Momentum towards greater interoperability between cloud services has been achieved with the announcement of new work in ITU.

ITU-T’s Study Group 13 (SG 13) has created a new Working Party (WP) on cloud computing, tasked with progressing the Technical Reports that were the output of a previous Focus Group on Cloud Computing (FG Cloud) towards formalization as ITU-T Recommendations.

Cloud computing is an industry expected to grow at an annual growth rate of roughly 30 per cent, consequently more than quadrupling in size between 2010 and 2015 to become an industry worth approximately $120 billion. However, concerns with the  portability – freedom to transfer data between the clouds of different providers - and the interoperability of cloud solutions has led to calls for standardization to fuel further industry growth (see ITU-T Techwatch Report, “Distributed Computing: Utilities, Grids and Clouds”).

Jamil Chawki of France Telecom Orange was appointed Chair of the WP, which will take responsibility for existing SG 13 work on cloud computing as well as three new Questions:

 • Cloud computing ecosystem, inter-cloud and general requirements; Chaired by Kangchan Lee (ETRI, Korea)
 • Cloud functional architecture, infrastructure and networking; Chaired by Mingdong Li (ZTE, China)
 • Cloud computing resource management and virtualization; Chaired by Richard C. Brackney (Microsoft, USA)

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), ZTE Corporation and Microsoft are all very active within both ITU and the cloud computing field, and ITU is pleased to see these Questions placed in such capable hands.

In addition, SG 13 has appointed Monique Morrow of Cisco Systems as convener of the recently-established Joint Coordination Activity (JCA) on Cloud Computing [see newslog]. The JCA will coordinate the multi-dimensional study of cloud computing within the ITU, and will act as a point of contact for other organizations seeking to contribute to this work.

ITU’s cloud computing work has already attracted a great deal of interest resulting in several new memberships.

An international experiment deploying ITU-standardized IPTV technologies has taken place 6-8 February 2012. IPTV services were used to live-stream scenes from the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan and to provide supporting Video-on-Demand (VoD) segments.

ITU Headquarters in Geneva received the stream from the head-end server in Japan, participating alongside organizations from Japan, Singapore and Thailand in what is the first transcontinental broadcast of a live event using IPTV technology standardized end-to-end by ITU. The connection uses native IPv6 from ITU Headquarters to Japan.

Proprietary IPTV services have hampered the growth of this exciting new market, and such experiments - together with ITU IPTV Interoperability events – are important steps towards broadening the IPTV market through globally-interoperable services. Standardized IPTV will lead to a whole new market for innovation, and ITU standards will ensure this market remains open, competitive and accessible to all.

First approved in 2009, Recommendation ITU-T H.762, a “Lightweight Interactive Multimedia Environment” (LIME) for IPTV services, is the standard with which Sapporo’s live-stream IPTV application complies. Hokkaido Television Broadcasting (HTB) developed this application, and is one of many broadcasters, manufacturers and research institutes involved in the IPTV experiments. The experiments have been organized by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications (NICT) and are being conducted over its IPv6 research network, Japan Gigabit Network-eXtreme (JGN-X).

Other ITU-T IPTV standards also formed part of the infrastructure: H.770 IPTV Service discovery, H.721 IPTV terminal for VoD and Linear TV, H.701 IPTV Error correction, H.750 IPTV Metadata and the Primetime Emmy Award winning H.264 Video compression codec. The experiments also used Openflow, PCE/VNTM and sa46t.

For more on ITU’s IPTV standardization work, please see ITU’s IPTV Global Standards Initiative here.

The January meeting of the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) has established a new Focus Group on Disaster Relief Systems, Network Resilience and Recovery (FG-DR&NRR).

A spate of recent natural disasters has underlined the need for preemptive disaster-response planning. ICT networks must be resilient enough to withstand disasters, but have also proven to be pivotal in providing relief to the people affected by major climatic fluctuations.

The Focus Group will coordinate ITU-T’s current work in this field, and will expand this work into two important new areas: (1) disaster relief for individuals (to notify relatives, friends or employers of a victim’s situation) and (2) disaster relief guidance (to show victims the routes to evacuation shelters, home, etc.).

 For these types of standardized emergency communications to exist, ICT network resilience and recovery capabilities need to be such that networks can resume normal service quickly after disaster strikes. TSAG has thus directed the Focus Group to identify all the standardization requirements of network resilience and recovery; a study which may extend beyond current ITU work in this field.

The Focus Group’s scope is as follows:

• identify requirements for disaster relief and network resilience and familiarize the ITU-T and standardization communities with those requirements;
• identify existing standards and existing work related to the requirements mentioned above;
• identify any additional standards that may need to be developed and identify future work items for specific ITU-T Study groups and related actions;
• encourage collaboration among ITU-T Study Groups, in particular SG2, SG5, SG13, SG15, and SG17, ITU-R, ITU-D and relevant organizations and communities, including the PCP/TDR.

The Focus Group will collaborate with worldwide relevant communities (e.g., research institutes, forums, academia) including other SDOs and consortia.

Comments invited by 10 February 2012

The group’s Terms of Reference are subject to consultation. The Membership is therefore invited to send comments to bruce.gracie@ic.gc.ca (TSAG Chairman), with copy to tsbtsag@itu.int or to t09tsagall@lists.itu.int (TSAG general mailing list), by no later than Friday, 10 February 2012.

 

ITU and Telefónica co-host 2012 app-development contests

Geneva, 1 February 2012 - ITU and Telefónica have announced two challenges to uncover innovative ICT approaches to support the 2012 UN-declared ‘International Year for Sustainable Energy for All’.

The Green ICT Hackathon will take place on 28-29 February during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, while the 2nd Green ICT Application Challenge is now open for the submission of Concept Papers until 13 April, 2012.

Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, ITU: “Sustainable energy for all is crucial to the future of modern civilization. ITU is committed to stimulating the creation of innovative ICT apps founded on new modes of thinking; ideas to effect the change needed to achieve a sustainable future.”

Alberto Andreu Pinillos, Chief Reputation and Sustainability Officer at Telefónica: “The Green ICT Hackathon is part of the joint activities of Telefónica’s Global Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Office, Movistar Spain and Bluevia, Telefónica’s global developer platform. These initiatives have a double objective – first, to support developers with great ideas, and second, to foster green ICT applications for energy efficiency and sustainable development.”

Full press release

The two latest reports from ITU-T’s Policy and Technology Watch Division – on video games and digital signage - feature prominently in the January issue of ITU News. Published in all six official ITU languages, the issue provides a snapshot of today’s ICT ecosystem and the global ITU activities and events which aid in giving it shape.

Video games today entertain a broad cross-section of consumers and represent an extremely profitable and still rapidly growing industry. September 2011’s Technology Watch Report on “Trends in Video Games and Gaming” brings light to the major gaming terminals and platforms, game forms and genres, and how the advent of social media and mobile gaming are augmenting an already highly-networked gaming culture.

Digital signage is poised to become a very large industry, in a very short space of time. Standardization is key to the development and accessibility of digital signage technologies, and a December 2011 workshop in Tokyo, organized by ITU and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan, aimed to share ideas and insight on advanced digital signage service features and requirements, current best practices and existing standardization activities of key players. The event addressed digital signage technologies and the related standardization work being undertaken in ITU-T Study Group 16. For an in-depth view of digital signage and its market, see November 2011’s Technology Watch Report, “Digital Signage: the right information in all the right places.”

Experts from industry, research institutions and academia are invited to submit topic proposals and abstracts for future reports in the Technology Watch series. Please contact tsbtechwatch@itu.int for details and guidelines.

The January meeting of the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) has established a new Focus Group on Bridging the Gap: From Innovation to Standards (ItS). Standardization converts innovations into internationally-accessible tools to aid the growth of new markets and bridge the digital divide. The Focus Group will seek to reduce the lag between innovation and standardization; an action to ensure key innovations spread as fast as possible in the global ICT market.

Of particular importance to the group will be the identification of ICT innovation in the developing world, and the task of ensuring such innovation achieves international recognition through its inclusion in the standards produced by ITU-T.

The group will carry out the following specific actions:

• In cooperation with ITU-D, document case studies of successful examples of ICT innovations, including those that have emerged in developing countries, and identify relevant standardization gaps.  Particular focus should be on the socio-economic impact of ICT innovation emerging in developing countries;
  
• Analyze the innovations that may be standardized and identify best practices facilitating the implementation of such innovations in other parts of the world;
  
• Identify case studies which developing countries can adopt to enhance their ICT innovation and standardization capabilities and associated socio-economic welfare;
  
• Identify the difficulties faced by developing countries in bringing their ICT innovation to ITU-T.
  
• Suggest future ITU-T study items and related actions;
  
• Examine how other Standards Development Organizations, forums and consortia address ICT innovation and its integration into standardization activities;
  
• Promote its activity at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) meeting in November 2012.
  

January’s meeting of the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) has established a Joint Coordination Activity on cloud computing (JCA-Cloud). The work of the ITU-T Focus Group on Cloud Computing (FG Cloud) will now be progressed through a number of ITU Study Groups with the JCA acting as a mechanism to coordinate the many dimensions of the study of cloud computing.

FG Cloud was formed following a request by leading CTOs to investigate the standardization landscape in the cloud computing market and pursue standards to lead to further commoditization and interoperability of clouds. The end goal is a cloud computing ecosystem where interoperability facilitates secure information exchange across platforms. With its work now complete, FG Cloud, in operation since May 2010, has mapped this landscape, established official liaisons with other standards developers and, as one of its deliverables, produced a technical report providing the first comprehensive view of the end-to-end architecture of a cloud computing system.

The burgeoning cloud computing market has evolved into service-oriented business models that offer physical and virtual resources on a pay-as-you-go basis – offering an alternative to in-house data centers and stringent license agreements.

The primary objectives of JCA-Cloud will be to allocate FG Cloud’s deliverables to study groups with associated domains of competence, and to ensure that the ITU-T standardization work on cloud computing progresses in a well-coordinated manner across all the relevant study groups. TSAG decided that ITU-T Study Group 13 be designated the lead study group on cloud computing.

Alongside this internal coordination role, JCA-Cloud will also take up an external collaboration role. It will analyze the cloud computing work taking place in regional and national standards development organizations (SDOs), consortia and fora, and will act as a point of contact for external bodies seeking to coordinate or collate their cloud computing standardization work with that of ITU-T. In carrying out this external collaboration role, representatives from national and regional organizations, consortia and fora may be invited to join JCA-Cloud.

The January meeting of the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) has established a new Focus Group on Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Service Layer.

M2M refers to the ability of a machine to sense and measure certain variables, and communicate this information to other machines in a network. Included under the larger umbrella of the “Internet of Things” (IoT), M2M technologies have applications in a number of industries – e-health, fleet management, sales and payment, security and surveillance, intelligent transport systems (ITS) etc.

The group will study and evaluate the M2M landscape and M2M work currently being undertaken by regional and national standards development organizations (SDOs), with a view to identifying a common set of requirements.

The Focus Group will initially focus on the APIs and protocols to support e-health applications and services, and develop technical reports in these areas. It is suggested that the Focus Group establish three sub-working groups: “M2M use cases and service models”, “M2M service layer requirements” and “M2M APIs and protocols.” Strong collaboration with stakeholders such as Continua Health Alliance and World Health Organization (WHO) is foreseen.The Focus Group concept allows for greater operational flexibility and crucially allows non ITU members and other interested organisations to participate.

The group is expected to carry out the following specific tasks:

• Research, collect and analyze the vertical market M2M service layer needs, initially focusing on e-health.
• Identify a minimum common set of M2M service layer requirements and capabilities, initially focusing on e-health applications and services.
• Study APIs and relevant protocols that satisfy the above requirements and capabilities to support the communications between the M2M applications and the telecom networks.
• Develop technical reports to address the identified gaps and propose future standardization work for ITU-T developments on M2M.
• Support global harmonization and consolidation by inputting its final deliverables to the parent Study Group and other relevant Study Groups as appropriate.

These terms of reference are subject to consultation of the next four-weeks.The Focus Group will work closely with all ITU-T Study Groups, especially Study Groups 13 and 16, with the other ITU sectors (ITU-R, ITU-D) and with other relevant UN agencies, SDOs, forums/consortia, regulators, policy makers, industry and academia. Within the ITU, the group will work particularly closely with the Internet of Things Global Standards Initiative (IoT-GSI).

TSAG, the group that acts as the steering group for all ITU-T Study Groups will trial a cutting-edge remote participation platform that will allow ITU-T members to join meetings remotely and collaborate in the six official ITU languages, with full simultaneous interpretation.

Participants simply need log on using a standard web browser to join the meeting from any location that has a good quality high-speed connection. To profit from interpreted audio feeds participants will also have to dial-in via a standard telephone line.

Logging onto the system will take participants into a ‘virtual meeting room’, where they can see a list of participants, interact with others via online chat and video links, and view meeting documents. ITU interpretation services mean verbal interventions can be made in any of the supported languages.

The new platform will greatly enrich the quality of discussions, further narrowing the ‘standardization gap’ which tends to favour participants from wealthier nations, and allowing many more people from different countries and cultures to join the discussion.

The platform is based around the Adobe Connect software suite, with compatible pods provided by Refined Data Solutions Inc. in partnership with ZipDX (multilingual functionality) and Caption First (captioning).

The innovation also represents a significant milestone in ITU’s efforts to become carbon neutral, reducing the need for delegates to travel to and from meetings.

Pre-registration is necessary in order to use the new platform. For more information, see TSAG TD 311 and http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/tsag/remote-participation.html for details.

Geneva, 21 December - Key standards (ITU-T Recommendations) on smart grid have been approved at a recent ITU SG 15 meeting.

Recommendations ITU-T G.9955 and G.9956 define three international next generation narrowband powerline communications (NB-PLC) standards. The approved family of standards will enable cost-effective smart grid applications such as distribution automation, diagnostic and fault location, smart metering, demand response, energy management, smart appliances, grid-to-home communications and advanced recharging systems for electric vehicles.

The standards are an ideal platform for smart grid applications because of their use of power lines as a communications medium which is under the direct and complete control of power utilities.

Full press release

ITU is inviting applications for the post of Chief of the Operations and Planning Department, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), at ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Standards from the ITU are at the heart of modern information and communications technologies (ICTs). For more information see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/info.

The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) provides essential logistical support to ITU-T’s 10 Study Groups including electronic working facilities and meeting management. It also manages promotion, workshops, membership, documents, finance, the website etc. It is the body responsible for providing cohesion to ITU-T’s standards making process.

The successful candidate should have an excellent knowledge of the ICT industry and, in particular, the ICT standardization landscape. Familiarity with ITU-T rules and procedures, its meeting activities and its products would be an advantage, as would previous involvement in the development of standards.

The senior management level (Director level in the United Nations system) post demands strong organizational skills and diplomacy. Under the general direction of the TSB’s Director, the incumbent will plan and coordinate the activities of the Operations and Planning Department; a role conferring, inter alia, the following responsibilities: Establishing work plans for the Department and Services under his/her supervision; directing the delivery of technical editing and publications services; directing the TSB’s IT programme and the development of new electronic services for the ITU-T membership and website; directing the delivery of a range of administrative services (operational planning, budget/finance services, Human Resources, procurement, meetings, logistics etc.); and organizing the delivery of support to the TSB’s assemblies, meetings and workshops, and to its major high-level global and regional events. The incumbent will also be expected to provide authoritative advice to the Director and the Deputy to the Director on all the matters for which he/she is responsible, and will contribute to TSB strategy and policy through their participation in the TSB management committee.

An attractive package of salary (approximately USD 213,046-244,756 with dependants; USD 196,923-224,263 without dependants [Net of Tax]) plus international allowances and benefits is offered (subject to eligibility).

The closing date for applications is 31 January 2012.

A detailed vacancy notice and application form including remuneration can be downloaded at www.itu.int/employment. Applications using the form must be sent to recruitment@itu.int or by post to ITU Human Resources Administration Division, Place des Nations, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland.

Applications must reach ITU by the closing date.

ITU is inviting applications for the post of Programme Coordinator, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), at ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Lack of conformity and interoperability of ICT equipment is a major concern, especially in developing countries. Ensuring the interoperability of ICT products and services is one of the founding principles of the ITU.

The successful candidate should have an excellent knowledge of the ICT industry and, in particular, the ICT standardization landscape. Familiarity with ITU-T rules and procedures, its meeting activities and its products would be an advantage, as would previous involvement in the development of standards.

The management level (Professional level in the United Nations system) post demands strong organizational, technical and inter-personal skills. Under the direction of the Head of the Workshops and Promotions Division, the incumbent will be tasked with coordinating the TSB’s Conformity and Interoperability programme; a role demanding the design and implementation of the programme, as well as the provision of expert technical input and advice where necessary. The incumbent will also be responsible for the coordination of events, seminars and workshops relating to conformance assessment and interoperability testing, and will be required to administer the programme’s budget and reporting procedures.

An attractive package of salary (approximately USD 124,047-166,220 with dependents; USD 115,789-154,533 without dependents [Net of Tax]) plus international allowances and benefits is offered (subject to eligibility).

The closing date for applications is 31 January 2012.

A detailed vacancy notice and application form can be downloaded at http://www.itu.int/employment/. Applications using the form must be sent to recruitment@itu.int or by post to ITU Human Resources Policies Division, Place des Nations, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland.

Applications must reach ITU by the closing date.

Key standards (ITU-T Recommendations) on a technology (MPLS-TP) required by telecoms operators to increase network efficiency while also reducing capex and opex costs have been approved (or attained first level approval) at a recent ITU meeting.

MPLS-TP refers to extensions to the IETF's MPLS protocol developed in cooperation with the IETF. MPLS can carry packets of different types, allowing telecom operators to offer private connections as well as IP services. Many network operators expect MPLS-TP to work under the same principles as longstanding ITU transport network technologies like SDH and OTN. MPLS-TP provides network operators with a reliable packet-based technology the operation of which aligns with current organizational processes and large-scale work procedures. Its deployment may reduce the need for layer 3 routing in an operator’s network.

Another important draft standard in the field has been forwarded to ITU’s quadrennial World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-12) in Dubai next year. This provides an Ethernet based protocol for operations, administration and management (OAM) for Transport MPLS (MPLS-TP). The delay in approval follows the breakdown of a deal brokered by the Japanese administration in November. The compromise proposed was intended to address concerns expressed by IETF, following a series of previous setbacks, detailed here and here. Unfortunately the IETF were unable to deliver one key element of the proposal, the ACh codepoint which contributed to four national delegations vetoing the standard.

Malcolm Johnson, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU: “I would like to thank Japan for its great effort as a neutral party to find a compromise that took into account IETF’s concerns. It is clear that the majority of the world’s ICT industry and governments supports this standard. It is a practical solution demanded by operators around the globe. I am hopeful that IETF will be able to assign the ACh codepoint before WTSA-12 which should allow the standard to be approved by consensus. ITU has a tradition of working by consensus but this is dependent on delegations being willing to compromise.”

At the close of its December meeting Study Group 15 repeated its request to the IETF to provide an ACh codepoint for the Ethernet based OAM protocols. This request is in line with ITU’s continued commitment to a collegial working environment for ICT standards development.

The first meeting of a collaboration on ITS communication standards.
 
The first meeting of a collaboration on international communication standards for intelligent transport systems (ITS) will take place on Wednesday, 14 December, at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting is open and remote participation is offered.
 
Industry experts who gathered for the World Standards Cooperation's Fully Networked Car event at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year agreed that the next twenty years will see a huge shift towards ITS. Today’s communications capabilities give vehicles the potential to foresee and avoid collisions, navigate the quickest route to their destination, make use of up-to-the-minute traffic reports, identify the nearest available parking slot, minimise their carbon emissions and provide multimedia communications.
Considerable resources have been invested in R&D, but the lack of global standards is widely regarded as a major impediment to large-scale deployment of ITS services and applications. This collaboration creates a global forum for the creation of a set of international communication standards needed for ITS to become a definitive feature of the modern automotive industry.
 
For more information on the meeting, its registration procedures and remote participation, please consult the meeting’s homepage at  http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/extcoop/cits/Pages/default.aspx.

Geneva, 30 November 2011 – The arresting digital displays of Times Square, Piccadilly Circus and Shibuya are just a foretaste of a brave new world of cityscapes illuminated by interactive, dynamic and highly targeted signage, according to a new ITU-T Technology Watch Report, Digital signage: the right information in all the right places.

Advances in display technologies, declining manufacturing costs and a retail boom in emerging economies are all contributing to the rapid spread of large-scale high-definition display networks. But the proprietary nature of current digital signage solutions is restricting the integration of applications across different networks and vendors. Interoperable global standards will be crucial to the future development of this emerging market, unlocking enormous value not just for display system developers, retailers and newscasters, but for governments and the community at large.

Tomorrow’s dynamic signage can play a crucial civic role in areas like traffic management, public transport systems, safe crowd management at large events, control of people flows in public areas and private venues, and emergency response systems. But to do that effectively, standardized platforms will be crucial.

Full press release

Technology offers practical means of cutting carbon emissions
Geneva, 25 November 2011 – ITU, together with a coalition of industry partners, will be working to convince delegates at the UN COP 17 climate change conference in Durban next week to harness the power of information and communication technology (ICT) to promote mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Today’s advanced technologies can transform social, industrial and business processes to effect the changes needed to achieve sustainability. But while the potential of ICTs to make a real difference is widely recognized by the technology community and government ICT ministries, it is still far from being understood and embraced by environmental lobby groups and policymakers.

Full press release

The result of the consultation of Member States in TSB Circulars 203 and 231 is as follows:

Rec. No.	Yes	No
G.9980	31	1
G.8113.1	33	5
G.9955	33	0
G.9964	24	0

Accordingly these draft Recommendations will now be included in the list to be considered for approval at the SG15 closing plenary on 16 December 2011. 

ITU, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)/ Secretariat of the Basel Convention and the United Nations University (UNU), in collaboration with the Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP) Initiative and the Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), have launched a joint survey on e-waste.

This survey aims to collect detailed data on e-waste management, policies and standards; constructing a comprehensive overview of the current e-waste landscape and identifying future challenges in this realm. Such a mapping of the e-waste issue will establish a base upon which the exchange of e-waste information and best practices can occur, and will form a valuable tool in communicating the gravity of the problem and promoting collaborative work in the future development of policy and management of e-waste.
The widespread use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has raised public awareness of its positive effects such as the reduction of the digital divide, but also of the negative environmental and health effects associated with the inefficient waste management of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or e-waste).

There have been alarming reports of e-waste mismanagement in many countries, particularly in less developed nations and countries with economies in transition. E-waste is a significant contributor to the ICT industry’s impact on the environment, and urgent global action to address this issue is essential if the industry is to fulfill its commitment to a sustainable future.

For further information, please see the survey’s webpage: http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/e-waste/index.html
 

ITU is organizing a Workshop on Standards and Intellectual Property Rights in New Delhi, India, 19-20 December 2011. Taking place at the HMR Institute of Technology and Management, the event will be hosted by the Global ICT Standardization Forum for India (GISFI), and will be followed by the seventh GISFI meeting at the same venue, 21-22 December 2011.

One of the key aims of standardization is to enable the efficient ‘globalization’ of ICT products and solutions. IPR issues must be taken into consideration when developing standards, a process demanding a balance of varying stakeholder interests; such as those of patent holders, standards implementers and standards’ end-users. Additionally, SDOs frequently encounter copyright issues relating to the incorporation of software in standards.

Such patent and copyright issues are the subject of global debate, and the workshop is being convened to provide a forum for discussions relating to the inclusion of patented technology and software in standards. International experts from both the public and private sector will provide an overview of these issues and share their insights on the present nature of the issue and how it is likely to progress in the future.

Participation in the workshop is open to ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates, Academia and to any individual from a country part of ITU’s membership. Fellowships are available upon request, please contact tsbworkshops@itu.int.

Further to the agreement between the Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau and the Chairman of the Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF) detailed in the ITU-T Newslog of November 14, the agreed statement has been included in a proposed compromise from the Japanese administration. The relevant documents are publicly available at: http://www.itu.int/oth/T0A0B00000C.

ITU’s Kaleidoscope academic conference The fully networked human? − Innovations for future networks and services (Cape Town, South Africa, 12-14 December 2011) will be made available as a live audio and video webcast in order that remote participants can see and hear presentations from wherever they are in the world.

Technically co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society, Kaleidoscope 2011 will bring together academia, research organizations and experts working on the standardization of telecommunications and ICTs.  (See here for programme, bios and presentation slides).

Accepted papers will be made available through the IEEE Xplore repository of academic papers. A prize fund totaling $10,000 will be awarded to the three best papers. Young Author Recognition certificates will also be issued.

In addition to an exhibition by local universities, keynote speakers and invited papers, ITU Kaleidoscope 2011 will host Jules Verne’s Corner, a special space for science fiction writers and dreamers, a Tutorial on : Future Internet Impacts on the Evolution of NGN Infrastructures and Services and a Special Session on ITU & Academia.

Register now for free remote participation.

ITU is organizing a two-day Workshop on Digital Signage in Tokyo, Japan, 13-14 December 2011.

Digital signage, also the topic of an upcoming ITU-T Technology Watch Report, is defined as a, “network of digital displays that are centrally managed and addressable for targeted information, entertainment, merchandising and advertisement.” User interaction can trigger content adaption, and the level of this interaction will develop alongside location information and environmental sensor technology.

The workshop will provide a comprehensive introduction to digital signage technology, how it is currently being applied, and how it is likely to expand in the future. Particular emphasis will be placed on how standards are to play a key role in ensuring this technology meets its potential.

The proprietary nature of current digital signage solutions restricts the integration of applications across different networks or vendors.

Interoperable standards are thus crucial to the development of this industry. The great value it will unlock for its providers and users can only be achieved through the expansion of large-scale digital signage networks, and standardization is the means to ensure this expansion occurs as
cost-effectively and as rapidly as possible.

For detailed event information, please consult  http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/iptv/201112/index.html. Remote participation is available and encouraged; enter the room by following this link, http://itu.adobeconnect.com/itudigitalsignage/.

Ahead of IETF’s 82nd meeting Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) has issued a statement underlining ITU’s commitment to a collegial working environment for ICT standards.
 
"Wherever appropriate, ITU will continue to reference the deliverables of other standards bodies rather than duplicating their work, and as far as possible we try to avoid the development of competing standards. By doing so we can best serve the needs of the international ICT community."
 
The statement underlines ITU core principles on cooperation detailed in ITU-T’s strategic plan (contained in Resolution 71 (Rev. Guadalajara 2010)) : “Cooperation and collaboration with other standardization bodies and relevant consortia and fora are key to avoiding duplication of work and achieving efficient use of resources, as well as incorporating expertise from outside ITU.”
 
Full details on generic procedures for including references to documents of other organizations in ITU-T Recommendations can be found in ITU-T Recommendation A.5.
 
Consequently Mr Johnson and Mr Russ Housley, Chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) have agreed that MPLS, including MPLS-TP, is defined exclusively in the standards-track RFCs. The ITU-T will reference the IETF RFCs for MPLS-TP from its Recommendations providing there is consensus that they meet the needs of its members. By mutual agreement some other specific aspects, including the equipment model and protocol-neutral management information model (G.8121-series, G.8151, G.8152), developed in ITU-T are considered part of MPLS-TP.
 

ITU-T’s Study Group 13 has consented new standards underpinning central elements of Future Networks (FNs); multiple virtual networks enabling a wide range of network services, and energy saving capabilities superior to those offered by traditional network technologies.
 
Future Networks (FNs) will provide revolutionary capabilities, facilities and services which will be difficult to support using existing network technologies. The number and range of network-based services is expected to explode in the near future, and a single network architecture will struggle to satisfy the requirements unique to each of these new services. Forming multiple physical networks will demand large outlays of capital for their installation, operation and maintenance. FNs thus need to realize diverse services through the creation of heterogenous network architectures overlaying a common physical network.

The new standards are Recommendation ITU-T Y.3011, “Framework of Network Virtualization for Future Networks”, and Recommendation ITU-T Y.3021, “Framework of Energy Saving for Future Networks.”

Recommendation Y.3011 provides a framework of network virtualization technology, a means allowing multiple virtual networks called Logically Isolated Network Partitions (LINPs) to coexist in a single physical network. Network Virtualization will create isolated, flexible networks supporting a broad range of network architectures and services. Their isolation will allow the satisfaction of services’ unique requirements, but also presents the opportunity to create experimental networks or test-beds where developers, providers and users can design and evaluate new services. The flexibility of these virtual networks is another key feature of Y.3011’s design, allowing the reconfiguration of networks to reflect the evolving characteristics of FN services and applications as they mature.

Environmental awareness is one of the fundamental objectives of FNs and energy-saving technologies form a crucial part of their development. Through their creation of network architectures for smart energy grids and ubiquitous sensor networks, FNs will do much to improve the energy efficiency of other non-ICT industry sectors. Their proliferation will however also increase the volume of energy demanded by FNs themselves. Y.3021 thus provides a framework to minimize the energy consumption of network facilities such as routers, switches and servers, as well as a method to manage the total energy consumption of FNs at all stages of their lifecycle.

 

Geneva, 25 October 2011 – A meeting of 20 CTOs from leading companies¹ in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry has urged ITU to accelerate technical standardization work in the field of e-health. CTOs stressed that reliable, interoperable standards are key to providing patients and health professionals with the means to utilize remote consultation services, advanced ICT-based diagnostic procedures and electronic health information services.

The meeting, which was held today in Geneva during ITU Telecom World 2011, agreed that international coordination on standards will be vital, and that growth in telemedicine services will also demand aggressive roll-out of broadband networks. The CTOs encouraged ITU, as the world’s leading developer of global ICT standards, to intensify its involvement by developing essential e-health infrastructure standards, and by cooperating with other standards bodies to create reliable, secure and interoperable e-health solutions.

¹⁾ Participating companies were: Alcatel-Lucent; Cisco; Ericsson; Etisalat Group; Freescale; Fujitsu; Huawei; KDDI; Microsoft; Netscout Systems; NSN; NTT; Orange FT Group; RIM; Telecom Italia; Telefonica; Telekom South Africa; Turk Telecom Group; Verizon; Vodafone Group; ZTE.

Full press release

 

ITU announced the winners of its IPTV App Challenge at ITU Telecom World 2011. The corporate app category was given to Discover Japan from NHK Enterprises (Japan) which offers users an introduction to the best of Japanese culture. The best individual/SME award split the vote and was awarded to 7 Days Gallery and Dengue Combat.
 
Discover Japan highlights Tokyo's cutting-edge pop culture but also the traditional culture of Kyoto, a city steeped in over 1,000 years of history. With broadcast TV and video on demand as the areas of focus, the application responds to users' interests, providing answers to their questions, offering interesting information, and enabling them to shop online.
 
7 Days Gallery, by Alève Mine and Eric Bréchemier is a digital space to promote new artists/designers. It organizes seven pieces of art work from one artist/designer in a collection, and presents a different collection for each day of the week. Users can browse the pictures with their remote control and find out more information on each of the piece of art, such as its title, description text, a web site (URL)  and online shopping possibilities. Users can also find information about the artist including: their biography, portrait and web site.
 
Dengue Combat is an interactive TV programme to promote awareness and knowledge to combat dengue fever. IPTV users are informed by watching a video programme about dengue fever. They can also find out the nearest medical care facility by providing their postal code and verify their knowledge of this disease by participating in a quiz.
 
More details on the apps can be found at: www.itu.int/challenges/iptv.

ITU has approved a new protocol to relay biometric information, connecting medical practitioners with the real-time medical data of patients in remote locations. Study Group 17’s Recommendation ITU-T X.1080.1 is the first in a suite of e-health and telemedicine recommendations and supports interactions between a patient’s local medical facility and a remote medical centre.

e-Health technologies have great potential to bridge the service provision inequalities between developed and developing nations, as well as between urban and rural communities. ITU-T X.1080.1 takes into account work in other standards bodies and recognizes and identifies data formats and interactions using Abstract Notation One (ASN.1) object identifiers (OIDs and OID-IRIs). It also provides security features in the form of Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS), which enables both integrity and encryption.

ITU-T X.1080.1 is designed to provide wide-area communication supporting all health-related activities, where the communication can be usefully undertaken as structured messages. From this base, the X.1080 series will develop into a set of recommendations addressing physical, chemical, biological, culturological and psychological diagnoses, interventions and prescriptions. It aims to remove the need for a co-location of medical practitioners and patients, and will support both multi-party (for audit and training purposes) and one-to-one interaction.

The remaining five parts of the X.1080 series, dealing with the identification of physiological quantities and units, are being constructed in close collaboration with ISO/TC 12, and IEC/TC 25. 
 

The ITU Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap (BSG) for Arab and Africa Regions took place in Algiers, Algeria, 26-28 September 2011.

The workshop was organized in association with Autorité de Régulation de la Poste et des Télécommunications (ARPT), and was generously supported by Nokia Siemens Networks and Microsoft.

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 gain an understanding of the issues inhibiting the standards development, implementation, and usage capacities of developing countries.
Some 110 participants from Arab and African regions attended the workshop.  The program focused on topics including ICT standardization challenges for countries in these regions, strategies for bridging the standardization gap, best practices for conformity assessment, and standardization topics being discussed in ITU-T Study Groups. 

Outcomes/directives produced by the workshop:

      • Participants from the African and Arab regions support the implementation of the ITU-T Conformity and Interoperability program in these regions, including the use of the ITU Mark.

      • Encourage developing countries to play an active role in the reduction of the digital divide by promoting standards-oriented innovation and contributions to global standardization processes;

      • Consider the creation of regional and sub-regional centres for compliance and interoperability tests;

      • Actively involve members of the public, private enterprises, universities and research centres in ITU standardization activities; 

      • Seek ITU support for a targeted capacity-building campaign on ITU-T Recommendations (e.g. the 2-week training on Optical Cables and Systems Recommendations), and establish regional laboratories to eliminate counterfeiting;

      • Establish and/or identify test laboratories in the region able to carry out physical audits and compliance tests. Tunisia is already setting up a test lab, and this could be used as a template for the region;           

      • Establish cooperation agreements with regional partners for the early identification of equipment non-compliance;

      • Establish a Regional Centre for standardization based in Algeria, a proposal made by the President of the Council of the ARPT in her opening speech and reiterated by the Minister of Post and ICT;

      • Encourage the sharing of information at a regional level by establishing a database containing blacklisted counterfeit products;

      • Promote accreditation and certification schemes, and test methodology for the material production areas;

      • Ensure that technical requirements are fulfilled by local products, allowing them access to regional markets; and

      • Ensure that legislative and regulatory mechanisms are implemented to detect fraud and counterfeiting schemes, and to enforce penalties when such activity is discovered.  

These mechanisms should be modelled on market surveillance schemes already established in other jurisdictions, such as the EU, the United States, Brazil, Canada, etc..

Interactive Training Session: 27 September 2011
The workshop was followed by a one-day Interactive Training Session in the form of a simulated Study Group meeting. These sessions are designed to provide an introduction to international standardization meetings, and familiarise participants with the typical format of the decision-making process. They are especially relevant to developing nations as they encourage participation in ITU activities, and clearly explain how these nations may play a formative role in standards creation.   Some 60 participants attended the session, and very positive feedback was received.

ITU Academia Seminar: 28 September 2011
This Seminar introduced ITU’s new membership category for academia, and gave concrete examples of how academic and research institutions can benefit through participation in ITU-T Study Group activity. A professor from the American University of Beirut explicitly outlined how his institution  and other universities in the region could contribute to ITU-T Study Group 17 on Security. Academia was also encouraged to provide input to ITU-T TechWatch reports.

Academia’s interest in membership was evident, with some universities declaring their intention to join ITU. Academia also expressed strong interest in receiving TSB support in developing graduate-level curricula in the field of telecommunication standards.

For more information refer to the ITU Bridging the Standardization Gap website at http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/gap

French Version 

Arabic Version

The October issue of IEEE Communications Magazine carries a ‘feature topic’ on ITU’s third Kaleidoscope event – Beyond the Internet? − Innovations for future networks and services.

The magazine, also available online, carries the winning papers, as well as one invited paper from this ITU academic event.
Organized by ITU with IEEE ComSoc as Technical Co-Sponsor and supported by Cisco, Nokia and Myfire, the conference brought together some of the best academic minds from around the world to present their research on innovative technologies that could challenge the fundamental networking design principles of the Internet. Among over 110 papers submitted, 37 papers were presented. The best three were awarded prizes totaling $10,000 kindly donated by Cisco.
All Kaleidoscope papers are also available in IEEE Xplore, IEEE's online library.
The fourth Kaleidoscope event “The fully networked human? Innovations for future networks and services” will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, 12-14 December 2011.

2011-10-14 – World Standards Day is celebrated each year on 14 October to pay tribute to the efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who collaborate within IEC, ISO and ITU to develop voluntary International Standards that facilitate trade, spread knowledge and disseminate technological advances.

The theme of World Standards Day 2011 is, “International standards – Creating confidence globally”.

The World Standards Day message is signed by the leaders of the three principal international standardization organizations: Dr. Klaus Wucherer, President of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): Dr. Boris Aleshin, President of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The three organizations are the partners making up the World Standards Cooperation (WSC).

Their message points out that international standards for products and services underpin quality, ecology, safety, reliability, interoperability, efficiency and effectiveness. Standards do all of this while giving manufacturers confidence in their ability to reach out to global markets safe in the knowledge that their product will perform globally.

This is because international standards provide interoperability which in turn creates economies of scale and ensures that users can obtain equal service wherever they travel. So international standards benefit consumers, manufacturers and service providers alike. Importantly, in developing countries this accelerates the deployment of new products and services and encourages economic development.

“In today’s world we need to have a high level of expectation that things will work the way we expect them to work,” the three leaders affirm.

“We expect that when we pick up the phone we will be able to instantly connect to any other phone on the planet. We expect to be able to connect to the Internet and be provided with news and information… instantly. When we fall ill, we rely on the healthcare equipment used to treat us.  When we drive our cars, we have confidence that the engine management, steering and braking, and child safety systems are reliable. We expect to be protected against electrical power failure and the harmful effects of pollution.”

The heads of IEC, ISO and ITU underline that international standards create confidence globally, adding, “Indeed one of the key objectives of standardization is to provide this confidence. Systems, products and services perform as we expect them to because of the essential features specified in international standards.”

In addition, international standards create confidence by being developed in an environment of openness and transparency, where every stakeholder can contribute.

The three standardization leaders conclude by emphasizing that the objective of IEC, ISO and ITU is to “facilitate and augment this confidence globally, so as to connect the world with international standards”.

Download the World Standards Day poster here.

 

To remotely participate in ITU-T Study Group 13’s workshop on Service Delivery Platforms (SDP): SDP for Telecommunication Ecosystems – from today’s realities to the requirements and challenges of the future click here. The live event will take place on Monday 17 October, starting at 0700 GMT at ITU headquarters in Geneva.

Participants can either use existing Adobe Connect logins or access the webcast by logging in as a ‘guest.’

For more information on Adobe Connect remote participation…
http://www.itu.int/net/ITU-T/info/answers.aspx?Fp=faqs.aspx&Qn=90&ewm=True

The workshop will provide an overview of the telecommunication-oriented SDP technologies already in use, as well as the challenges presented by these existing technologies. Added to this will be a particular emphasis on the future of SDP, especially with regard to the standardization activities likely to arise in the future.

For more detailed information and to register, consult the workshop’s webpage:
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/sdp/index.html

 

 

The latest report from the ITU-T Technology Watch series surveys some of the hottest developments in the world of video games, describes the most common gaming platforms and terminals, highlights new technologies enabling a better gaming experience, and identifies future standardization activities.

Over the past 30 years, video games have become an important part of contemporary global entertainment and media. Games and gaming have evolved from dedicated, single-game units to massively multiplayer online role-player games with millions of players. Today they are a huge media business worth billions of dollars, and its bestsellers continuously beat blockbuster movies in sales revenue.

The ever increasing expansion of the Internet has significantly contributed to the growth of gaming on dedicated video game consoles and PCs. The possibility to compete with other players around the world is taken for granted by most players. Mobile broadband and the growing penetration of smartphones brings further movement into the gaming ecosystem. Independent developers and small start-up companies are able to compete in the market and deliver their games to huge audiences. The latest step is the rise of social network games on platforms with hundreds of millions of users. These transformations have not only changed the way games look today, they have also influenced the audience and the business models of the gaming industry.

Consumers are beginning to struggle with the ever-increasing number of set top-boxes, satellite receivers and gaming consoles. It is a logical and certainly desirable goal to integrate these closely related technologies on to a multipurpose , standards-based multimedia platform. Incorporating a variety of audiovisual technologies into a single 3D TV device is understandably a task demanding a great degree of standardization work. ITU will bring together service and content providers, including games developers, to attempt to standardize communication protocols, toolboxes, middleware and security frameworks.

The report and additional sources of information are available at http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/techwatch/Pages/video-games-standards.aspx.

Experts from industry, research and academia are invited to submit topic proposals and abstracts for future reports in the Technology Watch series. Please contact the team at tsbtechwatch@itu.int for details.

 

Study Group 13, responsible for Next Generation Networks (NGN), is hosting a workshop: Service Delivery Platforms (SDP) for Telecommunication Ecosystems: from today’s realities to the requirements and challenges of the future. Free of charge, it will take place on Monday 17 October at ITU headquarters in Geneva.

The workshop will provide an overview of the telecommunication-oriented SDP technologies already in use, as well as the challenges presented by these existing technologies. Added to this will be a particular emphasis on the future of SDP, especially with regard to the standardization activities likely to arise in the future.

For more detailed information and to register, consult the workshop’s webpage - http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/sdp/index.html.

 

ITU has underlined its key role in green ICT with a raft of announcements today by Study Group 5 of its Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T).

A meeting of the group in Seoul, Korea has seen agreement on a globally-recognized set of methodologies to assess the environmental impact of information and communications technology (ICT). It also saw agreement to produce a report on due diligence guidelines for conflict minerals supply, and to study environmental protection and recycling solutions for batteries for mobile phones and other ICT devices.

Estimates of how much ICTs can reduce global emissions – and estimates of the emissions generated by the ICT sector itself – still vary widely, due to the application of different measurement methodologies. After the problem was raised by delegates to ITU’s ‘ICTs and Climate Change’ symposium in 2008, ITU took on the challenge and has pioneered adoption of a new globally-agreed set of standards.

To ensure consistency between different approaches, the new methodology has been developed in cooperation with other standardization organizations such as ISO, IEC, ETSI and ATIS. The new methodology is also aligned with the Digital Agenda of the European Commission. 

Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General, ITU: “This methodology has been developed by ITU's industry members. This will be important in ensuring it gains wide acceptance by the world's ICT industry. An internationally agreed methodology means estimates of the impact of ICTs on greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption will now have much greater credibility. It will also show just how significant a contribution ICTs can make by reducing global emissions in other sectors.”

Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission: “I'm pleased that the industry is taking the task of measuring its own footprint so seriously. And I'm pleased that the ITU, as a UN agency, is doing such good work facilitating negotiations, reaching out globally to industry sub-sectors and to other standardization initiatives.”

New guidelines on conflict minerals

New ITU work on ‘conflict minerals’ will also begin in response to a request from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ITU will make a survey of existing due diligence requirements and guidelines concerning sources of conflict minerals (in particular, those that are smelted into tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold), as well as their use in conformity with recognized international treaties and national legislation, where this exists.

Rare earth minerals are used in consumer electronics products such as mobile phones, DVD players, video games and computers. The report will provide guidance to ICT entities seeking to exercise due diligence on, and formalize the origin and chain of custody of, conflict minerals used in their products and on their suppliers to ensure that conflict minerals used in their products do not directly or indirectly finance armed conflict or result in labour or human rights violations. Agreement to address this issue demonstrates the ICT industry’s commitment to sustainability at all levels of the value chain.

Following on from the success of ITU’s Universal Charging Solution for mobile devices (Recommendation ITU-T L.1000), the meeting also agreed to study the benefits and disadvantages of the standardization of batteries for mobile terminals and other ICT devices, looking at energy efficiency over the battery life cycle, eco-design information, battery lifetime and exchangeability, safety and environmental protection, recycling and reuse. This could lead to a reduction of harmful materials used in batteries and an increased lifespan of ICT products. Battery manufacturers, device manufacturers, operators and users will all benefit, say experts. 

Ahmed Zeddam, Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 5: “This has been the most productive and significant meeting in the long history of Study Group 5. Twelve new important standards have been agreed, including many critical to methodologies to assess the environmental impact of ICT and the protection of home networks and next generation network (NGN) equipment from electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and environmental effects. The meeting also saw revisions to a key set of standards on resistibility to overvoltages or overcurrents of telecoms equipment. ITU is the only organization producing these important global standards.”

For more information, please contact:

Toby Johnson
Senior Communications Officer
E-mail: toby.johnson@itu.int
Tel: +41 22 730 5877;
mobile: +41 79 249 4868

Sarah Parkes

Chief, Media Relations and Public Information,
E-mail: sarah.parkes@itu.int
Tel: +41 22 730 6135;
mobile: +41 79 599 1439

 

A new Standards Q&A Forum will promote more interactive discussion between the experts creating ICT standards and those applying them. The pilot project has been launched to enable the submission of queries on all aspects of ITU-T Recommendations, in particular from developing countries.
 
Alongside the transfer of knowledge to developing nations, industry members in the developed world gain an opportunity to tap into new markets; making their products and services known to rapidly growing markets in developing nations.
 
The open, moderated forum will focus on the standardization work of ITU and offers participants a unique opportunity to engage with the experts that develop the standards underpinning ICT. An FAQ section introduces strangers to standardization and the ITU-T, covering all manner of questions from, “Why do we need international standards?,” to, “How does the ITU-T decide what needs standardization?” The forum is then organized into the major themes or questions being dealt with by ITU-T study groups.
 

 

The 2012 IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award is being presented to Gisle Bjontegaard, of Tandberg Telecom (now Cisco Systems Norway); Gary Sullivan, of Microsoft Corporation; and Thomas Wiegand, of the Berlin University of Technology, "for leadership and technical contributions to the development of the globally deployed video coding standard ITU-T H.264/MPEG4-AVC." These three innovators – who are also lead experts in ITU video coding work – will receive their award at the IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE). Held annually in conjunction with the International Consumer Electronics Show, the conference will take place in Las Vegas, 13-16 January 2012.

Sponsored by Sony Corporation, this award recognises outstanding contributions in the field of consumer electronics technology, and is yet more recognition of the enormous success enjoyed by the H.264 codec. Already the recipient of a Primetime Emmy award, the codec continues to receive the praise and support of the ICT community.

ITU-T's Study Group 16 and ISO/IEC's Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) have formed the Joint Collaborative Team on video coding (JCT-VC) to work on the successor to H.264 (also standardized as ISO/IEC 14496-10, or MPEG-4 AVC). This successor – working title HEVC – is currently being formulated with approval expected in early 2013.

HEVC is likely to have native 3D capability, ensuring that this fast-paced industry can profit from standardized solutions. To many consumers, 3D TV is quickly becoming a very attractive, attainable product – and standards-based solutions will only add to a more vibrant set of offerings.

 

ITU is organizing a Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap for the CIS Region on 7th October in Chisinau, Moldova back to back with the ITU Cross Regional Seminar on Broadband. The workshop and is being organized by ITU in cooperation with the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications of the Republic of Moldova.

Taking part in the standardization process for new technologies will accelerate the deployment of new networks and services bringing connectivity to cities and towns as well as remote areas. With next generation broadband technologies for example, standards work is lowering the capital cost of deployment in the network core. The main objective of this workshop is to examine key standardization activities on emerging technologies and actions that countries can take to bridge the standardization gap. Participation in standardization activities offers the opportunity for developing countries to jump several generations of technology. ITU will take into account the needs of these countries in producing its standards, and will seek to provide assistance in implementing them.

 

 

The first ITU Green Standards Week closed Friday with a call on international bodies, NGOs, standards bodies, governments, regulators, industry and academia to collaborate more closely on the application and development of information and communication technologies (ICT) standards to help combat climate change. Particular emphasis was placed on a globalized methodology to assess the environmental impact of ICTs, reducing e-waste, and the use of submarine cables for climate monitoring and disaster warning.

ITU has been working with industry and government members aiming to achieve agreement on an internationally recognized set of methodologies to be approved by the end of the year. Included is a methodology which ICT companies can use to measure their own carbon footprint, as well as a way to estimate the considerable savings in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy that can be achieved in other sectors through the use of ICTs.

Full press release

Launched in July 2011, ITU’s IPTV Application Challenge is a ground-breaking stimulus to innovation in this exciting new field of ICT.

Highlighting the rapidly expanding range of the IPTV ecosystem, this unique competition - the first of its kind and worldwide in its scope - presents an opportunity to develop IPTV applications running over either ITU-T H.761 Ginga-NCL or ITU-T H.762 LIME. Both platforms are open, flexible, easily deployed, and ensure high quality IPTV products.

In today’s global economy, innovative applications compliant with ITU’s IPTV standards represent an unparalleled commercial opportunity. However, no great idea would see the light of day without startup capital, and the best app submitted by an individual or small and medium enterprise (SME)* will thus be awarded USD10,000, courtesy of platinum sponsors; Sumitomo Electric Networks Inc., and Dentsu Inc. Winners will receive their awards in October, at the ITU Telecom World 2011 in Geneva, where a range of innovative applications will be showcased.

Before submitting an application, participants are required to register before 30 September 2011. An entry ID and application number will be assigned to participants on registration, and must be included in competition submission(s). Applications must be submitted by 5 October 2011 (Deadline extended).

* As defined in the rules

The application “Smart Recycling” has been awarded the winner of the first ITU Green ICT Application Challenge. The global competition was organized by ITU and supported by Telefónica and Research In Motion to identify innovative applications that can help improve energy efficiency and combat climate change. Designed by Lis Lugo Colls, from Spain, the application aims to help mobile users locate recycling and garbage bins within their area, and provide advice generally on recycling. The application will benefit citizens, government recycling programs and private recycling companies by creating a more sustainable and resource-efficient future through community engagement and eco-design.

Four special mentions were made by the jury to the applications “Make Me Green – Delivering Context-Specific Suggestions for a Green Lifestyle”, by Stephen Reiter and Simone Ferlin (Germany), “Effi-e Play Green”, presented by Maria Dolores Rodriguez De Azero (Spain), “Mobile App to Use a Vehicle to its Fullest Capacity”, by Praneel Raja (India) and “A Community-Based System for Biodiversity Degradation”, by Euphraith Muthoni Masinde (Kenya).

These applications touch upon related issues such as raising awareness of the impact that lifestyles have on the environment, monitoring energy and water consumption in hotels, promoting car sharing and sharing traditional and indigenous knowledge on biodiversity and conservation.

The winner of the competition - Lis Lugo Colls - will present their application during the upcoming ITU Green Standards Week, to be held in Rome (Italy) from 5 to 9 September 2011. As winner Lis Colls will receive a cash prize of USD 10,000 to further develop the application.

ITU would like to thank all developers for their interest and participation in this first App challenge. Overall 54 applications were received covering topics such as monitoring climate change, measurement of GHG emissions, adaptation and mitigation to climate change, and community engagement.

Click here for further information on the competition. More information on ITU’s activities on climate change is available at www.itu.int/climate

ITU-T is to host two webinars in September – kick starting a new programme of standalone virtual events that will augment the traditional workshops programme.

The first event on 15 September will focus on Optical fibres, cables and systems and is based on the ITU-T handbook of the same name. The webinar will provide a basic overview of the handbook which offers a functional grouping of ITU standards (ITU-T Recommendations) on optical technology e.g. optical fibres and cables, physical optical interfaces, optical fibres terrestrial and submarine cable systems.

Speakers are leading experts in the field from industry and either participated in the writing of the handbook or contributed to the development of the referenced standards. The event is aimed at engineers, technicians, technologists, mid-level management and regulators active in the implementation of optical-fibres-based systems. The online event complements the 2nd ITU Tutorial on Optical Fibres Cables and Systems which will take place at the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, Mexico from 19 to 30 September 2011.

Find out more here: http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/optical-fibre/201109/webinar.html

The second event on 20 September focuses on ITU-T standards for optical transport networks (OTN) which have played a leading role in transforming the Internet’s bandwidth capabilities. This work is led by ITU-T Study Group 15, which has developed a set of standards (ITU-T Recommendations) that define the existing OTN framework. SG 15 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. This online event is based on the ITU-T manual on Optical Transport Networks from TDM to Packet.

Find out more here: http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/otn/201109/index.html

The second event of ITU’s Global Standards Initiative on the Internet of Things (IoT-GSI) will take place 22-26 August 2011 in Geneva. The parallel meeting of ITU-T Study Group 17 (Security) provides a perfect venue to advance work on IoT-security, given the presence of subject-matter experts.
IoT is the realization of the idea that anything can be connected at anytime from any place. The concept of connecting any kind of object to the Internet may be one of the biggest standardization challenges yet (see previous story).

The development of global IoT standards is the objective of the ITU experts participating in the IoT-GSI. To promote international dialog, as well as harmonization and coordination in the complex worldwide standardization landscape, the ITU has organized a special session on “international IoT standardization”, which is scheduled on 23 August at 9:30h. Rob Steele, ISO Secretary General, will introduce the ISO views, while other interventions from IEC, the ITU-T and the European Commission will complete the panel:

      • ISO – Rob Steele (Secretary General, ISO)
      • IEC – Gabriel Barta (Head of Technical Coordination, IEC)
      • ITU – Bilel Jamoussi (Chief Study Groups Department, ITU-T/TSB)
      • EC – Florent Frederix (Head of Sector, Information Society and Media, EC)

ITU membership is very keen to progress work on IoT standards. This event attracted three times more technical contributions than the inaugural event in May. A draft ITU-T Recommendation “IoT-Overview” is under development and is planned for approval in February 2012, while a very active discussion on how to properly define the IoT is ongoing in a dedicated email reflector established by Study Group 13; its findings too will be discussed at the IoT-GSI event. Finally a work-plan for IoT will be also discussed.

The success of the Internet of Things depends on the development of smoothly interoperable global standards. Hence the special session on “international IoT standardization” is scheduled in the framework of the joint coordination activity on IoT (JCA-IoT), a group of experts aiming at coordinating the standardization in this area since 2006. The JCA-IoT is also to meet in the same week on 22-23 August 2011. This meeting foresees the participation of representatives of various organizations including ETSI, TIA, the GSC M2M standardization task force (MSTF), the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the Global IcT Standardization Forum for India (GISFI), GS1 and various sub-committees of ISO/IEC JTC 1.
 
For additional information contact tsbiotgsi@itu.int.

 

The 2nd ITU Tutorial on Optical Fibre Cables and Systems will take place at the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, Mexico from 19 to 30 September 2011.
 
The tutorial is based on the ITU-T handbook “Optical fibres, cables and systems” which offers a functional grouping of ITU standards (ITU-T Recommendations) on optical technology e.g. optical fibres and cables, physical optical interfaces, optical fibre terrestrial and submarine cable systems. The tutors are leading experts in the field from industry and either participated in the writing of the handbook or contributed to the development of the referenced standards. The event is aimed at engineers, technicians, technologists, mid-level management and regulators active in the implementation of optical-fibre-based systems.

The programme will provide an in-depth insight into the ITU-T Recommendations that have shaped the optical transport networks of the world. Some aspects of wireless communication will also be addressed in cooperation with the Development Sector of the ITU (ITU-D). Participants will gain a insight into how to design and implement projects choosing the most appropriate state-of-the-art equipment. In addition they will learn how to evaluate a power budget and the fundamental parameters to be taken into account in the preparation of technical and administrative specifications for a supply contract.

On Saturday, 24th September, a “crash” course on Optical fibres, cables and systems will also be held at the same venue.  The target audience will be university students and/or specialized schools from Mexico and other Latin American countries. It is intended to provide participants a general overview of optical fibre standardization. In addition a supporting webinar will take place in the week starting 12 September – details to follow.

ITU is organizing a two-day Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap for the Arab Region on 26 September 2011, followed by an Interactive Training Session on a simulated study group meeting on 27 September 2011 and a half day ITU Academia Seminar on 28th September 2011.

The workshop is designed to provide concrete advice and best practices on participation by developing countries in global standards development and building nation standards readiness. It will also examine standards work on key new technologies. The Interactive Training Session will provide an interactive learning experience through a simulated Study Group meeting. It will be of greatest interest to those who will be, or who have begun, participating in international meetings and those who have some international experience with plans to move into leadership roles. The ITU Academia Seminar will present ITU’s relationship with Academia and the benefit of ITU membership for academic and research institutions.

All events are held at the kind invitation of the Autorité de Régulation de la Poste et des Télécommunications (ARPT). 

 

ITU is organizing the first Green Standards Week from 5 to 9 September in Rome, Italy. The cluster of workshops, hosted by Telecom Italia and supported by Huawei, RIM, Alcatel Lucent and Microsoft, will focus on raising awareness of the importance of using ICT standards to build a green economy and combat climate change. Full remote participation will be made possible with video, streamed audio and the ability to send questions via a moderator.

A High-Level Segment (HLS) will provide Ministers and senior representatives from the ICT industry with an opportunity to exchange views on how ICTs can help in the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the run-up to Durban (COP-17) and in preparation for the Earth Summit Rio +20 to be held in 2012. The HLS will aim to set transparent policy objectives and targets to measure and improve government green ICT strategies and standards, including ICT-enabled applications across the economy.

During the event the winner of the Green ICT Applications Challenge will be announced and be given the opportunity to present their concept for an app to combat climate change.

The first workshop will focus on methodologies for environmental impact assessment of ICT and will examine work underway to measure the impact of ICTs on climate change and how to standardize the way to calculate the reduction of GHG that ICTs have. This workshop will be jointly organized with the European Commission.

A second workshop will look at moving to a green economy through ICT standards will explore how ICTs can help to address climate change and build a green economy, shedding light on standards, policies and best practices. This workshop will be jointly organized with Telecom Italia.

The last day will see a workshop on using submarine communications networks to monitor the climate and will aim to encourage the development of new technologies and standards and will explore business opportunities for telecommunication companies to become active players in monitoring climate change. This workshop will be jointly organized by ITU, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Green Standards Week will bring together leading specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to engineers, designers, planners,
government officials, regulators, standards experts and others. It is open to participation by the press.

 

Geneva, 14 July, 2011 - ITU is pleased to announce that the world’s newest nation, the Republic of South Sudan, has today 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.

Full press release

 

ITU’s message to global climate change conference

Geneva, 13 July, 2011 - 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.

Full press release

ITU is calling for contributions to a workshop on relay services for persons with disabilities. 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 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) 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 Question 26/16 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, (bpechey@computency.co.uk, +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.

 

The ITU Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap (BSG) for Asia Pacific Region 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.

Geneva, 7 July, 2011 - ITU’s latest global Application Challenge 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 ITU Telecom World 2011 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.”

Full press release

Geneva, 6 July, 2011 – 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.

Full press release

Green application developers were inspired to contribute to ITU’s Green ICT Application Challenge following a visit to the Guardian’s Activate event last week.

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 here.

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.

In the past, high costs have prevented optical components from finding their way into computers. But as optical technology matures, prices drop and the limits of miniaturization appear to have been reached, optical alternatives are finding their place in computer systems. The use of all types of optical technologies in communication networks and computers, because they consume less power, is seen as a major saving on operational costs for service providers, while at the same time helping to reduce the carbon footprint. The gradual incorporation of optical technology into the world of traditional electronics is paving the way for the era of the optical world.

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 ITU-T Study Group 15, 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.

Major breakthroughs are expected in the areas of optical networking, silicon photonics, nanotechnologies and non-linear optics which could lead to major changes in the way computers, networks and data centres are designed.

A dedicated website provides additional sources of information and an overview of ITU-T Study Groups with work items related to optical technologies.

Download Report                   Go to Optical World Website

The World Standards Cooperation (WSC) has announced the results of the poster competition for World Standards Day 2011, which attracted 45 entries and 2,000 votes.

Open to all, the competition was to design a poster for World Standards Day, 14 October, on the theme, “International Standards – Creating confidence globally”. The competition’s organizer, the WSC, comprises the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

First prize and winner of 1,500 Swiss francs goes to Caterina Fiorani, (Italy).



Runners up receiving 500 Swiss francs each are:

  • The team of Alexandra Schoenitz, Eurydice Avoine, Cornell Gorgas and Thibaud Cerdan (France/Germany)
  • Teguh Pribadi Adi Nugroho (Indonesia)
  • Eva Kohl (Germany).

The winner, Caterina Fiorani, is a young architect, working as an independent architecture and planning professional in Rome. This is how she explains the inspiration for her poster: “There are some gestures that have universal value: one of them is the open hand, which may indicate greeting, welcome, the reassurance of a peaceful attitude, a deep confidence in human skills.

“Two open hands in contact suggest honesty, and the helpfulness of man towards other human beings, which makes it possible to cooperate for a common purpose. Moreover, two hands recall the concept of work which is the principal tool through which man can achieve quality in his production, with the essential aid of International Standards, a necessary and powerful help to reach excellence.

“The whole world is represented through dots, a standardized graphic sign which symbolizes the hope for equal dignity for human beings all around the globe.  The use of colour emphasizes local differences as an added value that must never be forgotten.”

The competition was promoted via social media (Twitter, Facebook) and voting held online. It proved so popular that the deadline had to be extended to late May. The final competing entries were chosen by the WSC and displayed for voting on its Website.

The World Standards Cooperation was set up in 2001 in order to strengthen and advance the voluntary consensus-based international standards systems of IEC, ISO and ITU. Each year on 14 October, the members of the IEC, ISO and ITU celebrate World Standards Day, which is a means of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of experts worldwide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as international standards. In addition to the poster, the three partners will be producing a World Standards Day message.

The dynamic growth in information technologies since the late 1970s — including computing, telephony, networks, and enterprise systems — has highlighted the vital importance of interoperability and standardization between these systems.
The latest newsletter from the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) explores interoperability in the health, building construction, telecom and electric power sectors and how it can result in lower costs, increased operating efficiency, improved reliability and security and new services through competitive innovation.

Read it here.
Sign up for future issues here.

Four ITU-T G.hn chipset manufacturers converged on Geneva this week to test interoperability between their products. The advanced interoperability demonstrated highlights the maturity of the various vendors' designs and the completeness of the G.hn standard. Experts expect products on the market before the end of the year.
 
Hosted by ITU, the event was a joint effort of HomeGrid Forum and the Broadband Forum, and the first major opportunity for silicon vendors to test the interoperability of their products for the G.hn home networking standard. The event was facilitated by the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL).
 
ITU-T G.hn is the first global home networking standard, created to unify home networking services and devices over any wire, including coaxial cable, phone lines or power lines. Lantiq, Marvell, Metanoia, and Sigma Designs participated in the week-long event that covered interoperation in the physical layer.
 
In parallel, experts met at a workshop designed to ensure that the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) concerns are taken into account in the rollout of the new technology.
 
“Interoperability is key to the success of any new technology,” said Malcolm Johnson, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “These events give vendors a unique opportunity to prove to service providers that their products are ready for market. And products conforming to the G.hn specification comply with the most rigorous EMC requirements that ensure they cause no interference to radio services.”

HomeGrid is poised to launch a formal Compliance and Interoperability program, bringing HomeGrid certified products to the market this year and giving the industry a new benchmark of technology excellence for wired home networking. Another interoperability event is planned later in the year.

ITU is organizing a Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap for the Asia-Pacific Region on 4-5 July 2011 and an Interactive Training Session and Standardization Tutorial on 6th July 2011. The event will be hosted by the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) with the kind support of the Telecommunications Technology Association of the Republic of Korea (TTA) and the Korea Communications Commission, Republic of Korea. The Workshop and Interactive Training Session will be held back-to-back with the 4th APT Policy and Regulation Forum for Pacific from 6 to 8 July 2011.

The workshop is intended to provide concrete advice and best practices on participation by developing countries in global standards development and building national standards readiness. It will also examine standards work on key new technologies.

The Interactive Training Session and Standardization Tutorial on the second day will provide an interactive learning experience through a simulated Study Group meeting. It will be of greatest interest to those who will be, or who have begun, participating in international meetings and those who have some international experience with plans to move into leadership roles.

The event is intended for ICT standardization experts from the region, ICT companies, service providers, vendors, manufacturers, ICT regulators, national standards bodies and test labs.

For more information about the event see here.

Geneva, 02 June, 2011 – Concerns that home networking products using power line transmission (PLT) technology may cause interference with radio services led to a Forum last week in Geneva to address the issue. ITU’s own home networking standard ITU-T G.hn was considered to have electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)  and mitigation techniques that go well beyond those considered essential for protecting radio services.

Given the variety of electronic devices in our homes, strict EMC requirements are imperative. Over-the-air broadcast services in particular could be subject to interference from PLT systems.

Full press release

The kick off meeting of the Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (FG AVA) took place on 26 May 2011 and was a great success.
 
There was wide participation from key stakeholders, both physically and virtually using remote participation tools. Those participating included universities and research centres, organizations representing persons with disabilities, AV media companies, network and service providers, vendors, organizations representing consumer electronics manufacturers, WIPO, government and regulatory bodies. The aim of this first meeting was to define the scope of the Group’s work – interpret the objectives, define core terms and agree on procedures.
 
The Focus Group addressed the need to mainstream audiovisual media accessibility focusing on making digital media accessible for all, in particular for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
 
It was decided to organize the work within the following areas:

• Captioning
• Audio/Video description and spoken captions
• Visual signing and sign language
• Emerging access services
• Electronic Programming Guides and on-air promotion
• Participation and digital media
• Digital Broadcast Television
• IPTV
• Mobile and handheld devices
• Key Performance Indicators for the accessibility of broadcast television, IPTV and metadata, mobile and hand-held devices        
  

 
Eight deliverables were agreed, one of which covers guidelines on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. During the 18-month life of the Focus Group, participants will collect issues and problems related to implementation of the Convention as well as real-world problems from persons with disabilities and persons with age-related functional impairments. In addition it will collect examples of good practice through case studies and other means, and prepare guidelines for the inclusion of access services in all new digital AV user devices.

The next meeting will take place 15 September 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland.

ITU and TechAmerica are organizing the side event “Linking Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) with the Cancun Agreements”. The event will take place on 7 June 2011 from 18.15 to 19.45, in Bonn (Germany) during the June UN climate change talks.

Among topics for discussion will be how ICTs can help adapt and mitigate climate change and what existing ICTs are affordable for developing countries. The event will also provide an opportunity to exchange views on how ICTs can help to implement the Cancun Agreements and will look at the new technologies to  promote green ICTs and innovation.

More information available here.

The first meeting of the Focus Group on Audiovisual Media Accessibility will take place in Geneva 26 May.

The group, open to all, will address the need to make audiovisual media accessible for all, but in particular, persons with disabilities. It will encourage the concept of universal design, the development of services taking into account the needs of all users, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Interoperability of devices and features that boost accessibility will also be an area of discussion.

One expected deliverable of the group will be guidelines on the implementation of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Focus Group participants will collect issues and problems related to implementation of the Convention as well as real-world problems from persons with disabilities and persons with age-related functional impairments. In addition it will collect examples of good practice through case studies and other means, and prepare guidelines for the inclusion of access services in all new digital AV user devices.

The first meeting of ITU’s new Internet of Things Global Standards Initiative (IoT-GSI) has ended with industry and government participants agreeing on a solid work plan and on the importance of moving quickly forward with the first stages of that plan. GSI-IoT will act as an umbrella for IoT standards development worldwide. Two further meetings have been scheduled for 2011.

IoT is the realization of the idea that anything can be connected at anytime from any place. The concept of connecting any kind of object to the Internet may be one of the biggest standardization challenges yet. See previous story.  

One of the first important steps, as with any new area of standardization, is to agree on the scope of the work and agreed terminology. Thus the initiation of two major work-items are instrumental to the development of a work-plan for IoT standardization. The first work-item IoT Overview is intended to be approved as an ITU-T Recommendation by February 2012, it will clarify the scope of IoT as well as its high level requirements, key features, business models and ecosystem. The second work-item is a draft Recommendation on IoT terminology, that will include a definition of IoT, which is currently seen from two very different viewpoints: IoT as a global information and communication infrastructure or IoT as a philosophy - e.g. a social phenomenon to be considered for developing relevant technologies/specifications in the ICT area.

The group, meeting in Geneva, saw participation from a number of international, national and regional organizations including ISO/IEC JTC1, TIA from USA, and ETSI Europe.  The next IoT-GSI event will take place in Geneva, 22-26 August 2011, alongside a meeting of ITU-T’s Cybersecurity group - SG17, to facilitate the participation of experts in ICT security.

The group’s leadership is encouraging participation from all leading SDOs and the various industry sectors where IoT could be deployed in order that the requirements of those sectors can be taken into account at an early stage… Sectors include e-health; e-government, automotive, geo-information, remote sensing, home networking (home automation), e-business and e-commerce, climate change mitigation. Those interested in making a contribution or participating should contact tsbiotgsi@itu.int.

ITU will host an event to test the interoperability of products incorporating its ITU-T G.hn home networking standard, 23-27 May.

Facilitated by the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, the event is a joint effort by the HomeGrid Forum and the Broadband Forum.

Members of the Broadband Forum and HomeGrid Forum will be able to submit their chipsets for interoperability testing with other chipsets. Results will further strengthen the test suite and will serve as the proving ground for future events and certification efforts. The intent is to provide a structured approach to multi-vendor interoperability testing.
 
ITU-T G.hn is the first global home networking standard, created to unify home networking services and devices over any wire, including coaxial cable, phone lines or power lines. The event is driven by vendor interest and the industry’s desire to test early silicon and demonstrate G.hn technology’s market potential. Multiple G.hn chipset vendors are expected to participate.
 
Specifically, the goals of this first G.hn Interop event are to launch the organizations’ formal test program, validate what is being defined in the test suite, and perform early tests for interoperability and compliance of chipsets from a number of vendors. Performance results will be recorded providing valuable feedback to the participating players prior to market entry. This allows for efficient editing to the test plans and helps ensure that products hitting the market are interoperable.

HomeGrid Forum will also hold additional events, in addition to its Compliance & Interoperability Program public interoperability events, compliance/conformance testing, and will eventually issue certification.

The fully networked human? − Innovations for future networks and services the fourth ITU Kaleidoscope academic conference has extended the deadline for papers until 29 May 2011.

A prize fund totaling $10,000 will be awarded to the three best papers. The winning papers will be featured in a future special edition of IEEE Communications Magazine, with all papers available from the IEEE Xplore online catalogue. Organized by ITU-T with IEEE ComSoc as Technical Co-Sponsor, Kaleidoscope 2011 will take place at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, 12-14 December.

For additional information see the event webpage at: http://itu-kaleidoscope.org/2011.

Geneva, 6 May 2011 — ITU and the EPO (European Patent Office) have signed an agreement in recognition of the need for standards makers to share information to help improve the quality of patents.

Standards are essential for the wide adoption of new technologies in the marketplace. However, there is potential for conflict between patents and standards when the implementation of the standard requires the use of technology protected by one or more patents.

The newly signed agreement will help create the right balance between the interests of all relevant stakeholders, including patent holders, implementers of the standards, and end-users while seeking to enable solutions to market-driven needs on a global basis.

Full press release

ITU will hold a Regional Workshop on Bridging the Standardization Gap for the Americas Region in Guatemala on 6 June. It will be followed by an Interactive Training Session and Standardization Tutorial on 7 June. The event will be hosted by the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones de Guatemala.

The workshop is intended to provide concrete advice and best practices on participation by developing countries in global standards development and building national standards readiness. It will also examine standards work on key new technologies.

The Interactive Training Session and Standardization Tutorial on the second day will provide an interactive learning experience through a simulated Study Group meeting. It will be of greatest interest to those who will be, or who have begun, participating in international meetings and those who have some international experience with plans to move into leadership roles.

The event is intended for administrations and public institutions, ICT companies, service providers, vendors, manufacturers, ICT regulators, national standards bodies, test labs, certifiers, organizations from developing countries and civil society.
For more information about the event see here.

Geneva, 9 May 2011 – ITU’s one-size fits all universal charging solution has been further improved to maximize the benefits for end users by extending its use to a wider variety of devices and making it even more energy efficient.

A detachable cable with standardized end connectors will allow connection to devices including all mobile phones and other hand-held devices (including MP3/MP4 players, tablet computers, cameras, wireless headphones, GPS devices etc). This also means that it can be used for data transfer, avoiding an unnecessary duplicate cable and thus further reducing costs and e-waste.

Full press release

ITU’s Sixth Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change will take place 7-8 July in Ghana. The event will be hosted by the Ministry of Communications (MOC) of Ghana.

The main purpose of the event is to move forward the agenda on using ICTs to monitor climate change, mitigate and adapt to its effects and, identify future requirements for ITU’s related work.

The symposium will also focus on the issue of ICTs, the environment and climate change in Africa and the needs of developing countries. Topics to be discussed will include mitigation and adaptation to climate change, e-waste, disaster planning, cost-effective ICT technologies, methodologies for the environmental impact assessment of ICTs, challenges and opportunities in the transition to a green and resource efficient economy.

The symposium will identify possible goals, commitments and modalities for the ICT sector to be developed in the process leading to the forthcoming 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17-CMP7), to be held in Durban, South Africa in November 2011. The event will also develop a set of recommendations for action in relation to ICTs, the environment and climate change towards a green economy, as a contribution to the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD 2012 or Rio+20).

The event follows successful symposia between 2008 and 2010 in Kyoto, London, Quito, Seoul and Cairo. It will be preceded by a Training Seminar on Conformity and Interoperability for Africa that will be held from 4 to 6 July. It will bring together leading specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and others.

For more information on the symposium see here.

Bilel Jamoussi, Chief, Study Groups Department (ITU-T) will be speaking at the Abu Dhabi Telecoms CEO Summit on Tuesday 17 May.

Jamoussi’s presentation entitled  ITU Standards are key for International Expansion will form part of Session 3  on International Expansion Strategies.

ITU will also host an ITU stand at the Exhibition from Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 May, booth number 34. Please come and visit us.

ITU has adopted a suite of global technical standards that provide a common framework for  exchanging information on cybersecurity. The suite is known as CYBEX and provides for enhancing protection for all kinds of ICT systems, equipment, and software.

CYBEX focuses on the structured exchange of cybersecurity information and provides coherent common specifications allowing different operators, systems, and security communities to communicate vital cybersecurity information to each other, enhance protection, and identify and understand attacks . CYBEX is an important element in ITU’s array of standards improving confidence and security in the use of ICTs.

The first three standards of this suite of standards (known as ITU-T X.1500 Recommendations) consist of: (1) an overview of the model for trusted exchange of cybersecurity information; (2) the exchange of vulnerability information; and (3) "weighing" of vulnerabilities.  

ITU’s security study group (ITU-T Study Group 17) has started new work entitled continuous security monitoring using CYBEX techniques. The work will focus on the use of CYBEX standards by enterprises and network operators to enhance their individual and collective cybersecurity and reduce their risks. Experts say the complexity of existing network infrastructures, equipment, software, and services renders enterprises constantly vulnerable and subject to compromise. The work may also be applicable to cloud computing, virtualization and Smart Grid electrical power management environments.

The fourth ITU Kaleidoscope academic conference - Kaleidoscope 2011 - will also host the second Jules Verne’s corner (JVc), its theme: The Chip in the Brain. A call for abstracts has been issued and invites submissions until 10 June 2011.

This year’s Jules Verne’s corner (JVc) invites us to consider challenges related to the insertion of silicon chips into humans. Positive applications, may include lifestyle improvements, establishing wireless brain-machine communication and e-health applications. But there are also complex legal, privacy, responsibility and security issues to be addressed.

JVc is the home for visionaries, science fiction writers, journalists, movie directors and anybody who can develop concepts to make possible the impossible during the second half of the XXI century.

In addition, a third call for papers has been issued for Kaleidoscope 2011 and invites submissions until 15 May 2011. A prize fund totaling $10,000 will be awarded to the three best papers. The winning papers will be featured in a future special edition of IEEE Communications Magazine, with all papers available from the IEEE Xplore online catalogue.

Kaleidoscope events are peer-reviewed academic conferences that aim at increasing the dialogue between experts working on the standardization of ICTs and academia, and at identifying emerging developments in ICTs at an early stage to generate successful products and services through the development of international standards.

For sponsorship opportunities please contact the ITU-T Kaleidoscope secretariat at kaleidoscope@itu.int.  
For additional information see the event webpage at: http://itu-kaleidoscope.org/2011.

Geneva, 18 April 2011 – Leading global standards organizations ITU and ISO have announced the creation of a partnership in the burgeoning field of intelligent transport systems (ITS).

Industry experts who gathered for the recent ISO/ITU/IEC Fully Networked Car event at the Geneva Motor Show agreed that the next twenty years will see a huge shift towards ITS. Today’s communications capabilities give the potential for vehicles to foresee and avoid collisions, navigate the quickest route to their destination, make use of up-to-the-minute traffic reports, identify the nearest available parking slot, minimize their carbon emissions and provide multimedia communications.

Full press release

The first meeting of ITU’s Global Standards Initiative on the Internet of Things (IoT-GSI) will take place 9-13 May in Geneva. IoT is the realization of the idea that anything can be connected at anytime from any place. The concept of connecting any kind of object to the Internet may be one of the biggest standardization challenges yet.

ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) and its membership are at the forefront of standards development in the field. The presentation here highlights some of the work so far.

With the benefit of integrated information processing capacity, many products will take on smart capabilities. They may take on electronic identities that can be queried remotely, or be equipped with sensors for detecting physical changes around them. Embedding intelligence in to our environment in this way will stimulate the creation of innovative products and new business opportunities.

The success of the Internet of Things depends on the existence and smooth and interoperability of global standards.

IoT-GSI will provide a single location for information on and development of IoT standards. This new Global Standards Initiative will give greater impetus and coordination to existing work and provide a common working platform by collocating meetings of IoT-related groups to develop the standards necessary for global IoT deployment. Taking into account the work done in other standards development bodies will also be crucial. Indeed this has already been a strong focus of work to date and ITU is actively seeking the participation of these entities in order to work towards a truly global solution.

The following list of topics includes some of the work items to be addressed:

–  Concept, vision and use cases of the Internet of Things
–  Architectural framework of the Internet of Things
–  Identification architecture for the Internet of Things
–  Requirements for IoT identifier
–  IoT Identifier format
–  Identifier resolutions for the Internet of Things
–  Directory service framework for the Internet of Things
–  Middleware architecture for the Internet of Things
–  Security issues for the Internet of Things
–  Privacy protection for the Internet of Things
–  Application interfaces among IoT service entities
–  Management for the things and communication networks for the Internet of Things
–  Location management for the Internet of Things
–  Identity management for the Internet of Things
–  Interoperability standards to incorporate various standards
–  Conformance test standards for IoT protocols

For additional information see www.itu.int/itu-t/gsi/iot or contact tsbiotgsi@itu.int.

ITU’s Focus Group on Cloud Computing met last week with increased industry support for standards to support worldwide interoperability. Cloud security was also a key topic on the agenda of the group and especially relevant given that subscribing to a cloud model involves complete outsourcing of services and data. The meeting  identified these two topics, intercloud relationships and security, as important study items for ITU-T to take forward.
 
The Focus Group met at the same time as Google vice president, Vint Cerf addressed US National Institute of Standards and Technology's third cloud computing workshop in Gaithersburg, US telling them that cloud interoperability and security remain serious concerns (see here).
 
Industry experts forming the Focus Group have completed a survey of standards organizations focusing  on cloud and begun the process of identifying gaps that can be filled and where that work can be done. The meeting also saw the appointment of a new Vice-chairman: Olivier Colas, Microsoft.
 
Technical Specifications from the Focus Group are expected by end 2011. The group has identified 15 active organisations in Cloud Computing and established official liaisons with other SDOs including ISO, DMTF, CSA, NIST. The Focus Group has identified several work items to be developed within ITU-T including;  the cloud ecosystem; security; cloud architecture; cloud networking; inter-cloud relationships; eco-friendly cloud; accessibility;  cloud terminal and cloud management.

The next twenty years will see a huge shift towards electric vehicles and integrated intelligent transport systems (ITS) said industry experts gathered for the Fully Networked Car@Geneva Motor Show event. However in order for this transformation to take place globally coordinated standards are needed. In addition experts said that more study is needed on who pays for what. For example who will pay for systems that reduce fatalities and reduce traffic flow; consumers, governments, the car industry or insurance? These business models need to be designed in parallel participants at the ITU, ISO and IEC workshop agreed.

Given the safety implications of integrating these technologies into vehicles, driver distraction was also strong topic for discussion at the event held in parallel to the Geneva Motor Show. It was shown that cognitive distraction can be significantly reduced with greater sound quality. Presentations showed that telcos moving to wideband, thereby offering much greater speech quality, will significantly enhance telephony applications.

ITU has recently convened a Focus Group on Driver Distraction (FG Distraction). The objective the group, comprising experts from the ICT and automotive industries as well as government experts, is to reduce injuries and fatalities by minimizing the cognitive demands associated with both driving and non-driving tasks. It will; propose test methodologies for subjective and objective assessment of cognitive load; investigate optimal information flow between the driver and vehicle; develop design guidelines for integrated applications; propose mechanisms for co-ordination of components, subsystems, and applications to minimize cognitive demands; identify new techniques and technologies that can be used to reduce cognitive load and co-ordinate efforts across the three standards organizations, government/industry forums, companies, academic institutions, and subject matter experts.

Geneva, 12 April, 2011 – ITU has launched a Green ICT Application Challenge to find the best and most innovative idea for a climate change focused app. The winning concept will be awarded USD10,000, thanks to challenge sponsors Research in Motion (RIM) and Telefónica.

As well as the cash prize, the winner will be invited to present their concept to a prestigious audience at ITU’s Green Standards Week in Italy in September. In addition, the winning app may be developed and showcased during a side event to be held at the COP-17 climate change talks in South Africa in December.

Full press release

A document agreed at a recent ITU meeting gives developing countries tools that will allow them to negotiate better rates for Internet connectivity (IIC). Agreement was reached at a meeting of ITU-T’s Study Group 3 and  following an ITU-T Workshop on IP traffic flow measurement.

The agreement was a breakthrough following many years of negotiation (see here for some historical background).

The agreed document is a supplement to Recommendation ITU-T D.50 which recommends how those involved in the provision of international Internet connections negotiate and agree to bilateral commercial arrangements enabling direct international Internet connections that take into account the possible need for compensation between them for the value of elements such as traffic flow, number of routes, geographical coverage and cost of international transmission amongst others.

Specifically the supplement focuses on how IP traffic flows can be measured at different points, including at Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) at interconnect points. The ability to manage this without a change to BGP was one point of contention.  The agreement also acknowledges that that traffic flow can be measured via BGP without any change to that protocol as well as there are a variety of ways that traffic flow can be measured.

The agreement is also considered a step forward in fulfilling the mandate given to ITU in Resolution 101 from last year’s Plenipotentiary conference. The Resolution asks ITU to “…continue the study of international Internet connectivity as an urgent matter, as called for in § 50 d) of the Tunis Agenda, and to call upon ITU-T, in particular Study Group 3 which has responsibility for Recommendation ITU-T D.50, to complete as soon as possible its studies that have been ongoing since WTSA-2000.”

In June 2004 an amendment to ITU-T Recommendation D.50 was made to set out general considerations for parties to negotiate Internet interconnection. These considerations can be used to assist two parties to an interconnection agreement to negotiate in a more harmonized way. The latest agreement builds on this.

The area is a key concern for ITU as it was mandated by WSIS to examine the topic. Paragraph 27 – C of the Tunis Agenda:

“27.  We recommend improvements and innovations in existing financing mechanisms, including:
C      Providing affordable access to ICTs, by the following measures:

i.     Reducing international Internet costs charged by backbone providers, supporting, inter alia, the creation and development of regional ICT  backbones and Internet Exchange Points to reduce interconnection cost and broaden network access;

ii.     Encouraging ITU to continue the study of the question of the International Internet Connectivity (IIC) as an urgent matter to develop appropriate Recommendations.”              

ITU was, last week, pleased to host a meeting of the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) in parallel with the ITU-T Study Group 16 (Multimedia) meeting. Through MPEG, the ITU and ISO/IEC have formed the Joint Collaborative Team on video coding (JCT-VC) working on the successor to H.264 (also standardized as ISO/IEC 14496-10, or MPEG-4 AVC), the Emmy award winning video coding standard.

There was a demonstration of emerging 3D TV technologies such as autostereoscopic displays (similar to that used in the new Nintendo 3DS but on a larger scale). This new technology allows for 3D viewing without glasses.

Current extensions to the widely used H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec are deployed in Blu-ray 3D discs that provide a stereo 3D experience, and also in the "frame-compatible" stereoscopic 3D video used in emerging broadcast applications.

The successor to H.264 – working title HEVC – is work in progress with approval expected in early 2013. Experts say that at the time H.264 was first approved there was no real market demand for 3D and so 3D support was essentially put into the standard later as a work around – even though it provides excellent levels of quality. Discussions continue on which kind of native support for 3D could eventually be incorporated in HEVC.

This work is complementary to that of ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector which is focusing on a framework for 3D TV broadcasting systems.

A competition open to all has been launched to design a poster for World Standards Day, 14 October, on the theme, “International Standards – Creating confidence globally”.

The competition is being held by the World Standards Cooperation (WSC), which comprises the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The designer(s) of the best poster will win 1 500 Swiss francs, with the three runners-up receiving 500 Swiss francs each.

To compete, designers should send their entries in .jpg or .png format to the following e-mail address: wsdposter@worldstandardscooperation.org. Submissions will be accepted until 30 April.

IEC, ISO and ITU representatives will choose the finalists. The shortlisted entries will be published on the WSC Website. The general public will choose the winning designs. Each finalist entry will have a Facebook “Like" button. The entries to receive the largest amount of Facebook “likes” will win the competition. Voting will open on 5 April and close on 30 April. IEC, ISO and ITU will announce the winners shortly after. People can follow the World Standards Day poster competition on Twitter and Facebook.

The WSC partners comment, “We hope to see your inspiring creations that will no doubt establish fruitful conversations between individuals, businesses and organizations across the globe about the role of standards in increasing global confidence.”

To help prospective World Standards Day poster artists, the WSC Website includes a number of resources:

•    A text explaining this year’s World Standards Day theme
•    Examples of previous World Standards Day posters
•    Specifications for the 2011 poster.

Any questions about the competition should be sent to: wsdposter@worldstandardscooperation.org, Twitter or Facebook.

The World Standards Cooperation was set up in 2001 in order to strengthen and advance the voluntary consensus-based international standards systems of IEC, ISO and ITU. Each year on 14 October, the members of the IEC, ISO and ITU celebrate World Standards Day, which is a means of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of experts worldwide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as international standards.

With ITU’s recent announcement on an OAM standard for MPLS in transport networks generating claims from the Internet Society that it will jeopardize the Internet, counter claims and much press coverage it seems the right time to set the record straight.

The technology at the heart of the debate is operations and management (OAM) for Transport MPLS. MPLS-TP refers to an adaptation of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)'s MPLS protocol for telecom networks. MPLS can carry packets of different types, allowing telecom operators to offer private connections as well as IP services.

ITU-T Study Group 15 working on MPLS-TP voted 25, February 2011, to proceed with its own OAM solution, rather than only working with the IETF on the development its preferred OAM solution. This step was taken since, despite the agreement between the two organizations to work together, the OAM solution being developed by the IETF does not satisfy the requirements of some members of the ITU.

The text below charts a history of the work T-MPLS/MPLS-TP work in ITU to address a management protocol for telecom-operator networks and seeks to explain the divergence.

History of MPLS-TP

In 2006/2007 the ITU-T developed Recommendations on T-MPLS, a sub-set of MPLS that was targeted specifically for application in the transport network (to offer a more flexible interconnection between routers than SDH or OTN). By January 2008 the ITU-T had 5 approved Recommendation on T-MPLS and one on OAM ready for approval. However, in late 2007 the IETF indicated that T-MPLS may be in conflict with IP/MPLS. The ITU suspended work on T-MPLS and in 2008 agreed to work in cooperation with the IETF on the evolution of MPLS to meet the needs of the transport network. It was anticipated that the five existing Recommendations on MPLS-TP would be replaced by mid 2009 with a Recommendation on OAM following within a year. The IETF RFCs that are necessary to allow replacement of this initial set of Recommendations are not yet available.

One particularly contentious issue has been OAM. A significant segment of the operator community views that the IETF has given insufficient consideration to their needs, concerns, and proposals (documented in Internet drafts). The IETF state that the protocols currently under development will meet the requirements. After over a year of discussion, there has been no quantitative analysis to demonstrate that they satisfy the operational behaviour and procedures utilized in transport networks of these network operators.

One important initial step in the joint work was for the IETF and ITU-T agree on a mechanism to detect OAM packets that conforms to the MPLS architecture. The agreed mechanism uses a new reserved label (13) and a “Protocol Identifier” know as the G-ACh code point to identify specific functions and protocols. More than 64,000 of these code points are available.

The ITU proposed that the OAM for MPLS-TP should be based on Y.1731 (carrier grade Ethernet) which had already been proven to meet the requirements of the transport network. Instead in July 2009 the IETF insisted that the OAM should be based on existing IETF tools to support backwards compatibility. This included developing extensions to an existing tool, Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) for continuity check and connectivity verification (CC/CV).

In October 2009 the IETF disbanded the MPLS interop design team (the MEAD team) claiming that its work had been completed. The MEAD team was established in response to one of the proposals in the JWT report. See below for the relevant text from the JWT report.

Another proposal in the JWT report is that experts from the ITU should directly participate in the work of the IETF. However, since this group of experts are viewed as “newcomers” when considering rough consensus the opinions of these experts are given less weight than the opinions of “long term” IETF participants. This is allowed by the IETF guidelines when judging what it calls “rough consensus”. However, it does not meet the intent of the collaboration between the ITU and the IETF. Since the MEAD team was disbanded the IETF has continued to take decisions on the direction of the work without consulting the ITU, without informing the ITU of these decisions, or requesting confirmation from ITU that the resultant solutions produced by the IETF will meet the needs of all of the membership of the ITU. Several RFCs on MPLS-TP have been approved without receiving consensus support from the ITU.

In May 2010 the MPLS working group adopted the BFD based draft by rough consensus. The WG chair suspended the poll for making this a WG draft since “we are not reaching consensus” (see http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/mpls/current/msg04502.html), a few days later he decided to adopt the document as a WG draft anyway (see http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/mpls/current/msg04512.html). In an attempt to meet some of the requirements of the transport network the BFD draft has evolved. It is no longer backwards compatible with the existing BFD based tools or with any of the existing PW OAM tools. It uses a complex state machine to negotiate the repetition rate of the messages. This state machine is only required to allow routers (that have been optimized for other applications) to negotiate a lower repetition rate for OAM messages since they are unable to sustain the rates required for transport network applications. One of the key requirements of the transport network is that the repetition rate must be set by the network operator and remain fixed at this value. Adding a state machine to negotiate the rate significantly increases the complexity and impacts the scalability of the network. For applications in the transport network, a solution that does not use rate negotiation is technically superior and less complex (and therefore offers a lower cost solution).

The IETF have continually refused to consider the Y.1731 based solution (in draft-bhh-mpls-tp-oam-y1731 and G.tpoam) despite the extensive deployment experience, successful multi vendor interoperability tests and strong support from multiple network operators.

The current approach is dissipating significant resources from both standards organizations without producing tangible results. It is unlikely that these views will be reconciled by further discussion (as shown by the discussions in SG15 meeting in February 2011).

In an attempt to break this deadlock, in July 2010 at the request of several Member States, the ITU-T proposed an enhancement to the model for the interaction with the IETF on OAM. This proposal was based on the model that was used with great success when the IEEE and ITU collaborated on the development of OAM for carrier grade Ethernet. This approach allows both organizations to develop solutions that meet the needs of their constituents within a common architecture and would significantly reduce the amount of time spent by both standards bodies. However, so far the IETF have chosen not to explore this approach.

Due to this lack of progress, and to meet the needs of its members, ITU-T decided to move ahead and document an OAM solution that can co-exist, both in the network and in the Recommendations, with an IETF defined solution. The solution being proposed by the ITU conforms to the MPLS-TP architecture as defined by the IETF. It uses an IETF defined mechanism (the allocation of a unique ACh code point) to ensure that it will not interfere with any IETF defined mechanisms. Further, in the case where networks that run the IETF defined solution must be interconnected with a network that runs the ITU solution, then the IETF solution must be used.

The prime objective at the start of the joint work was to ensure that the extensions required to make MPLS fit for use in a transport network are within the MPLS architecture. The proposals from the ITU conform to the MPLS architecture and complement (rather than contradicts) solutions under definition in IETF to meet the needs for the global industry (including those operators that are not satisfied with the IETF solution). It is the IETF who have chosen to characterize the ITU actions as breaking the agreement despite the fact that they have already ignored the proposals in the JWT report.

JWT report proposal on Future inter-SDO organizational structure (slide 5 of the JWT report):

The JWT report indicates that the inter-SDO structure is intended to support collaborative work:

•  It is proposed that the MPLS interop design team, JWT and ad hoc T-MPLS groups continue as described in SG15     
   TD515/PLEN with the following roles:

      –    Facilitate the rapid exchange of information between the IETF and ITU-T
      –    Ensure that the work is progressing with a consistent set of priorities
      –    Identify gaps/inconsistencies in the solutions under development
      –    Propose solutions for consideration by the appropriate WG/Question
      –    Provide guidance when work on a topic is stalled or technical decision must be mediated

The work of these inter-SDO groups was not completed when the MEAD team was disbanded as the ongoing debate on the OAM solution demonstrates. The IETF did not consult the ITU or even inform the ITU on several critical decisions, for example. The unilateral decision by the IETF to adopt the BFD draft as the solution for CC/CV; the refusal to consider draft-bhh-mpls-tp-oam-y1731; to consider the input from the ITU that two solutions should be standardized; all of these decisions were taken by “rough consensus” over strong objections. This is clearly contrary to the collaborative mode of operation described in the JWT report.

History of MPLS OAM:

Y.1711 defined the first OAM tools for MPLS, this made use of a reserved label (14) as defined in RFC3429: Assignment of the 'OAM Alert Label' for Multiprotocol Label Switching Architecture (MPLS) Operation and Maintenance (OAM) Functions. That was published by the IETF in November 2002 as an Informational RFC.

Subsequently the IETF developed some alternative OAM tools for MPLS LSP, they also developed several different tools for use in PWs.
     It should be noted that in these cases the IETF did not declare that this multiplicity of OAM tools is harmful to the integrity of the Internet.

In 2007 the ITU developed draft Recommendation G.8114 documenting OAM tools for T-MPLS, this toolset was backwards compatible with Y.1711. This draft Recommendation was ready for approval in January 2008 G.8114. However, the IETF stated that the method used to detect the OAM packets “violated the MPLS architecture” and claimed that it would be harmful to the Internet. On the basis of these statements the ITU did not approved G.8114 and agreed to work in cooperation with the IETF to develop a solution that conformed to the MPLS architecture.

Note:  More than 40,000 nodes running draft G.8114 OAM have been deployed without any reports of harm to the Internet.

After waiting three years for the IETF to deliver a solution that will meet the needs of its membership SG15 has now voted in favour of solution which conforms to the MPLS architecture and meets the needs of its membership.

Despite all this effort on the part of ITU to collaborate with IETF it is now falsely claiming that ITU reneged on the JWT agreement.

Comparison of MPLS-TP OAM and Ethernet OAM

The figure below illustrates the OAM frame formats for Ethernet and MPLS-TP

In the case of Ethernet the IEEE and ITU mutually agree on the assignment of the OAM OpCode values to differentiate between OAM PDUs defined by the ITU and IEEE. This allows the ITU-T to develop OAM functions targeted at the transport network without any possibility of a clash with IEEE developed protocols.

The Channel Type could offer the same degree of separation if the IETF assigned a channel type for use by the ITU-T for OAM targeted for application in transport networks.

 

The fully networked human? − Innovations for future networks and services is the title of the fourth ITU Kaleidoscope academic conference.

A call for papers has been issued and invites submissions until 15 May 2011. A prize fund totaling $10,000 will be awarded to the three best papers. The winning papers will be featured in a future special edition of IEEE Communications Magazine, with all papers available from the IEEE Xplore online catalogue. Young authors presenting a paper at the conference will receive Young Author Recognition certificates.

Organized by ITU-T with IEEE ComSoc as Technical Co-Sponsor, Kaleidoscope 2011 has been invited to the University of Cape Town, South Africa, 12-14 December.

Kaleidoscope 2011 will highlight multidisciplinary aspects of future information and communication technologies (ICTs) including future services and applications demand as well as social, economic and policy aspects of human-centric systems. In this environment, the user is placed at the center, and virtualized networks, other IT resources, services and applications are adaptively and automatically configured to support the users in carrying out their everyday life activities.

However, the shift to human-centric ICT also raises social, economic and policy issues, which need to be addressed, including access to ICT, safety, privacy, environmental sustainability, etc.

This year, in addition to an exhibition for local universities and the presence of high-level keynote speakers and invited papers, ITU Kaleidoscope 2011 will host the second Jules Verne’s corner, a special space for science fiction writers and visionaries.

Kaleidoscope events are peer-reviewed academic conferences that aim at increasing the dialogue between experts working on the standardization of ICTs and academia.

For sponsorship opportunities please contact the ITU-T Kaleidoscope secretariat at kaleidoscope@itu.int. 

For additional information see the event webpage at: http://itu-kaleidoscope.org/2011.

Standardization experts are being asked to examine security-related guidelines/standards on child online protection issues.

The recent Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) meeting invited experts in ITU’s security standardization group (Study Group 17) to examine issues including:

1. The development of interoperable standards and related recommendations to protect children online. The aim would be to develop a widely shared approach which could be promoted across the whole industry.
2. Evaluating what options and possibilities exist for real global coordinated and consistent action to protect children online. Attention should be given to the elaboration of those capabilities (e.g. watch and warning and incident management) that would facilitate the gathering of threats and information sharing among different players.
3. Identifying the commonalities that span the different industry sectors  (broadcasters, Internet, mobile) with the purpose of developing Codes of Conduct, or code of practices to help ITU Member States collaborate more effectively with the private sector/industry.
4. Establish cooperative arrangements between government and the private sector/industry for sharing information and developing specific capabilities aimed at mitigating the risks and extending the potential of ICT usage by children.

ITU’s Child Online Protection (COP) initiative was launched in November 2008 as a multi-stakeholder effort to bring together partners from all sectors of the global community to ensure a safe online experience for children everywhere.

SG17 is expected to play a major role in technical aspects on COP, given that security, cybersecurity and identity management are already now being recognized as key fields of potential interest. Several SG17 work items (in ITU parlance Questions) are relevant, and experts from membership are encouraged to contribute.

 

New standards that will enable cost-effective smart grid applications such as distribution automation, smart meters, smart appliances and advanced recharging systems for electric vehicles have entered the final stage of approval at ITU.

The G.hnem standards (ITU-T Recommendations) address several smart grid applications such as distribution automation, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), demand side management (DSM), grid-to-home communications, home/building energy management, home automation, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-charging station communications.

In a standard power system, generation, delivery and consumption of electricity all take place at the same time. This makes the control of supply and demand uniquely challenging. The new standards provide the crucial link between electricity and communications networks, enabling utilities to exercise a higher level of monitoring and control of the grid.

G.hnem is an ideal platform for smart grid applications because of its support of power lines as a communications medium that is under the direct and complete control of power utilities. Since power line communications (PLC) exploit the existing wired infrastructure, the cost to deploy a communications channel is greatly reduced. In addition, because G.hnem supports popular protocols like Ethernet, IPv4 and IPv6, G.hnem-based smart grid networks can easily be integrated with IP-based networks.

Hamadoun Touré, Secretary General, ITU: “Smart Grid is a dynamic addition to today’s energy networks, which will be capable of delivering customizable services on a massive scale. To ensure an efficient global rollout, global standards are a must.”

Malcolm Johnson, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU: “Many national stimulus plans have given smart grid significant backing, with the need for standards also cited as key to the fast rollout of the technology. The G.hnem standards now entering the final stages of approval can be applied globally today, and are ready to give a much needed boost to power line communications technology, making electricity distribution cleaner, leaner and greener.”

The two G.hnem standards ITU-T G.9955 and G.9956 contain the physical layer specification and the data link layer specification, respectively, for narrowband OFDM power line communications transceivers for communications via alternating current and direct current electric power lines over frequencies below 500 kHz. These ITU-T standards support indoor and outdoor communications over low voltage lines, medium voltage lines, through transformer low-voltage to medium-voltage, and through transformer medium-voltage to low-voltage power lines in both urban and long distance rural communications.

 

ITU’s recent announcement on an OAM standard for MPLS in transport networks has seen considerable interest, but not always for the right reasons with claims from the Internet Society that it will jeopardize the Internet.

Experts cast doubt on ISOC’s statement: “… ongoing evolution along this path will jeopardize the … Internet”.

They point to the fact that several interoperability tests have been successfully performed with no reported problems. In addition the solution being proposed by ITU conforms to the MPLS-TP architecture as defined by the IETF. When network equipment uses different protocols, interoperability of the functioning of that protocol, in this case OAM, may well be affected. However, since packets for different protocols are identified by pre-assigned different codepoints, protocols running behind these different codepoints will not interfere with each other. This means that the core functionality – in this case Internet traffic – will not be affected. Therefore various protocols can coexist without causing any confusion in the network.

It is also important to understand who has contributed to this standard (draft Recommendation ITU-T G.8113.1) and why. The membership of ITU is made up of representatives from over 700 private sector companies (including most major ICT companies) and 192 Member State governments. In general technical work such as that being discussed here is undertaken by the private sector members. This solution was called for by a majority of the ITU membership in SG15 that has grown frustrated with a lack of progress in the development of a standard which is necessary to meet a market demand. Given that there are over 100,000 MPLS Transport Profile nodes already in transport networks, it is essential that the corresponding OAM toolset is standardized.

As background, in 2006 ITU started work on standards on T-MPLS, which leveraged a sub-set of MPLS that was targeted specifically for application in the transport network. However, in late 2007 the IETF indicated that T-MPLS may be in conflict with IP/MPLS.  The ITU suspended work on T-MPLS and in 2008 agreed to work in cooperation with the IETF on the evolution of MPLS to meet the needs of the transport network. It was anticipated that the five existing Recommendations on T-MPLS would be replaced by mid 2009 with MPLS-TP Recommendations following within a year.

However some of the IETF input (RFCs) required to move forward were not made available and are currently still pending following the unilateral disbanding by the IETF of its group assigned to work with ITU in September 2009.

ITU has issued a formal request for the necessary codepoints from IETF as these codepoints are currently administered by ICANN/IANA and can only be issued by IETF.

ITU collaborates and coordinates, in good faith and on the basis of reciprocity, with other relevant organizations in the development of IP networks to ensure maximum benefits to the global community, in accordance with the decisions of the 2010 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. However, this should not lead to a situation where the ITU fails to deliver on its commitments to its own membership.

 

Geneva, 28 February 2011 – In a big step towards leveraging existing MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) deployment in transport networks, ITU has agreed first stage approval of a key new standard. The ITU-T standard will give network operators the tools necessary to manage large scale deployments of MPLS-based networks. Network operators will now have a choice of OAM (operations, administration and maintenance) tools to best meet their specific transport network requirements. These OAM tools in the hands of network operators will, in particular, allow quick detection of defects and fault isolation.

MPLS is widely embraced in backbone networks as a way to speed up routers. The OAM tools in the ITU-T standard are based on technology proven in carrier grade Ethernet services and legacy transport networks, making it easier for operators to upgrade. In addition to reducing labour costs, network operators will see significantly reduced capital expenditure (CAPEX) costs given that the standard allows for more efficient allocation of bandwidth.

Operators are increasingly looking to MPLS as an end-to-end technology, given its inherent flexibility and support for IP-based applications. The decision was taken together with first stage approval of another standard providing network architecture for MPLS-TP based networks.

Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General, said: “ITU collaborates and coordinates, in good faith and on the basis of reciprocity, with other relevant organizations in the development of IP networks to ensure maximum benefits to the global community. This is in accordance with the decisions of the 2010 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. However, this should not lead to a situation where the ITU fails to deliver on its commitments to its own membership. Much effort was made to reach a compromise during last week’s Study Group 15 (SG15) meeting, but the decision was taken very exceptionally by vote, since all attempts at compromise had failed.”

ITU-T SG15 began working on transport profiles for MPLS technology suitable for use in the network layer of transport networks more than three years ago. A joint working team (JWT) was set up to allow Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF) and ITU experts to work together to avoid divergent work streams. Specifically, it was expected that this group would provide the necessary protocol extensions for ITU’s specifications to work in an MPLS environment. IETF committed to provide its contribution by the second quarter of 2009. However this crucial technical input was not provided and the IETF’s MPLS-TP Interoperability Design Team (MEAD) was unilaterally disbanded by IETF in October 2009.

Malcolm Johnson, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU: “ITU is a consensus based organization and voting is always a last resort. In this case it was clear that a significant part of our membership could not accept any further delay in pursuing a solution that will give them the ability to address a real market need. Given that there are over 100,000 MPLS-TP nodes already in transport networks, it is essential that the corresponding OAM tool.

The winning papers from ITU's Beyond the Internet? − Innovations for future networks and services academic conference shared a prize fund of USD$10,000 on 15 December 2010.

• 1st price (5000 USD) Eva Ibarrola (University of the Basque Country, Spain):
  A user-centric approach to QoS regulation in future networks, Eva Ibarrola¹, Fidel Liberal¹, Armando Ferro¹; Jin Xiao² (¹University of the Basque Country, Spain; ²University of Waterloo, Canada)
  
  
• 2nd price (3000 USD) Kideok Cho (Seoul National University, Korea)
  How can an ISP merge with a CDN?, Kideok Cho, Hakyung Jung, Munyoung Lee, Diko Ko, Taekyoung Kwon, Yanghee Choi (Seoul National University, Korea)
  
  
• 3rd price (2000 USD) Masahiko Jinno (NTT, Japan) jinno.masahiko@lab.ntt.co.jp
  Introducing elasticity and adaptation into the optical domain toward more efficient and scalable optical transport networks, Masahiko Jinno, Yoshiaki Sone, Osamu Ishida, Takuya Ohara, Akira Hirano, Masahito Tomizawa (NTT, Japan)
  

Beyond the Internet? − Innovations for future networks and services was held at the kind invitation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of India, and hosted by the Sinhgad Technical Education Society, Narhe Campus, Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was organized by ITU with IEEE Communications Society as Technical Co-Sponsor and supported by, Cisco, Nokia Siemens Networks and MYFIRE. The Global ICT Standardization Forum for India (GISFI), the ITU-APT Foundation of India, and the CMAI Association of India supported ITU in promoting the event throughout India.

The conference brought together over 435 participants of 26 countries. Among them, the best academic minds from around the world presented their future visions on innovative technologies to challenge the fundamental networking design principles of the Internet. The conference also included an exhibition by local Universities which provided insight into their activities.

In addition to the four invited papers, 37 were presented from the 115 papers submitted, and the best three awarded prizes. The winning papers will also be featured in a future special edition of IEEE Communications Magazine. The consolidated Proceedings of the conference will be soon available at the event’s webpage (http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/uni/kaleidoscope/2010/index.html) and all papers will be downloadable from IEEE Xplore online catalogue shortly.

In addition to the prize pool, ten entrants - Kideok Cho, Rakesh Jha, Pranoti Bansode, Pankaj Chand, Klemen Peternel, Labonnah F. Rahman, Mohammadmajid Hormati, Arnupharp Viratanapanu, Rahamatullah Khondoker, and Muzahid Hussain - received a Young Author Recognition Certificate.

For the first time, this year’s Kaleidoscope event saw a new feature; Jules Verne's corner. The session is dedicated to visionaries, science fiction writers, journalists, movie directors and anybody else who is able to imagine an unpredictable future, putting forward inspiring, revolutionary ideas. Structured as a panel session the speakers were: Eduard Babulak, European Commission; Mitsuji Matsumoto, Waseda University, Japan; Rahul Sinha, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA; Daniele Trinchero, Politecnico di Torino, Italy and Simao Campos of ITU. Topics covered included future internet networks; the mapping of signals in a dense wireless four-dimensional space-time domain; the detection of information from the brain by analyzing activities of neurons and facing their “time-variable” characteristics and a “Rigorous Pseudo Scientific Demonstration” of time machines.

For more information and presentations from Kaleidoscope 2010, see the event's web page.

Building on the success of the first, second and third Kaleidoscope events, a fourth conference is planned for end 2011. A call for papers has already been issued for The fully networked human? − Innovations for future networks and services. Through implanted sensors, e-health applications will support senior citizens communicating automatically their medical data to care providers… but what if the information falls into the wrong hands? Modern heating systems at home would be programmed, via hands-free devices, while driving to work… but what happens if this is done via a text message distracting the driver? How can we make increasingly complex devices user-friendly? A call for abstracts for 2011’s Jules Verne’s corner has also been issued under the title The Chip in the Brain.

A new ITU-T Technology Watch Report envisions the future of eHealth. eHealth systems use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the delivery of healthcare services and information hold great promise for improving global access to healthcare services and health information, particularly in the developing world. Delivering on this promise requires more universal eHealth interoperability standards, overcoming technical infrastructure barriers, and addressing privacy, security, and other legal requirements. These and other issues are addressed by experts of ITU-T Study Groups 16, 17 and in other standardization bodies.

In December 2010, ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré joined the World Health Organisation Commission on women’s and children’s health, in which he serves as co-Vice Chair, alongside WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. Dr Touré contributes his expertise in the field of ICTs as tools to advance and improve healthcare.

The report, by Dr Laura DeNardis of Yale University, presents a snapshot of the current eHealth standardization landscape, describes some obstacles that must be overcome, and identifies the emerging standardization opportunities and activities within the ITU that will contribute to the global deployment of efficient and secure eHealth systems. 

It can be downloaded from a dedicated website which provides additional sources of information and links to ITU activities related to eHealth.

Go to report

Go to dedicated website

A meeting of ITU-T’s Security Study Group (Study Group 17) at the end of 2010 saw several new standards (ITU-T Recommendations) approved and progress in several important areas. Immediately prior to the main Study Group meeting a workshop, Addressing security challenges on a global scale, open to members and non-members alike attracted 115 participants from 29 countries. Also open to external experts an Identity Summit succeeded as a new tool to add value to technical discussions in SG17.

Some of the new ITU-T Recommendations facilitate the interconnection of security and management systems and to exchange cyber security information, such as of security events and of security attack incidents. The standards specify how this information can be shared across organizations for enhanced security preparedness and broader and better risk mitigation against vulnerabilities, to allow vulnerability databases and other capabilities to be linked together, and to facilitate the comparison of security tools and service.

In detail, Recommendation ITU-T X.1209 identifies real-life scenarios where cybersecurity information can be exchanged across organizations. The standard specifies the principal technical and organizational capabilities necessary for systems in terms of cyber security information exchange. Related new work includes draft Recommendation  ITU-T X.1500 which surveys the various candidate techniques for cyber information exchange, and draft Recommendation ITU-T X.1520 which identifies the high-level requirements for enumerating common vulnerabilities.

Also during December meeting two new Recommendations were approved (X.1243 and X.1245) that counter spam and other unsolicited communications though an interactive gateway system. In addition the use and application of the extended validation certificates as put forward in new draft Recommendation ITU-T X.1261 will provide enhanced and superior security to users on the Internet with a trustworthy confirmation of the identity of the entity that controls the website or other services that the users are accessing.

Two new draft Recommendations have been matured (X.1311 and X.1312) that address the security aspects of “ubiquitous sensors in networks” – an emerging area of smart internetworked sensors and devices that are expected to increasingly permeate daily life. The new Recommendations identify the specific and typical security threats and specify appropriate security requirements. Draft Recommendation ITU-T X.1312 follows one promising approach where various security functions and security mechanisms are aggregated within a common middleware component of those sensors. Radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled devices are an early incarnation of such ubiquitous sensors where new Recommendation ITU-T X.1275 gives guidelines to vendors and service providers of RFID enabled devices how to protect the privacy of the users his/her specific personally identifiable information (PII).

Study Group 17 also saw new and ongoing security and identity management standardization work in the area of cloud computing and virtual service platforms where challenging security problems remain to be solved and standardized. Another new interesting area of standardization work seeks to define an information security management reference model for small and medium telecommunication organizations.

A series of tutorials were given at the SG17 meeting and presentations can be downloaded here. Topics included:  An update on ICANN activities relating to Security, Stability and Resiliency; Open Identity Trust Frameworks: A Market Solution to Online Identity Trust; Creating a Multilingual Communication Standard for Cross-Border ODR; X.500/LDAP as resolution system and as support provider for RFID; Cybersecurity Information Exchange techniques and their importance for emerging networks.

ITU and its partners ISO and IEC have launched a new electronic newsletter providing concrete examples of how standards impact the bottom line, stimulate economic growth, productivity and innovation and allow businesses large and small to access broader markets.

The newsletter goes out under the banner of the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) which the three organizations established in 2001 in order to strengthen and advance the voluntary consensus-based international standards systems of IEC, ISO and ITU.

The first issue of the WSC eNewsletter includes the following success stories:

How Tyco Electronics achieved additional profits of USD +50 million by participating in standardization

• Why the former CEO of Mitsubishi believes that standardization and certification are now crucial for Japanese companies' continued success
  
• Why the CEO of Rockwell, the world's largest automation company, recommends that businesses participate in standardization work
  
• How a 50-employee SME succeeded in opening up the European market for its medical devices 
  
  

In addition, the eNewsletter includes articles on the following subjects:

Now you can calculate the cost and benefit of standardization
Standards have a direct impact on the bottom line which you can calculate. The cost of standardization is relatively easy to calculate, but the calculation of its benefits was much trickier... until now. Find out how your company can assess and communicate the economic benefits of international standards, and determine which areas are likely to result in the highest benefits...

Senior executives share their insider tips on standardization
This Canadian study looked both at the impact of standards on overall economic growth and provided insights by senior executives from private and public sectors about participation in standardization...

The benefits of standards in "CEO speak"
Order or download your free information package that summarizes all the benefits of using International Standards and participating in their development.

New evidence links technological change, productivity and economic growth directly to standardization
A series of recent studies conducted in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK, point to a direct relationship between the use of standards and economic growth, labour productivity, ability to export and more.

The WSC eNewsletter will be published three times a year. A subscription form is available at this address. Additional information on the WSC and its activities can be accessed on the WSC Website: http://www.worldstandardscooperation.org/