Florianópolis To Host Premier Standards Body

World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly comes to Brazil.

October 2004 is an important month for the global standardization community. The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-04) taking place in Florianopolis, Brazil, 5-14 October will define the work programme of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) for the study period 2005-2008. ITU-T is the global leader for standardization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). WTSA brings together world industry and administrations to facilitate the extraordinary modern technology that today allows us to communicate across the globe.

WTSA takes place every four years to examine the structure of ITU-T and propose strategic directions for future global standards setting. The assembly will review and decide on working methods, including approval processes for standards, work programmes, structure of study groups and their specific areas of study. These assemblies also develop procedures of cooperation with external organizations. Essentially, WTSAs determine priorities and timeframes for completion of work on standards preparation.

ITU has a unique chance here to shape the future of telecommunications and it is hoped that delegates grasp this opportunity with both hands to help ensure that ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector ITU-T remains the premier global standards making body, and more importantly that the global ICT industry benefits.

Among its heavy tasks, it’s expected that high on the agenda of this WTSA will be restructuring of the study group system that splits ITU-T's work into specific areas of study. And a key issue for delegates to examine will be the way in which work related to Next Generation Networks (NGN) is handled.

The last WTSA was held in Montreal (Canada) in 2000, and saw agreement on an important new way of working: the alternative approval process (AAP). This is a fast-track procedure for agreeing on global, technical standards (ITU-T Recommendations). It was an important step to take – meeting industry demands that standards are produced not just efficiently, but quickly. Increased working through electronic means was one such process that was encouraged, and has proven to be a successful way of bringing together experts from around the world. ITU-T Members are satisfied with the current processes but they will make efforts at this WTSA-04 to further improve the ITU-T working methods.

Also, at WTSA-2000, much emphasis was put on the need for greater involvement of developing countries in standardization activities. It has been the remit of ITU-T to help bridge the standardization gap between developed and developing countries since it was mandated to do so at the Montreal Assembly. ITU-T is pleased to see an increasing participation of developing countries during the recent years. However, this is a theme that is still with us in 2004.

Alongside WTSA-04, ITU will host a “Cybersecurity Symposium” that will address global concerns on this important topic. ITU-T has conducted studies into a range of security issues and has produced over seventy Recommendations focused on ICT security. The event will provide a high-level overview of the subject using practical experiences to illustrate how specific threats can be dealt with and what lessons can be learnt from previous experience.

Houlin  Zhao
Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau
International Telecommunication Union