Telecommunications Industry Association Celebrates World Standards Week, Stresses Importance of ICT Industry-Accepted Technology Standards

TIA Invites Industry Participation in Development of New Technology Standards

Arlington Va. – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) this week joins with its fellow standards developing organizations in celebrating International World Standards Week in Washington, D.C., hosted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

"TIA thanks ANSI for its leadership in standards development," said TIA President Grant Seiffert. "This annual celebration serves as a reminder of the importance of technology standards, which cannot be overstated in this era of exceedingly fast innovation. The amount of work that members of TIA Engineering Committees do to develop new standards or adapt existing standards to address advances in areas such as M2M communications, wireless broadband, and cloud computing is staggering."

In addition to its commitment to developing standards, TIA is working to educate the tech community through outreach to top engineering schools. TIA began facilitating cooperation between industry and academe on new standards initiatives this year, engaging both Georgia Tech and Florida Atlantic University. These relationships also give TIA the opportunity to help define for the next generation of engineers what standards are and why they are so important, sharing a page from ANSI's report, Standards Boost Business:

"Behind the scenes, standards make everyday life work. They may establish size or shape or capacity of a product, process or system. They can specify performance of products or personnel. They also can define terms so that there is no misunderstanding among those using the standard."

As examples, standards help ensure that people can reach us on our mobile phones even when we are out of the country, that optical fiber connectors transmit light through a patch panel, and first-responders can communicate with interoperable radio systems."

The development of standards also has its rewards for companies active in the process. Participants in TIA engineering committees gain a tangible competitive advantage over their competitors: gaining early access to information; exerting influence on technical content; and developing new markets for products, services, and technologies, while keeping market access doors open.

"I believe ANSI sums it up best in Standards Boost Business," said Seiffert: "The robust U.S. standards and conformance system is a powerful example of how a consensus-based public-private partnership can work to develop concrete solutions to real-world problems."

This year's theme for World Standards Week is "Advancing Safety and Sustainability Standards World Wide," two areas of standards development with which TIA has long been associated.

TIA engineering committees have been on the forefront of forging new standards for public safety equipment and networks.

TIA is also leading the charge in developing cabling standards to improve energy efficiency in data centers, and just last week adopted a resolution to include energy efficient lighting in its next update to this Standard.

In addition, TIA recently became a board member for the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP), joining a consortium of manufacturers, designers, integrators, programmers and users of technology that is focused on bringing to life the technology systems that operate within sustainable buildings. STEP engages the best practices and standards to establish the technology industry benchmark for sustainable energy and materials.

To inquire about participating in TIA standards developing efforts, please contact Germaine Palangdao at +1.703.907.7497 or at gpalangdao@tiaonline.org.

Sign up for news feeds on new TIA standards projects and publications.

TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Read ANSI’s report, "Standards Boost Business" at http://www.standardsboostbusiness.org/.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence and networking. Since 1924, TIA has been enhancing the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment and entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org.

View video news programming on TIA Now at http://www.tianow.org.

TIA's 2011 Market Review & Forecast, is available for purchase online at the TIA store. TIA members receive a discount of more than 60 percent off of the cover price. Review copies are available for qualified media.

TIA's Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, AttivaCorp, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical Company, Ericsson, Inc., GENBAND, Inc., Henkels & McCoy, Juniper Networks, ILS Technology, Intel Corporation, Intersect, Inc., LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, OneChip Photonics, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, TE Connectivity, Ulticom, Inc., Walker & Associates and WirefreeCom, Inc. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates.

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