emergency services
- Regulatory aspects
- Funding of relay services
- User experiences that have improved the lives of persons with disabilities
- Good practices on improving awareness of relay services.
Anyone wishing to make a presentation during the event
should contact the organiser, Bill Pechey,
(, +44 1491 681236) by 31 August 2011 at
the latest. Requests will be honoured based on speaking slot
availability and thematic consistency.
Contributions on other topics relevant to the theme may
be accepted. |
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Conformity assessment highlighted in Fiji meeting
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The closed 5 July 2011 with agreement
on the need for adaptable and scalable solutions to address
common issues faced by island states in the Pacific. These
include conformity assessment and certification; spectrum
management best practice for mobile broadband and digital
broadcasting, and national spectrum allocation tables and
harmonized spectrum use; public protection and disaster relief
systems.
In addition delegates agreed on the need for assessment
of ICT standardization benefits and ways to prioritize
involvement in global standards development activities. To this
end a national/regional ICT standardization strategy and roadmap
based on conceptual tools such as the standardization
development ladder will be adapted for Pacific Island
requirements and also applied to the radiocommunication spectrum
and standards environment. Also under consideration is a
capacity building programme for developing countries in the
region focusing on implementation of standards for broadband,
wireless and NGN targeting ICT regulatory authorities and
operators.
The overarching goal of ITU’s Bridging the
Standardization Gap program is to facilitate increased
participation of developing countries in standardization, to
ensure that developing countries experience the economic
benefits of associated technological development, and to better
reflect the requirements and interests of developing countries
in the standards-development process. One specific objective of
this project is to understand the primary gaps that must be
overcome to improve the standards development, implementation,
and usage capacities of developing countries.
A number of measures have already been implemented by ITU
to facilitate the participation of developing countries in ITU-T
study group meetings. For instance, almost all ITU-T study
groups are now using remote participation as part of their
regular working methods. The number of Study Group leadership
positions during the Study Period 2009-2012 has increased to
four Chairmen and 47 Vice Chairmen from developing countries,
including five Vice Chairs from least developed countries. In
2010, for the first time, participants from developing countries
outnumbered participants from developed countries in study group
meetings participation.
The workshop was organized in association with Pacific
Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) and the
Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) of the Republic
of Korea with the generous support of the Korea Communications
Commission (KCC), Republic of Korea. |
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New ITU App Challenge calls for IPTV creativity - Competition boosts global standards
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ITU’s latest global
encourages developers
around the world to create innovative IPTV apps running over ITU
standards.
Applicants are encouraged to think creatively about the
IPTV platform and the opportunities it offers. The best app
submitted by an individual or SME* will be awarded USD10,000,
thanks to platinum sponsors Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc. and
Dentsu Inc. There is a separate category for corporate entries,
and winners will receive their awards at a special event at the
show in Geneva in October.
While highlighting the rapidly expanding range of the
IPTV ecosystem, this latest ITU App Challenge is designed to
stimulate ground-breaking ideas from all corners of the globe.
“ITU has pioneered a raft of standards for IPTV, which
are set to transform global viewing habits. Global standards
such as these will be key to take-up,” said Dr Hamadoun Touré,
Secretary-General, ITU. “With this technology we have all the
advantages of traditional ‘linear’ TV combined with the
flexibility that the Internet offers. This challenge offers a
fantastic opportunity for people to be creative, and I hope we
can inspire some truly innovative thinking.”
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ITU and European Patent Office agree to share information - Patent agreement will smooth new tech adoption globally
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ITU has signed an agreement with key Asian standards developers
that will mean new technologies come to market quicker and at
lower cost. ARIB, CCSA, TTA and TTC have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with ITU recognizing ITU as the pre-eminent
global ICT standards body. The agreement seeks to smooth the way
for regional standards, developed in these four key regional
bodies, to be internationally recognized.
The MoU will build on the good relationship ITU has built with
all four bodies over many years, increase transparency between
the organizations, avoid duplication of work and increase
efficiency in the publication of standards. All of which means
that product manufacturers will be able to more efficiently
incorporate globally standardized solutions in their products,
leading to greater economies of scale and lower costs to
consumers.
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Developers: the new climate change heroes?
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Green application developers were inspired to contribute to
following a visit to the
Guardian’s Activate event at the end of June.
Participants in a 'Hacktivate' session were asked to develop and
showcase apps that aim to improve lives through intelligent use
of data and technology.
ITU and challenge sponsor Telefonica were given the opportunity
to promote their Green ICT Application Challenge at the event
inspiring some of the developers to incorporate green thinking
into their apps.
High-speed internet connection, free APIs, expert advice, drinks
and snacks were the ingredients used by more than 50 developers
to put together apps including an app to help find your
vegetable peelings a home; apps to give environmental
credentials on products you might be interested in purchasing;
an app to help you recycle unwanted items around your home and a
climate quiz. More details can be found
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The optical world
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A new ITU-T Technology Watch Report provides an overview of
emerging trends in optical networking and progression towards
the all optical computer. The report also surveys current and
forthcoming standardization work in the field of optical
technologies.
Today, the most widely used optical technology is optical fibre
for high-speed interconnections, such as in server racks,
connecting offices, buildings, metropolitan networks, in
computers for data transfer and even continents via submarine
cables. However, none of these devices is fully optical; all
rely to some extent on conventional electronic circuits and
components.
Without optical technologies and optical networking related
standards, the Internet as we know it today would not be
feasible. Optical technologies have been the driving force
behind the bandwidth growth of the Internet and enabled the
emergence of bandwidth hungry applications for video and new
business models such as YouTube which allows users to share
video clips. According to the annual Cisco Visual Networking
Index, the estimated global Internet Protocol (IP) traffic was
176 exabytes (x1018) in 2009 and is projected to increase more
than fourfold to reach 767 exabytes by 2014. This growth will be
driven mainly by video, due to improvements in bandwidth
capacity and the increasing popularity of high-definition and 3D
television.
ITU-T standards in optical transport networks (OTN) have played
a leading role in transforming the Internet’s bandwidth
capabilities. This work is led by , which
has developed a set of Recommendations that defines the existing
OTN framework, and is currently developing future technologies
such as gigabit-capable and 10-gigabit-capable passive optical
networks (GPON and XGPON) to satisfy the unprecedented bandwidth
requirements that will soon be demanded by service providers and
consumers.
A dedicated website provides additional sources of information
and an overview of ITU-T Study Groups with work items related to
optical technologies.
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