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

Standardization Committee for Vocabulary, 11 January 2012 face-to-face meeting

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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 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

 

Meeting of Study Group 5, Seoul, Korea (Rep. of ) 20-28 September 2011

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Study Group 5

 

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 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

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 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.

 

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

Second meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 5 Regional Group for Africa, Gaborone, Botswana, 27 July 2011

ITU-T TSB Collective Letter 3

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Meeting of Study Group 5 (Geneva, 27 April - 05 May 2011)

SG 5 Collective Letter 7

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Study Group 5

The latest meeting of ITU-T’s Study Group 5 in Geneva 23 November-1 December saw the beginning of work on two new “Questions” or work units - Setting up a low cost sustainable telecommunication infrastructure for rural communications in developing countries and Using ICTs to enable countries to adapt to climate change.

In addition and following the success of the Universal Charging Solution (Recommendation ITU-T L.1000), the meeting saw discussion on a Universal Battery solution.

Battery manufacturers, device manufacturers, operators and users will benefit, say experts but  the task will be infinitely more complicated. At this – early – stage discussions focus on feasibility; scope; questions on e-waste; safety; and innovation freedom concerns.

A revision to the Universal Charging Solution (L.1000) was also discussed. Changes under debate include a minimum current value (850mA); detachable cable (USB A to micro-USB); electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements and no load power consumption (0.15W mandatory, 0.03W optional). It is hoped that this will be consented at the next meeting SG  in April.

As well as progressing technical work the meeting saw presentations including a special guest Yuzhu You, University of Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Australia who talked about monitoring climate change using submarine cables – the subject of a new Technology Watch report. In a special session presentations were also made on how to make Data Centers green; recycling rare metals from ICT waste; urban mining; and the universal power adapter for ICT devices: phases 1 and 2.

The meeting saw record attendance and ran for seven instead of the normal five days. Two new standards were consented in the field of protection against electromagnetic fields (EMF) and electromagnetic emanations. The first gives guidance on the long term monitoring of EMF and the second describes a test method and guide against information leaks through unintentional electromagnetic emissions.

ITU-T’s Study Group 5 on environment and climate change meets this week in Geneva and has seen record levels of attendance and contributions; including 11 new countries participating for the first time.
 
The group, which recently adopted the universal mobile phone charger, is working on – among other things – a set of methodologies for ICT companies to measure their carbon footprint, and to estimate the considerable saving in global green house gas emissions that can be achieved through the use of ICTs.
 
Also on the table at that this meeting are several proposals relating to electromagnetic fields (EMF) issues. EMF was the subject of a new Resolution at the recent Plenipotentiary Conference tasking ITU to increased its work in the area. This meeting will see a new ITU-T Recommendation on “Monitoring of the EMF level”  put forward for consent (first stage approval). The proposed standard will give guidance for monitoring of EMF and provide the general public with clear and easily available data concerning EMF levels.

Meeting of Study Group 5, Geneva, 23 November - 1 December 2010 

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Study Group 5 Working Parties 3/5,  Rome, Italy, 1 October 2010

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SG5

Meeting of Study Group 5 - Environment and climate change

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 12 - 16 April 2010

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Study Group 5 Home

One-size-fits-all solution will dramatically cut waste and GHG emissions. "ICTs are an essential element of an effective Copenhagen climate agreement," says Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré

Geneva, 22 October 2009 — ITU has given its stamp of approval to an energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution. The announcement comes as ITU lobbies hard to have the essential role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) recognized in the draft Copenhagen Agreement as a key part of the solution towards mitigating climate change.

full press release

ITU together with the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is co-organizing the first ever Virtual International Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change. The event, also supported by Korea’s Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), will feature speakers participating virtually from locations around the world.

The symposium will bring together key specialists in the field from top decision-makers to engineers, designers, government officials and regulators.

Topics to be discussed will include green ICTs to tackle climate change, clean technologies and smart applications, reducing the environmental impact of ICTs and building a green future.

The Virtual International Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change will launch a new era in conducting events, offering all the benefits of physical participation but without the environmental costs. The event’s virtual nature will allow more participation from developing and least developed countries, providing a deeper knowledge of their needs and creating a sound basis for solutions that take into account all stakeholders.

This event is open to anyone and can be watched without prior registration. If you want to actively participate, comment or ask questions you must register here. Please choose "Participants" as your function.

Achieving climate justice is in the interest of all countries and citizens. This was a conclusion of the recent ITU Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change, Quito, Ecuador, 8-10 July 2009, the first ITU Symposium on the topic in a developing country and the first to focus on the concerns of the Americas.

Participants agreed that global effort to combat climate change should not impede the economic and social growth of developing countries and that bridging the digital divide and bringing the benefits of ICTs to all citizens is fundamental to tackling climate change. They recognized that while Latin American and Caribbean countries are minor contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions they are often victims of the extreme weather events and other negative impacts of climate change.

Equitable access and ensuring connectivity to schools, rural communities and health facilities are vital to economic development and to making effective use of ICTs to combat climate change. Increased deployment of affordable broadband will help facilitate this participants agreed.  

The conclusions of the symposium also acknowledged the growing problem of e-waste while highlighting the positive role of ICTs as enabling technologies to reduce GHG emissions in other sectors. Increased use of clean renewable energy sources and preservation of the jungles, savannah and oceans, the conclusion says, are key to the future and a real opportunity in Latin America.

Equitable solutions must be found so that the major contributors to GHG emissions cooperate with the countries that are suffering most from climatic impacts or those that are making efforts against deforestation, in particular through reduction of the digital divide and the environmental divide.

The Symposium was attended by 60 virtual as well as 450 physical attendees from 20 countries and was hosted by Centro Internacional de Investigación Científica en Telecomunicaciones, Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (CITIC) Ecuador. The Symposium was chaired by Ing. Jorge Glas Espinel, representing the President of the Republic of Ecuador, Economist Rafael Correa.

A meeting report containing a general summary of the event will be made available from the symposium website.

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ITU-T's Study Group 5 (SG5) meeting for the first time with its new name and mandate “environment and climate change” has started work on turning the deliverables of the Focus Group on ICTs and Climate Change into ITU-T Recommendations. Key among them is the methodology giving ICT companies a consistent mechanism to report their carbon footprints (see previous newslog). In addition to Study Group 5's two Working Parties involved in studies related to the electromagnetic environment, a new Working Party dealing with ICTs and Climate Change has been established.

The meeting also saw a correspondence from the GSMA requesting the support of ITU for its work on a Universal Charging Solution (UCS). The request was positively received and SG5 will work on adopting the solution as an ITU-T Recommendation.

The UCS proposal is for an energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phones solution. GSMA estimates it will result in a 50 per cent reduction in standby energy consumption, elimination of 51,000 tonnes of duplicate chargers and a subsequent reduction of 13.6 million tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions each year. GSMA says that UCS will also make life much simpler for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for future handsets, as well as being able to charge their mobile phone anywhere from any available charger.

The SG 5 meeting appointed new leads (working party, vice chairs and rapporteurs) for the various new work areas (questions) including; coordination and planning of ICT and climate change related standardization; methodology of environmental impact assessment of ICT; data collection for energy efficiency for ICTs over the lifecycle and environmental protection and recycling of ICT equipments/facilities.

Also at the meeting two new ITU-T Recommendations were consented; K.80 electromagentic compatibility (EMC) requirements for telecommunication network equipment (1 GHz - 6 GHz) and K.81 high power electromagnetic (HPEM) immunity guide for telecommunication systems.

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The Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) concluding its three day meeting 30 April agreed on how work on ICTs and environment including climate change and recycling will be distributed in ITU-T. This follows its approval of the report of the Focus Group on ICTs and Climate Change and will formalize the Focus Group’s output as ITU-T Recommendations (see previous newslog) – including a methodology for evaluating the effects of ICTs on climate change - both in direct terms and how ICTs can reduce emission in other industry sectors.

Study Group 5 was chosen as the lead study group and will be renamed the Study Group on Environment and Climate Change to reflect its new mandate. SG 5 remains the lead Study Group for protection against electromagnetic effects.

Specifically SG 5 will work on documents related to:

• Study of methodologies for calculating the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from ICTs, and the amount of reduction in the GHG emissions in other sectors as a result of using ICTs.
• Creation of a framework for energy efficiency in the ICT field, taking account of WTSA Resolution 73.
• Study of methodologies for power feeding that effectively reduce power consumption and resource usage.
• Study of methodologies that reduce environmental effects for ICT facilities and equipment such as recycling,

Study Group 5 will next meet 25-29 May in Geneva and is likely to establish a new working party to address these issues. The many organisations that contributed to the work of the Focus Group will be open to contribute at the invitation of the Study Group chairman.

In addition a Joint Coordination Activity (JCA) will ensure that the work across ITU-T’s study groups is focused on delivering climate change focused standards in a timely and efficient way. Essentially the group will aim to see that standards are developed in the most appropriate way and that no duplication of effort occurs. It will also provide a single point of contact for ICT and Climate Change activities in ITU-T and seek collaboration from external bodies working in the field. It is expected that the work of the JCA will be carried out mainly via web-conferencing tools.

Full details will be published on the website of Study Group 5 and a soon to be created JCA page.

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Meeting of Study Group 5 - Protection against electromagnetic environment effects

Geneva, 24-28 November 2008

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Click here for a document detailing some ITU-T highlights for 2007.

An Information Note from the ITU IS Department is available to help you configure your laptop for the ITU's Wireless LAN.

• ITU's Wireless LAN facilities for Delegates NEW! [Ver.10 Updated 28.11.2007]

See the EWM FAQs page

Next meeting of TSAG - Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group

Geneva, 3-7 December 2007

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Standards produced by ITU — ITU-T Recommendations — are now available without charge. The announcement follows a highly successful trial conducted from January−October 2007, during which some two million ITU-T Recommendations were downloaded throughout the world.

The experiment’s aim was to “increase the visibility and easy availability of the output of ITU-T”. Offering standards for free is a significant step for the standards community as well as the wider information and communication technologies (ICT) industry. Now, anyone with Internet access will be able to download one of over 3000 ITU-T Recommendations that underpin most of the world’s ICT. The move further demonstrates ITU’s commitment to bridging the digital divide by extending the results of its work to the global community.

Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) Malcolm Johnson, presenting the results of the trial to the 2007 meeting of ITU’s Council, said that not only had the experiment been a success in raising awareness of ITU-T, it would also attract new members. Most importantly, he noted, it had helped efforts to bridge the “standardization gap” between countries with resources to pursue standardization issues and those without. “There has been very positive feedback from developing countries,” said Johnson. “Last year exactly 500 ITU-T Recommendations had been sold to developing countries; this year, after allowing free access, they have downloaded some 300 000.”

ITU-T Recommendations are developed in a unique contribution-driven and consensus-based environment by industry and government members, with industry providing the most significant input. A strong focus of current standards work is providing the foundations for the so-called next-generation network (NGN). Other key areas include IPTV, ICT in vehicles, cybersecurity, quality of service, multimedia, emergency communications and standards for access, such as VDSL 2 — very high speed digital subscriber line 2, the newest and most advanced standard of DSL broadband wireline communications.

Working Parties 1/5 and 2/5 Meeting - Protection against electromagnetic environment effects

Geneva, 19-23 November 2007

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Next meeting of TSAG - Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (including meeting of the Seminar Coordination Committee (SCC))
 
Geneva, 26 February - 1 March 2007

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http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2006/newsroom/elections/results/directors.html#tsb
Press release: http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2006/25.html

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As part of celebrations for the 50^th anniversary of ITU-T, you are invited to vote for the most influential standards work from ITU-T.

ITU work is behind many of the worlds most prevalent information and communications technologies. Choose here from our shortlist which you think has best shaped the ICT world of today, or feel free to suggest your own idea.

 

 

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Meeting of Working Parties 1 (Damage prevention and safety) and 2 (Electromagnetic fields: emission, immunity and human exposure) of Study Group 5 - Protection against electromagnetic environment effects

Osaka, Japan, 22-26 May 2006

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With the agreement of the TSAG meeting 14-18 March 2005, a Joint Coordination Activity on Home Networking (JCA-HN) was established. Mr. Andrew Nunn (BT, UK) was appointed as the Convenor of this activity.

The scope of the JCA-HN was decided following a meeting held immediately after the ITU-T workshop Opportunities and Challenges in Home Networking, 13 – 14 October 2005, Geneva and discussions at the TSAG meeting 7-11 November 2005. The name “Home Network Initiative” will be used to describe work in this field spanning ITU-T Study Groups.

JCA-HN will:

• Co-ordinate the Home Network Initiative activity across all the relevant ITU-T Study Groups (e.g. currently ITU-T SGs 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17) and liaise with relevant ITU-R SGs (currently, SGs 1 and 6).
• Seek cooperation from external bodies working in the field and disseminate information received from these bodies to the relevant ITU-T Study Groups.
• Identify what should be standardized by ITU-T
• Prepare a roadmap for this standardization activity

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AAP Announcement UPDATE NOTIFICATION

The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2006-01-13

Group : aap
updated :          2006-01-13 18:42:24      
title :          [028] AAP Announcement No. 28, 16 January 2006, (SG 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 17)
url :          http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/028.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
 
Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process

 - For further questions, please contact TSB EDH at tsbedh@itu.int
 - For documentation, go to http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/aap/index.html
 - Comments on Recommendations under AAP should be submitted by filling the appropriate forms in each Study Group AAP web page and sent to the relevant Study Group email address

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Next meeting of Study Group 5 - Protection against electromagnetic environment effects

Geneva, 12 - 16 December 2005

Registration Form

See TSB Collective-letter 2/5 for more information.

Study Group 5 Home

Two technical sessions were given at the last meeting of Study Group 5 in Geneva. Study Group 5 is the ITU-T group that looks at protection against electromagnetic environment effects. Technical sessions are tutorials on a specific subject that aim to provide background for the preparation of new standards (ITU-T Recommendations) on these topics.

The first session was on security, and was presented by William Radasky, Chairman of IEC SC 77C (high power transient phenomena). Radasky’s lectures dealt with electromagnetic threats such as high power electromagnetic phenomena and its effect on systems and mitigation methods. This will help SG5 prepare recommendations  to protect telecommunication systems against malicious man-made high power transient phenomena. Radasky also detailed IEC’s work which will help ITU-T experts avoid duplication of their work.

The second session was on home networking and was in collaboration with Study Group 9. The SG 9 contribution was in the areas of architecture, transport technology, security, quality of service and management of home networks. SG 5’s contributions were in the areas of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), electromagnetic security and electromagnetic emission issues in the home environment.