1 ICT Standards and Regulation Israeli ICT Sector Perspectives Daniel Rosenne, Chairman, Central ICT Standardization Committee, Standards Institution of Israel November 5 th, World Electronics Forum

2 Israel’s ICT ,000 employees 6.5% of total workforce Sector GDP NIS 62.4 billion 17% of business sector GDP ICT sector exports $ 15.6 billion 26% of total exports NIS 16 billion R&D investment Source: CBS, 2007

3 Israel’s Trade 2006 Export dominated by high-tech products to large markets 21% 36% 27% 18% 13% 31% 37% 33% 19% 15% 31% 21% 14% 7% By Geographical RegionBy Technology Intensity 48% 28% Israel Medium- high tech Low tech High tech Medium- low tech European Union North America Asia Israel All other 2006 totals (without diamonds): Exports: $29.3 billion Imports: $34.7 billion Source: CBS, 2007

4 Standards Role - Promote Business Standards as an enabler for networks and services development Standards as a tool for market development Conformity assessment as a barrier to trade

5 Standards as an Enabler Standards support trade and access to markets, shape technology and stimulate productivity and innovation Standards promote development, especially in complex high-tech ICT environment Compatibility / interoperability standards are key enablers for the ICT sector

6 Standards as a Tool Market fragmentation and decreased productivity caused by conflicting standards Increased risk and uncertainty due to lack of standards High costs of being on the wrong side in a “standards war” Large multinationals always win…

7 Standards for Customer Empowerment Standards are trusted by their users Standards are important for ICT services customer satisfaction Key standardization areas: Quality of services (QoS) and service level agreements (SLAs) Truth in billing Interconnection and compatibility Customer portability (between service providers) Cyber security Local issues - language, common data formats, etc.

8 Conformity Assessment as a Barrier to Trade Significant proportion of products require conformity assessment in importing country Supplier Declaration of Conformity (SDOC) and marking prove unsatisfactory The concept of “one product, one test, accepted everywhere”, is wishful thinking Israeli approach - mutual recognition: By conformity assessment bodies By governments and regulators

9 Israeli ICT Sector Viewpoint Standards are an important productivity tool Israeli standardization priority - adoption of international standards  “Original” standardization is limited to unique local conditions (Hebrew language implementation, etc.) Increased Israeli participation in international standardization efforts, in areas where Israel offers unique technology advantage Technical regulation should be based on standards Deviation from international standards should be limited to special cases National conformity assessment should be reduced to essential public safety requirements Mutual recognition among conformity assessment bodies, accepted by regulatory bodies, is key for the reduction of trade barriers

10 The End Thanks for your attention