Standards bodies come in many shapes and sizes. Where standards are tied to legal requirements, the standards body will be tied to a legal jurisdiction, normally a nation state, or in the case of European Law, the EU. However, where standards are outside any immediate legislation, most activity in telecoms is global in nature and all the main standards bodies are international .
Different bodies are important in different technical areas. The global telecoms ecosystem of today, and as it is evolving into the future, has drawn together technologies from different sources. Standardisation has arisen separately in different technical areas. The diversity is often an accident of history, however, some organisations have resulted from more specific geo-political considerations, for example 3GPP.
It is unwise to be too definitive in identifying certain bodies as more important than others, as this can change over time – standardisation at this global level is voluntary, and the important place for standardisation is likely to be where the important players choose to go. Further, as technology changes, the perceived requirements for standardisation work and standards bodies also change. Such change has been a constant of the industry and is likely to continue to be.
Different bodies are important in different technical areas
The global telecoms network of today, and as it is evolving into the future, has drawn together technologies from different sources. Standardisation has arisen separately in different technical areas. The
diversity can be is often an accident of history, however, some organisations have resulted from more specific geo-political considerations, for example 3GPP.
As a result, it is unwise to be too definitive in saying which bodies are the more important, as this can change over time – standardisation at this global level is voluntary, and the important place for standardisation is likely to be where the important players choose to go.
