SBC EXECUTIVE URGES INDUSTRY TO COORDINATE STANDARDS INITIATIVES
SBC Senior Exec. Vp Ross Ireland issued urgent call to communications industry Tues. to coordinate standards- development efforts, saying failure to do so would continue to be “significant drain on our business.” Service providers as well as equipment manufacturers must begin questioning value of investing in particular standards-setting bodies, he said in morning keynote at Assn. for Telecom Industry Solutions (ATIS) Security Summit at Intelsat hq in Washington.
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There are “simply too many” groups, perhaps more than 300, working on standards for technologies ranging from mobile wireless to voice-over-Internet protocol, Ireland said: “In fact, some compete… When that happens, many of the standards aren’t interoperable or implementable.”
Ireland, who also is ATIS board chmn., said elimination of duplicative initiatives would enable industry to optimize investments and resources: If industry begins to speak “with one voice” on this issue, “we can potentially achieve a goal that has eluded our industry for years.” He said that once industry accomplished task of coordinating standards-setting projects, it would be better situated to take standards development to international arena.
ATIS formed Technical Operations Council (TOPS) year ago to identify technical and operational priorities. TOPS, which is led by BellSouth Chief Technology Officer William Smith, is preparing to unveil plans in near future, he said, and “implementation will begin almost immediately.” Recruiting representatives from broader swath of industry segments will be first step. However, TOPS not only is developing road map for standardization endeavor, but also will establish time line under which it intends to achieve its goals, he said.
National Communications System (NCS) Deputy Mgr. Brent Greene said on govt. perspectives panel that it was impossible to separate development of national standards from international standards. He said call by ATIS to coordinate industry efforts would help establish “direction we need to go as a nation, as a leader.” NCS, which is migrating from Dept. of Defense to Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), is “already participating, to a degree” in such initiatives, “and needs to participate even more,” he said. Industry and govt. together can “help coalesce efforts” undertaken by disparate groups, an accomplishment that will “protect [network] backbones more and more,” Greene said.
Expansion of several communications priority access programs -- plus extension of such concepts to cyberspace -- are being rolled out, Greene said. For instance, NCS will reach out to state and local authorities to participate in Govt. Emergency Telecom Service (GETS) program, which provides specialized call-processing to govt. agency- designees during emergencies or other times of network congestion. Wireless Priority Service, which started with GSM-based systems, has agreements in place to expand that priority capability to CDMA networks used by first responders and govt. and industry leaders during crises, he said. Similarly, NCS has recognized need to implement “priority receipt” capabilities into networks to ensure designated callers receive wireless transmissions.
NCS and FCC since Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have registered 15,000 additional circuits under Telecom Service Priority program, he said, which give certain circuits top priority for emergency repairs following disasters. Govt. also is rolling out its Cyber Warning Information Network project, which will target 150 facilities for priority Internet access during emergencies, he said. He briefly mentioned expected unveiling in March of related pilot project known as Global Early Warning Information System (GEWIS), which will test potential of Internet protocol-based early warning capabilities. He said: “Underlying all this stuff is standards.”