Standards in Telecommunications n Origin of standards – Standard setting bodies – Governments n Rationale – Market-driven and voluntary – Government-regulated and mandatory

Advantages n Assures a large market, encourages mass production, lowers costs n Encourages vendors to enter market because investment is protected n Allows products from multiple vendors to communicate, providing consumers with wider selection

Disadvantages n Standards process can freeze technology too early, due to the length of the standards- setting process and the speed with which technology changes n Current process allows for multiple standards for the same thing

Standards Organizations n Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) n American National Standards Institute (ANSI) n National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) n Industry Associations n Int’l Telecommunications Union (ITU) n ISO (International Standards Organization) n Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) n RFC  Internet Standard

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) n the largest professional society in the world n develops standards in the area of electrical engineering and computing n publishes scores of journals and runs numerous conferences each year n e.g. IEEE 802.x network standards

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) n non-gov’t and nonprofit organization n members are U.S. manufacturers and other interest groups n sets a variety of a standards, not just computer-related n ANSI proposals are usually approved by ISO as international standards n e.g. 802.x, created by IEEE, approved by ANSI, passed on and approved by ISO

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) n formerly known as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) n an agency of the U.S. Dept.. of Commerce n issues standards that are mandatory for purchases made by the U.S. Government except the Department of Defense

Industry Associations n Electronic Industries Association (EIA) n Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) n e.g. EIA-232 (formerly RS-232-C)

Industry Associations n Electronic Industries Association (EIA) n Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) n e.g. EIA-232 (formerly RS-232-C)

ISO (International Standards Organization) n a member of ITU-T n founded in 1946 n issues standards on a vast number of subjects, ranging from nuts and bolts to telephone pole coatings n has almost 200 Technical Committees

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) n Part of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) n IETF proposes and published Internet RFCs n IAB determines which RFCs become standards, based on IETF recommendations

RFC  Internet Standard n Stable and well-understood n Technically competent n Numerous independent and interoperable implementations in operation n Significant public support n Recognizably useful n Differs from other standards processes because of the emphasis on operational experience