ITU–T provides focus for international standards

ITU–T, the foremost standards development organization formally approved in October 2002 the creation of a Focus Group to carry on the work of the FS–VDSL Committee, which stands for Full Service–Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line. The formation of the group signals a new way of working for ITU–T and promises to be just the first of many fruitful relationships.

What are Focus Groups?

Focus Groups are an instrument created by ITU–T to foster a more efficient working environment for the development of standards. The rules define how an “arms-length” entity can be created to work with an ITU–T Study Group as a parent body while at the same time maintaining a high degree of independence. These groups become Focus Groups in ITU–T parlance.

Why would a Forum become an ITU–T Focus Group?

Houlin Zhao, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) summarizes ITU–T’s philosophy in these words: “It is not good for standards bodies to work against each other. Cooperation between SDOs is on the increase and ITU–T has been involved with a number of initiatives with other such bodies. ITU–T sees other forums and consortia as strategic partners. We are complementary to one another. However, ITU is open to the idea of accepting an “external” forum as an “internal” ITU–T Focus Group, if there exists such a demand. We are ready to act as an umbrella organization to a qualified forum that needs to extend its reach, and can benefit from the pre-eminent status of ITU–T. And the establishment of such Focus Groups is, I believe, a useful way of encouraging a more productive environment for the creation of truly international standards. This will not only extend the reach of the specifications, but will also allow ITU members to benefit from and influence specifications that would not otherwise have been available to them.”

The FS–VDSL Focus Group was formed following initial discussions between the Director of TSB and the management of the FS–VDSL Committee immediately after an unprecedented “Informal Forum Summit” convened by Mr Zhao in December 2001 (see ITU News, No.1/2002: A summit of forums). On 2 May 2002, ITU–T received a request from an ITU–T member, France Telecom, for the creation of a Focus Group that would continue the work of the FS–VDSL Committee. This was followed by the announcement on 10 May 2002 of the decision to start the group. The Focus Group did not waste any time and started its work to migrate the specifications produced under the scope of the FS–VDSL Committee into the Focus Group during June and September 2002. The next formal step in the process was when Study Group 16, the parent body in ITU–T, formally approved the creation of the Focus Group at a meeting in October 2002. Following this, the Focus Group Technical Specifications will be progressed into Recommendations. The texts are planned to be mature for submission into the Recommendation ratification process (a.k.a. “Consent”) by May 2003. Three meetings of the Focus Group are foreseen to achieve these results.

FS–VDSL Chairman, Don Clarke, explains why the Committee chose ITU–T as a place to continue the forum’s work: “We saw ITU–T as the organization with the scope and the remit to carry out our work. ITU–T is recognized as the international standards body. Its global nature is key. The ITU–T Focus Group concept allows us to bring our work into ITU–T with the minimum of fuss, and crucially does not slow down the momentum that we have built up. I believe that there is a new level of pragmatism in ITU–T that perfectly reflects our objectives.”