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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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