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 2 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 3 Bridging The Standardization Gap 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 8 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 9 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 10 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! 11 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 12 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 13 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 14 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 15 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 16 National Standards Capability Scale Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012 17 National Standards Capability Scale Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 30-31 July 2012 18 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 19 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 20 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 21 Thank You vijay.mauree@itu.int