Our interconnected telecoms industry will only thrive with standards at its core
Andy Reid, Standards Champion, UKTIN
Perhaps I’m showing my age here, but I’ve been involved with technology standards for the best part of the last 40 years. For the bulk of that time, I worked on the latest networking technologies, strategy, and architecture at BT, engaging with the likes of ETSI, IETF, IEEE, and 3GPP. Notably, I was a member of the team that pioneered adoption of cloud technology for network functions virtualisations.
Standards that I worked on decades ago are still in place today. Equally, there are standards I have contributed to that are just being adopted now — and will remain in effect for many years to come. Some of these standards will outlive me; I consider this the privilege of a lifetime.
I say all of this not to puff my record, but rather to illustrate a simple point about standards: these things are built to last. Take a telephone from the 1930s, plug it in, and it should still work now.
Standards can bridge the gaps of our fragmented telecoms landscape
A lot is said of how interconnected the telecoms industry is.
But this description only goes some of the way to getting across just how complex — and, yes, fragmented — our reality is.
It’s one thing to recognise a cake as a cake, another thing to know which ingredients went into baking it — and another thing entirely to get all the weights, measures, temperatures and timings correct to end up with a sweet treat.
Standards are a bridge from the lab to the real world.
The key difference between working on standards and purely on the technical or research side of things is the challenge — and opportunity — of adapting the straight edges of technological theory to the complex realities of life.
This is where old rubs up with new, now meets next, and finds some form of harmony. In some cases, our society quite literally depends on working these wrinkles out.
There are, of course, instances where things don’t go as intended — in the Internet, 30 years after the introduction of IPv6 as a new basic standard, we are still struggling to move on from the previous IPv4 standard. Call it human fallibility — but that’s life.
To work in standards is to throw yourself headfirst into this most significant – and existential – challenge.
Innovation is a vital component for consensus
There is an important role for innovators and disruptors to play in all of this.
Standards bodies exist to strike the balance between the interests of the status quo — often the big, boisterous negotiators at the table — and the influence of disruptive innovation.
A typical standards meeting will see different proposals arriving from different players, followed by robust discussions which, hopefully, will bring the group towards some level of consensus.
There’s a mixing and matching process that aims to include all of the best contributions, and end — ultimately — with a final specification that represents the strongest combination of these inputs.
When I started in standards a wise delegate from the US told me, if you’re at loggerheads with someone, you’ll probably find that you each have 25% of the final answer. The remaining 50% only emerges as you start to work together.
The opportunity for meaningful innovation is present throughout: fitting in all stages of the value chain, bridging gaps, and pushing new solutions to the most futuristic problems. It’s a vital component, and for our interconnected industry to thrive, we will need more of it — arriving from all angles, and from companies of all shapes, sizes, pedigrees, and longevities.
People skills, as well as technical
Standards meetings are not for everyone. The process requires a specialist skillset that combines being technically robust with being a skilled, sometimes patient negotiator.
These are high risk, high reward environments. It can be an expensive undertaking, but the financial rewards can be life changing. For me, playing an active role in writing our shared history and shaping the future were always the biggest draws.
Our industry is increasingly at the core of all of modern life. Standards are at the core our industry.
That 1930s telephone is ringing. Go on: answer the call.
