ITU Workshop on
“Bridging the Standardization Gap”
(Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012)
Bridging the Standardization Gap
Vijay Mauree,
Programme Co-ordinator, TSB, ITU
vijay.mauree@itu.int
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
Outline
Standardization gap
Bridging the Standardization Gap
ITU Activities to bridge the gap
Standardization Capability Study
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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The Standardization Gap
One of the three strategic goals of ITU-T
Defined as the disparities in the ability of developing
countries, relative to developed ones, to access,
implement, contribute to and influence international ICT
standards, specifically ITU‐T Recommendations.
The standardization development gap is itself both a cause
and a manifestation of the wider digital divide
Bridging the standardization gap: PP Res 123, WTSA Res
44 and WTDC Res 47
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Bridging The Standardization Gap
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ITU Activities to Bridge the Gap
Enhance Standardization Capability
Develop Human Resources
Set up Regional Groups
Establish BSG Fund
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Enhance Standardization Capability
Mentoring programme for newcomers to Study Groups
Mentor role in study group
Research on measuring and reducing the standardization
capability gap
Free access to ITU-T Standards
Increase remote participation and collaboration
Reduced fees (CHF
including academia
3,975)
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
for
developing
countries
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Enhance Standardization Capability
Increase number of officials (Chairs / Rapporteurs) from
developing countries in ITU-T Study Groups
Increase SG
countries
meetings
and
workshops
in
developing
Standards Q&A Online Forum
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Standards Q&A
http://groups.itu.int/itu-t/StandardsQA.aspx
Open to everyone
Moderated Forum
Objectives
Enable developing countries to seek advice directly from
ITU-T study group experts
Ensure developing countries have a better understanding
of ITU-T Recommendations
Enhance the application of ITU-T Recommendations in
developing countries
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Standards Q&A
26 Topics : some examples
Naming, numbering
IPv6
ICT and Climate Change
Optical Transport Networks
IPTV
Cloud Computing
Cybersecurity
Future networks and NGN
Home Networking
Multimedia coding
Accessibility
Conformity and Interoperability
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Develop Human Resources
In Depth
Technical
Manuals/
Tutorial
ELearning
Capacity
Building
Workshop
Crash
Courses/
Webinar
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Develop Human Resources
Manuals and handbooks

Handbook on Testing (2011)

Convergent Networks (2010),

ITU-T Manual on Optical Transport Networks from TDM to
Packet (2010)

DSL Story (2010),

Deployment of packet based networks (2009)

Handbook on Fibre Optic Cables and Systems (2009),

Security in Telecommunications and IT (2009)
E-learning course on ITU-T Meeting Procedures
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
NEW!
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Regional Groups
SG2 Groups for Arab and East Africa Regions
SG3 Groups for Asia and Oceania, Africa, Europe and
Mediterranean, Latin America and Caribbean (Tariff and
accounting principles)
SG5 Groups for Arab, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean
(ICT and Climate Change)
SG12 Group for Africa (Performance, QoS)
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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BSG Fund
BSG Fund : CHF 289,000
Objective
Facilitate the participation of developing countries in the
standards development process
Allow developing countries to profit from access to new
technology development
Ensure that the requirements of developing countries are
taken into account in the development of standards
Korea Communications Commission, Nokia Siemens
Networks, Microsoft, Cisco
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ICT Standardization Capability
Study
Understand the primary gaps that must be
bridged to improve the standards development,
implementation, and usage capacities of
developing countries.
Identify variables necessary for developing
countries to effectively develop, access, and
deploy standards.
Develop a national profile of standards readiness
and recommend best practices for national
standards participation
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Methodology
Tool for Assessing Standards Capability
a questionnaire designed to elicit a self-assessment of
standards capacity for effectively developing, accessing,
and deploying ICT standards
Distributed to LDCs/Developing Countries
Scope limited to ICT standards
Preliminary Report published in December 2009
Case Studies : China, Czech Rep., Lebanon, Mali,
Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Thailand, Zambia
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Questionnaire
Standards Development Capability
Government Standards Policy
Standardization Human Resources
National Standards Use and Adoption
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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National Standards Capability
Scale
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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National Standards Capability
Scale
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Strategies To Improve
How to interface with ITU-T?
Public-private partnership for ICT standardization
activities at national level
identify new ICT standards requirements
define strategy for participation in regional and
international standards-setting organizations.
Capacity building programme on ICT
standardization for officials of the national
standards body and ICT regulatory authority
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Strategies To Improve
Offer government-sponsored ICT standards
training in collaboration with private industry and
international standards-setting organizations
Provide incentives towards hosting international
ICT standards conferences and workshops in the
country.
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Conclusions
Bridging the Standardization Gap
Enhanced co-ordination on ICT standardization at
national level
Increase the use of ITU-T Recommendations
Capacity building on standardization and ITU-T
Recommendations
Increase participation in Study Groups, Workshops,
Meetings and number of contributions
Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012
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Thank You
vijay.mauree@itu.int