SNO is a group that operates under the auspices of ITU-T aiming to address issues in network management as encountered by network operators throughout the world. It was formerly known as the Network Management Development Group (NMDG).

As "the Voice of Operations", the group has had a direct impact on existing and new ITU-T Recommendations in the field.

This SNO event aims to provide an opportunity for an open communications sharing experience among international network operators. In addition the conference aims to encourage wider global ITU-T participation in the identification, development and implementation of network and service management activities for operations.

Registration and general information can be found here.

Next meeting of Study Group 11 - Signalling requirements and protocols

Geneva, 23 - 27 January 2006

Registration Form

See TSB Collective-letter 4/11 for more information.

Study Group 11 Home

Next meeting of Study Group 19 - Mobile telecommunication networks

Geneva, 23-27 January 2006

Registration Form

See TSB Collective-letter 4/19 for more information.

Study Group 19 Home

The announcement (18 November) that ITU’s Focus Group on NGN (FGNGN) has completed work on the first set of standards for next generation networks (NGN) marks a significant step towards a fundamental reworking of the world’s information and communications technologies networks. With NGN, network operators hope to replicate the level of service and reliability that customers have come to expect in telecommunication systems across all ICT networks.

The milestone reached with the launch of the Release 1 set of specifications has been achieved in a very short time by members of ITU’s Focus Group on NGN (FGNGN). FGNGN is made up of representatives of the world’s telecoms service and network providers, manufacturers and governments.

Telecoms companies around the world are starting to make the move from the traditional circuit switched networks that have essentially been in place since the earliest days of telecommunications to an Internet Protocol (IP) based system that will create cost efficiencies and allow a much greater level of diversity for service providers. Release 1 will serve as an invaluable tool to facilitate this rollout.

Contained within the 900 pages of ‘deliverables’ are some of the high-level architecture and frameworks for NGN. ITU’s next phase of NGN work – to be called the NGN-GSI (for global standards initiative) - will focus on the detailed protocols necessary to offer the wide range of services expected in NGN. It is also expected that the GSI will aim to harmonize different approaches to NGN architecture in different parts of the world.

Houlin Zhao, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU said: “Industry is backing NGN to the tune of billions of dollars. And ITU is very proud that the world’s manufacturers of telecoms equipment, network and service providers and administrations have entrusted us with this work. They understand that global standards will stimulate innovation and superior technology and enable interoperability, protecting current and future investment. ITU is the only body in the world that will be able to offer the necessary convergence between different NGN platforms on a global basis if they emerge.”

Since extending the reliability of telecoms networks into Internet Protocol based systems is key to the success of NGN, quality of service (QoS) specifications have been a strong focus of NGN work. Additionally, security aspects, universal access and the separation of services from the underlying network have been important topics covered.

The NGN-GSI will build on the momentum generated over the past year. The period 2004-2005 has seen meetings and workshops progressing work on NGN around the world. Participation in and contributions to this work are continuing to increase.

The next phase of ITU-T NGN work will see a significant re-organization of work schedules to ensure that experts from different Study Groups are able to meet at the same time. The meeting schedule has also been designed to maintain the brisk pace established during the first phase of the NGN work, and to meet members’ demands.

AAP Announcement UPDATE NOTIFICATION

The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2005-11-15

Group : aap
updated :          2005-11-15 18:44:50      
title :          [025] AAP Announcement No. 25, 16 November 2005 (SG 4, 9)
url :          http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/025.html
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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

More on AAP

A new process that allows work to be started in new areas on ‘any day of the year’, has been endorsed at the latest meeting of TSAG.

In the fast moving world of information and communications technologies (ICT) the quicker standardization work can start, the better. The ‘quick start’ process allows ITU-T to initiate new activities with speed when members identify a new area for standardization. It is a further example of how responsive ITU-T is to market needs and it strengthens ITU-T's claim to be one of the most attractive and efficient places to produce global standards.

Simply put, the process gives responsibility for taking quick action, such as setting-up a new Focus Group, a joint rapporteur group, or a joint coordination activity, to the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) Director in agreement with the Study Group chairmen and the TSAG Chairman. Previously it was normally necessary to wait for the next Study Group meeting, which could have been months away. So, for example, if direction on a particular topic is seen to have reached sufficient maturity in Technology Watch discussions, measures can be put in place to ensure immediate action. Experts agreed that such a speedy response to market needs is essential to continue bringing the most important new work into ITU-T.

Three new Recommendations related to IP Performance have been consented by ITU-T's Study Group 12.

All these factors are used to estimate end-to-end performance levels. At this stage, the framework includes a perceptual model for web browsing. Future versions will focus on multimedia conferencing and other applications. The Recommendation is designed to be helpful for people designing networks, enabling them to know what applications can be realistically supported. 

G.1040 - defines a new performance metric in IP networks for short transactions, such as trading of stocks, automated banking, and credit card point of sale transactions. The nature of such exchanges is that they need to be quick and reliable.

This Recommendation gives the ability for the network provider to either flag a problem based on their network measurements interpreted with this metric, or to say that – if a problem exists – it isn’t attributable to the network. The Recommendation allows the network service provider to see how much of the transaction time can be attributed to the network. The metric can also be useful in drawing up service level agreements.

G.1050 - addresses Network Model for Evaluating Multimedia Transmission Performance Over Internet Protocol. The need for such a model is driven by new challenges for multimedia applications in IP. Impairments that in typical data transfers are of little consequence may be much more serious in video or VoIP for example. The model is based on statistical models of a broad range of known deployed network configurations. This way a manufacturer of networking testing solutions can avoid speculation in configuring test scenarios.