Global Standards Collaboration (ITU)

RESULTS OF THE 11TH MEETING OF THE GLOBAL STANDARDS COLLABORATION (GSC-11)

This document provides information on the principal results of the 11th meeting of the Global Standards Collaboration (GSC-11) (Chicago, USA, 28 May - 2 June 2006) of interest to the ITU Radiocommunication Sector.

The overall objective of the GSC meetings is to promote informal linkage among senior officials from national, regional and international standards bodies in support of the work of the ITU. For ITU-R, GSC activities are undertaken within the framework of Resolution ITU-R 9-2 (Liaison and collaboration with other organizations).

The ITU delegation to GSC-11 was headed by Mr H. Zhao, Director of TSB and included delegates from ITU-T and ITU-R (Dr B.A. Gracie, Chairman, RAG and Mr C. Van Diepenbeek, Chairman, Study Group 8).

The ITU-R delegation submitted three contributions (ITU-R Developments on Emergency Communications; ITU-R Developments on Ultra Wideband; ITU-R Developments on Broadband Wireless Access Standards). In the area of emergency communications, the activities of Study Groups 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were described, along with information on BR representation in forums dealing with disaster relief communications and early warning systems. Information on the ITU-R website on the role of radiocommunications in disaster mitigation and relief operations was also provided. For UWB activities, the substance of various pertinent ITU-R Recommendations was described; for BWA standards, the scope of the various study Questions and related Recommendations were outlined.

The Participating Standards Organizations of GSC were invited to collaborate closely with ITU-R in these and other areas of interest.

The final GSC-11 Communiqu├® (see Annex), inter alia, noted the specific resolutions that were agreed on a wide number of topics, many of which are of particular interest to ITU-R. GSC-12 will be held 8-13 July 2007 in Japan and hosted by ARIB and TTC.

Annex: 1

Annex

GSC-11 COMMUNIQU├ë: ÔÇ£STANDARDIZATION ADVANCING
GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONSÔÇØ

Global Standardization Collaboration Intensifies

Arlington, Va. ÔÇô The worldÔÇÖs leading telecommunications and radio standards organizations met from 28 May to 2 June 2006 to promote innovation and collaboration on next-generation standards for converged fixed/mobile communication services. The Eleventh Global Standards Collaboration meeting (GSC-11), including a User Workshop, was hosted by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) in Chicago and was attended by more than 100 participants from nine participating standards organizations (PSOs) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Anil Kripalani, GSC-11 chairman, observed: ÔÇ£PeopleÔÇÖs lives are positively impacted by the world of modern global telecommunications. Leaders from ICT standards bodies from around the world came together this week to address a wide range of subjects including healthcare, public safety, and entertainment, and to continue harmonizing their standards activities and increasing the collaboration in the global community.ÔÇØ

In keeping with this goal, the meeting identified several new topics for collaboration:

ÔÇó Mobile multimedia broadcast and multicast systems, supporting both commercial and public safety applications

ÔÇó IPTV, offering the promise of new innovative video entertainment experiences to the public

ÔÇó Information and communication technology (ICT) to aid the delivery of healthcare services.

Other key results of GSC included:

ÔÇó Successful ongoing collaboration on Next-Generation Networks (NGN) standardization since GSC-10 resulting in a substantial convergence of fixed and mobile networking approaches

ÔÇó Importance of building and maintaining a culture of cyber security in which everyone has a role to fulfill

ÔÇó Role for networking standards to enable Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID)-based applications

ÔÇó Strong support for ongoing collaboration and harmonization of evolving 3G and other new wireless broadband access technologies to make access to advanced ICT services ÔÇ£anytime and anywhereÔÇØ a reality

ÔÇó Potential of communications technology to relay safety messages to reduce vehicle accidents and waste of human life

ÔÇó The User Workshop was a great opportunity to exchange more detailed information on user requirements and the related standards that are being developed on a worldwide scale for the benefit of all. The Workshop, which included a panel on accessibility, focused on cyber security, emergency communications, and user issues for VoIP.

In addition, the GSC readopted its positions on IPR policy and on ÔÇ£open standards.ÔÇØ

The Global Telecommunications Standards Collaboration (GTSC) and Global Radio Standards Collaboration (GRSC) meetings are a vital part of the Global Standards Collaboration. The GRSC and GTSC meetings aim to establish objectives to accelerate the process of global telecommunication and radio standards development thereby promoting interconnectivity and interoperability.

Specific resolutions on the following topics were agreed:

ÔÇó Continuing cooperation on International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) standardization

ÔÇó Emergency Communications

ÔÇó Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

ÔÇó Open Standards

ÔÇó Healthcare ICT Standards

ÔÇó IPTV Standards

ÔÇó Global UltraWideband (UWB) Standardization

ÔÇó Automotive Crash Notification

ÔÇó Support for Vehicle Safety Messaging

ÔÇó Terminology for Software-Defined Radios (SDR)

ÔÇó Support for World Standards Cooperation (WSC) Event on ICT in Motor Vehicles

ÔÇó Facilitating Liaison in Relation to Measurement Methodologies for Assessing Human Exposure to RF Energy

ÔÇó Mobile Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast

ÔÇó Public Protection and Disaster Relief

ÔÇó Next-Generation Networks (NGN)

ÔÇó Cyber security

ÔÇó Home Networking

ÔÇó Intellectual Property Rights Policies

ÔÇó Broadband Services in Rural and Remote Areas

ÔÇó Facilitating Liaison in Relation to Measurement Methodologies, associated Measurement Uncertainty and Calibration

ÔÇó Personally Identifiable Information Protection

ÔÇó User Needs, Considerations and Involvement

ÔÇó Wireless Access Systems including Radio Local Area Network and Ad Hoc Networking, particularly for systems providing broadband wireless access

ÔÇó Radio Microphones and Cordless Audio Standardization.

Other areas discussed were:

ÔÇó Security and Lawful Interception

ÔÇó IP over Wireless

ÔÇó Intelligent Transportation Systems

ÔÇó Satellite Services

ÔÇó Communications onboard aircraft

ÔÇó NGN ÔÇô Architecture, Protocols, End-to-End QoS, Network Management, Lawful/Legal Interception, Service Platforms and Interworking of Services.

Dan Bart, TIA senior vice-president, standards and special projects, said: ÔÇ£This GSC meeting provided an appropriate occasion to recognize the long service and outstanding contribution of Karl Heinz Rosenbrock, the outgoing Director General of ETSI. His positive influence in bringing together the world of telecommunications standards will have a lasting impact on our community.ÔÇØ

The GSC website (http://www.gsc.etsi.org/) contains details of the meeting, the User Workshop and archives of previous meetings.

Participants at GSC-11 included the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF), Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) of Japan, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) from the United States, the China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the ICT Standards Advisory Council of Canada (ISACC), the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) of Korea, the Telecommunication Technology Committee (TTC) of Japan, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Guests and observers included representatives from 3G Americas, American National Standards Institute (ANSI), CDMA Development Group (CDG), Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), FLO Forum, GSM Association, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Sector Board 4, IEEE, IETF, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Security Advisory Group (ISO/SAG), JTC1, Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), Society of Cable and Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), and Wireless World Initiative/Wireless World Research Forum (WWI/WWRF).

Background information

The Global Standards Collaboration is the latest in a series of such events that commenced in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1990. Their goal is to promote informal linkage among senior officials from national, regional, and international standards bodies in support of the work of the International Telecommunication Union. The next GSC meeting in this series will be hosted by ARIB and TTC in Japan on 8 to 13 July 2007.

The GSC-11 meeting provided a framework for exchanging information, establishing objectives to accelerate the process of global telecommunication and radio standards development, and promoting interconnectivity and interoperability.

In conjunction with this meeting bilateral agreements were signed between ISACC and ETSI, and TTC and ETSI.

More information on GSC-11 and previous GSC meetings is available at http://www.gsc.etsi.org/.

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