Thank you for inviting me to this round table, and thank you for organising this event on this important topic.
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to all participants wherever you are.
International technical standards development is a core function of ITU, which is the lead UN agency for information and communication technologies (ICTS), and it has been a core function ever since ITU’s creation over 150 years ago. International technical standards were a necessity then, and are much more so now in today’s complex world.
A common set of standards is like a universal language: it brings people, businesses, functions, economies and societies together. In a world constantly growing in complexity, common standards make things easier.
Standards are essential for international communications, and global trade. Standardization can drive competitiveness – not just for individual businesses but for the world economy as a whole - by helping organisations with their efficiency, effectiveness, responsiveness and innovation.
Manufacturers, network operators and consumers benefit in terms of lower prices and increased availability by reducing technical barriers and promoting compatibility between systems.
Standards also avoid costly market battles over preferred technologies, and for companies from emerging markets, they create a level playing field which provides access to new markets. They are an essential aid to developing countries in building their infrastructure and encouraging economic development. Speeding up the standards making process and developing a more strategic approach to new standards work is essential. New standards in new areas must be based on real market need. These standards will underpin the effort to build back better and create a more sustainable, more prosperous future in the aftermath of COVID-19 – a goal central to the UK’s G7 Presidency.
COVID-19 has created a surge of interest and reliance on digital technology, whether it is for heath, digital finance, education or just keeping in touch with loved ones. The pandemic has been a boost to the development of ICTs over the past year, including online platforms such as this.
There can be no doubt that as industries are converging, ICTs are the platform enabling this convergence. Traditionally distinct industries are entering new shared space. In turn, they need common technical standards more than ever to enable openness and interoperability, reduce costs through economies of scale, and avoid getting locked into proprietary solutions.
Extraordinary advances are taking place at the intersection of various fields of innovation, from AI to the Internet of Things to 5G. For example, we have seen a range of innovative 5G applications.
ITU recently published the detailed specifications for IMT-2020 (5G) radio interface technologies that will support several use cases leveraging the advantages of 5G, from healthcare and autonomous vehicles to smart cities and collaborative robotics. This new and only truly global standard for 5G is the result of a collaborative process between ITU Member States, equipment manufacturers, network operators, standards development organizations, and the academic community. It is part of a series of ITU standards for radio-based telecommunications systems, including terrestrial and space systems, which will define tomorrow’s wireless landscape.
ITU is fortunate to have a diverse membership of 193 Member States and over 900 private sector members, universities and research institutes, civil society, and various regionals and international organisations. With so many different sectors becoming dependent on ICTs, we need this diversity to ensure that the user requirements are met.
Over the past 12 years we have put a lot of effort to encourage delegates from developing countries to participate in our standards work – what we call the Bridging the Standards Gap initiative which I launched in 2008. I am please to say we now have more participation form developing countries than developed countries. This is an important distinction in ITU which ensures that we also develop standards to meet the requirements of the developing world, which might be very different to those of the developed world.
If we don’t have the necessary interested players in our membership, we open up participation to non-ITU members. For example, our ‘Financial Inclusion Global Initiative’ is a partnership with the World Bank and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation open to central banks, commercial banks, telecom and financial regulators, and telecoms operators and service providers.
ITU also has a number of Focus Groups working on specific new areas open to any interested party. For example the ITU-WHO Focus Group on “AI for Health” is working towards the standardization of a framework for benchmarking ‘AI for Health’ algorithms. The need for this platform was identified at ITU’s second annual AI for Good Global Summit in 2018. Most recently, an ad-hoc group was established to review the performance of AI, and other digital health technologies, in combatting the pandemic.
Such collaboration is key. There are now so many organisations involved in digital technical standards development that there is a risk of duplication of effort and competition. No one organization can work in isolation. We all need to bring our own specific competences to the table, avoid duplication, and pool our resources for the common good. There are some attempts to do this such as the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) consisting of ITU, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). There is also the Global Standards Collaboration (GSC) which brings together some major standards bodies, including ITU, once a year to exchange information and strategies.
I look forward to today’s discussions. I hope we can take stock of some of the challenges we face, share insights and propose possible solutions for a strengthened, more collaborative system for standards development going forward.
Thank you.