FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 23, 2008

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Praises Progress at Global Standards Collaboration Meeting

Arlington, Va. – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leader in advocacy, standards development, business development and intelligence for the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, met July 14-17, 2008, to promote innovation and collaboration on a broad spectrum of standards topics, ranging from the environment and public safety, to the evolution of networks for the support of new capabilities like IPTV and mobile broadband. 

The 13th Global Standards Collaboration meeting (GSC-13) was hosted by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) in Boston. One hundred participants from eight participating standards organizations (PSOs) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) attended along with observers from additional groups.

Ed Mikoski, Vice President, Standards and Business Development, for TIA and the head of the TIA delegation at the meeting, said: “I am pleased to have attended my first GSC meeting and applaud the significant progress achieved this week at GSC-13. Not only are we addressing important technologies such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS), Mobile TV, and advanced wireless capabilities, but also ICT standards to help handle challenges such as climate change, emergency communications, health care, and accessibility for persons with disabilities.”

Key collaboration topics discussed at the meeting included:
 

• ICTs and their use in environmental monitoring and energy saving across all industries and society in general
• Global cybersecurity strategies and solutions to reduce vulnerabilities and mitigate risks
• Interconnection of home networking devices (e.g., personal computers, mobile devices) and their interworking with external networks
• Next-generation networks and the convergence of fixed and mobile networks and services, including IPTV
• Evolution of future wireless platforms such as IMT-Advanced
• Expansion of support for regional and global standards on emergency communications, early warning systems and disaster relief
• Intelligent transportation systems (ITS)
• Intellectual property rights (IPR) issues affecting the development of communications standards
• Key radio issues in preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-11)

In addition to TIA, other participants at GSC-13 included the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) of Japan, the China Communications Standards Association (CCSA) of China, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the ICT Standards Advisory Council of Canada (ISACC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) from the U.S., the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) of Korea and the Telecommunications Technology Committee (TTC) of Japan.

Guests and observers included representatives from 3G Americas, American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Broadband Forum, CDMA Development Group (CDG), Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), GSM Association (GSMA), Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL), European Patent Office (EPO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Sector Boards 4 (SB4), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC204, Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and WiMAX Forum.

Background Information:
The 13th Global Standards Collaboration is the latest in a series of such events that commenced in Fredericksburg, Va., in 1990. TIA last hosted the GSC in June 2006 in Chicago. These events provide a strategic opportunity for dialogue among senior officials from national, regional and international standards bodies in support of the work of the International Telecommunication Union. The next GSC meeting will be hosted by the ITU, July 13-16, 2009, in Geneva.

The GSC-13 meeting provided a framework for exchanging information, establishing shared objectives to accelerate the process of global telecommunication and radio standards development, and promoting interconnectivity and interoperability.

More information including the official Communiqué from GSC-13 is available at: www.gsc.etsi.org. Information on the GSC meetings is available at the ITU repository www.itu.int/ITU-T/gsc.

About TIA
Currently in its 84th year, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. TIA enhances the business environment for thousands of companies and individuals whose focus is broadband development and deployment (including wireless and landline infrastructure and services), information technology (IT) for commercial or residential application, Internet Protocol (IP) hardware, software and content solutions, and the convergence of voice, video and data (“triple play”) applications and evolution.

TIA co-owns NXTcomm, the tradeshow serving the ICT industry; is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); serves as the secretariat for the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2); holds Board of Director positions on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) TELECOM and USITO Boards; and hosts the USA pavilions in ITU trade fairs worldwide.

More than 1,100 subject matter experts and other industry leaders participate in TIA’s 70+ standards committees and TIA has produced more than 1,150 standards documents. From mobile and personal communications systems to fiber optics and cabling infrastructure, from vehicular telematics and terrestrial mobile multimedia to healthcare ICT, TIA’s engineering committees work to formulate positions and prepare international standards and reports for use by industry and government. TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

In government affairs and international trade, hundreds of experts are at the table helping to advance and advocate initiatives on behalf of the industry – projects such as advancing global broadband deployment across wireline, wireless and cable platforms; advocating advanced spectrum management; encouraging policies to enable information access for persons with disabilities; seeking allocation of additional spectrum to advance wireless services and public safety; facilitating market opportunities by promoting full, fair and open trade and competition in international markets; and ensuring that the U.S. communications sector continues to be a leader in advanced research.

On the environmental front, TIA’s EIATRACK subscription-based web service, on the Web at www.eiatrack.com, enables companies to determine up-to-date information on environmental compliance of their products in various regions around the world.

TIA’s Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, ArrayComm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cam Communications, Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., Graybar, Harris Stratex, Henkels & McCoy, Intel Corporation, LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, OneChip Photonics Inc., Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Verari Systems, Westell Technologies, Inc. and Zebra Technologies Corporation. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, ILS Technology, Orca Systems and Telcordia Technologies.

TIA membership enhances the ability of companies to prepare for the future of communications. TIA brings people and businesses together by helping the industry overcome technical and political barriers to communications. Visit www.tiaonline.org for details.
 

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