Paolo ROSA

1
Forum on Next Generation Network
Standardization Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7-10 April
2009


Bridging the
Standardization Gap and Participation
Paolo ROSA Head, Workshops and Promotion
Division, ITU - Telecommunication Standardization
Bureau
2
WSIS Actions and ITU
Action Line Possible Moderators/Facilitators
?1. The role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development ECOSOC/UN Regional Commissions/ITU
?2. Information and communication infrastructure ITU
C3. Access to information and knowledge ITU/UNESCO
C4. Capacity building UNDP/UNESCO/ITU/ UNCTAD
C5. Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs ITU
C6. Enabling environment ITU/UNDP/UN REGIONAL COMMISSIONS/UNCTAD
C7. ICT Applications E-government E-business E-learning E-health E-employment E-environment E-agriculture E-science UNDP/ITU WTO/UNCTAD/ITU/UPU UNESCO/ITU/UNIDO WHO/ITU ILO/ITU WHO/WMO/UNEP/UN-Habitat/ITU/ICAO FAO/ITU UNESCO/ITU/UNCTAD
C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content UNESCO
C9. Media UNESCO
C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society UNESCO/ECOSOC
C11. International and regional cooperation UN REGIONAL COMMISSIONS/ UNDP/ITU/UNESCO/ECOSOC
World Summit on Information Society, Geneve
2003 and Tunis, 2005
3
WTSA-08 Issues for developing countries
4
Some inputs to WTSA-08

• Some statistics
• Participations
• Contributions
• Issues for discussions
• Facilitating the participation (remote/in the
  regions)
• Facilitating the understanding of ITU-T
  activities
• Reflecting African countries requirements
• Resolutions related to Developing Countries (DC)
• Other issues
• Conformity and Interoperability concerns
• Chairman Vice Chairmanship
• Paperless Meeting

5
Countries attending(2008 Study Group meetings)
6
Number of Participants(2008 Study Group meeting)
7
Contributions at the last SG meetings(Logarithmic
scale)
8
Facilitating the participation

• In participating to the WTSA, developing
  countries had a control over SG activities
• WTSA role is changing, member states
  participating in TSAG have more power between
  two WTSAs
• Necessity to participate to TSAG and to SGs
• Direct participation
• Through regional Groups
• Through representatives
• Using new remote technologies

9
Facilitating the understanding

• Many actions have been taken
• Free access to technical ITU-T Recommendations
• A manual for beginners has been developed and
  updating after WTSA-08 is in progress
• Development of guides aimed at developing
  countries for help implementing ITU-T
  Recommendations
• Seminars, Workshops, Regional meetings and
  Forums,
• Presentations and tutorials available online
• Audiocast recorded and available online for most
  events
• Close contact and increased cooperation with ITU
  Regional Areas Offices, and Centers of
  Excellence for events and capacity building
  purposes
• TSB staff identified as contact point for the
  Region
• Website has been improved, e-flash,

10
Facilitating the understanding

• Some ideas of what could be added
• What developing countries could do?
• Electronic meetings after each SG? To inform the
  results of interest for developing countries with
  Questions and Answers period
• Regional groups, Block meetings in the regions
• Flagship groups
• Remote participation
• What else?

11
Reflecting regional requirements

• Develop a Question of particular interest for the
  region
• Discuss the issue in the region
• Regional Groups
• Submit contributions
• How to submit? Individual member or after
  regional consultation?
• Reply to the Questionnaires from ITU-T
• Nominating a regional contact point for each SG
  of interest

12
PP-06 Resolution 123 (Antalya, 2006)

• Recognizes
• "the continued shortage of human resources in the
  standardization field in developing countries,
  resulting in a low level of developing-country
  participation in meetings of ITU-T and of ITU-R
  and, consequently, in the standards-making
  process, leading to difficulties when
  interpreting ITU-T and ITU-R Recommendations"

13
Three dimensional environment
14
The concept of Opportunity Index (OI) to measure
the information society
InfodensityICT capital telecommunication
network infrastructures (fixed, mobile, internet)
and of ICT, including equipment (cables, routers,
etc),
disparity

• Info-use
• Three indicators
• Internet users every 100 inhabitants
• PC owners every 100 inhabitants
• Houses and TV sets proportion

15
Digital Divide Standardization Gap
Participation Relationship
Standardization Gap Poor Access to Technologies
Digital Divide ---------------------------------
--
Increase Participation Capacity Building
16
The Standardization Gap

• The standardization development gap persistence
  of the wider digital divide in ICTs.
• Unequal access to technology and the ability to
  use that technology
• ability to access, implement, contribute to and
  influence international ICT standards, ( ITU
  Recommendations)
• digital divide measures disparities
• among different regions (e.g., urban/rural), or
• between different groups within society
• (e.g., by age, sex, race, income, etc)
• PP-06 (Res. 123) and WTSA-08 Resolutions

17
Bridging the standardization gap

• ITU-T mandated to bridge the standardization gap
  between developing and developed countries.
• Action plan established
• Improve standards making capabilities
• Develop guidelines
• Consultancy
• Human resources building
• Fundraising
• Fellowship

18
Technical Flyers

• Numbering, Naming and Addressing
• VoIP
• QoS QoE
• NGN
• ASON
• B-PON CWDM DSL G-PON
• Optical Fibres and Cables
• OTN OTS
• Synchronization over packet networks
• Accessibility
• H.264 H.350
• Multimedia Communications
• ASN.1
• Security
• IMT-2000

19
Workshops some activities

• Forums Bridging Standardization gap in the
  Regions
• The Fully Networked Car A Workshop including
  Demonstrations on Information and Communication
  Technologies in Motor Vehicles Geneva, March
• ITU Symposium 2 on ICTs and Climate Change, Kyoto
  and London, April and June 2008, Next in Quito
  July 2009
• ITU-T/IEEE workshop on the next generation
  optical access Geneva, 19 20 June 2008
• ITU Workshop ICT Standards and Intellectual
  Property Rights, 1 July 2008
• Workshop on "From Speech to Audio bandwidth
  extension, binaural perception", 10-12 Sep 2008
• Side events at WTSA-08 and IGF
• Participation in BDT Forums in the regions
• Next Forums on the implementation of the WTSA-08
  Resolutions
• http//itu.int/ITU-T/worksem

20
Workshops in and out Geneva
21
Workshops trend
Days
in
22
Workshops in 2008 by Region
23
(No Transcript)
24
TSB Questionnaire to developing countries on
Bridging the Standardization Gap
It will provide background information on the
relevance of ITU-T Recommendations for developing
countries and a useful tool to develop strategies
able to meet the requirements of the PP-06 and
WTSA-08 Resolutions.
TSB Circular 213 5 May 2008 to tsbpromo_at_itu.int
25
The ITU-T QuestionnaireTSB Circular 213 of 5 May
2008replies by 13 of June

• Familiarity with Recommendations published by
  ITU-T
• Relevance and usefulness of Recommendations to
  Developing Countries
• Difficulties for implementation and suggestions
  to increase participation by developing countries
• Regional standardization block meetings as a
  tool to facilitate participation from the regions
• Seminars and Workshops in the regions
• The WTSA Resolutions relevant to developing
  countries
• contributions and proposal for improvement

26

• Participation

27
WTSA-08 NEW RESOLUTION 74Admission of Sector
Members from developing countries in the work of
the ITU-T

• resolves
• to encourage the adoption of the necessary
  measures to enable new members from developing
  countries to join ITU-T and other groups within
  the ITU-T, (consider financial contributions
  applied in the BDT)
• instructs the Director of the Telecommunication
  Standardization Bureau
• to propose to the Council to consider the
  admission of such category in the work of
  theITU-T . and to include its consideration of
  this matter in the council work for the
  preparation of the 2010 Plenipotentiary
  Conference.

Note These Sector Members from Developing
Countries shall not be affiliated in any way to
any Sector Member of a Developed Country, and be
limited to those Sector Members of Developing
Countries classified by the UNDP as low income
per capita Country, not exceeding (US).
28
TIES and ITU-T Members distribution
Need for more participation
29
Participation
30
Participation Contributions
31
The Standardization Development Ladder

• Bridging the standardization development gap
  requires a sequence of steps, depending on the
  level of
• economic development
• local manufacturing capability
• local RD capability
• previous engagement with ITU
• These steps can be conceptualised in terms of a
  Ladder of Standardization Development

32
Standardization Development Ladder (1)

• Capacity-building
• to build a national resource base of qualified
  engineers able to implement Recommendations
• ITU centres of excellence

• Growing use of ITU Recs
• can be measured in terms of sales or downloads of
  Recommendation
• should help to reduce costs and promote
  inter-operability

33
Standardization Development Ladder (1)
Entering proposals to WTSA Determining ITU-T
study questions to drive the work of the Study
Groups.
Contributing to ITU-T SGs Contribution-driven
philosophy to enter into the process and shaping
future standards
34
Entering proposals
E
Its all about climbing the Standardization
Development Ladder
Its all about ENGAGING with ITU and its
membership, by getting more involved
Nominating reps
N
Giving inputs
G
Attracting meetings
A
Going to meetings
G
ITU Membership
I
National Training
N
Growing Usage
G
35


Regional Flagship Groups
36
Types of collaboration
37
Remote participation why?

• To assist in bridging the standardization gap,
  especially for delegates from developing
  countries
• To provide training materials
• (archived on web)
• To make participation in short meetings more
  efficient
• (e.g. steering committees, seminars, rapporteur
  groups)
• To contribute in reducing carbon footprint

38
Segmenting the market
39
Remote collaboration existing online tools

• Free access to ITU-T Recommendations online
  (since 1 January 2007)
• TIES access (password protected) to meeting
  documents etc
• Other electronic tools, e.g., correspondence
  groups, informal FTP areas on website, Forums etc

40
Remote participation

• ITU-T trial, launched by TSAG in Dec-07, to
  evaluate remote participation tools
• GoToMeeting used extensively within ITU for
  short (gt2 hours) meetings, with up to 30
  participants
• GoToWebinar used for covering Climate Change
  symposium in Kyoto, with up to 200 participants
  over 2 days (archived)
• - WebEx one year trial offered by CISCO

41
Possible future scenarios

• Increasing share of ITU meetings held outside
  Geneva or in cyberspace
• Workshops and symposia, Webinars
• Regional block meetings
• Distributed participation in ITU meetings
• Broadcast (two-way audio/video) to regional
  offices of Centres of Excellence, allowing for
  local interaction and participation
• Increased use of remote collaboration tools
• Full-scale use of existing tools after trial
  period?
• ITU-T workshops in Second Life?

42
to support, within available or otherwise
contributed resources and on a case-by-case basis
the creation of regional groupsSG2SG3SG6SG12
Resolution 54 Creation of regional groups
43
Working Methods and Procedures

• Establishment
• Leadership
• Participation
• (Participation is open to any individual expert
  from a country which is a member of ITU who
  wishes to contribute to the work. This includes
  individuals who are also members of
  international, regional and national
  organizations. Participation in Regional Group
  should not be used as an alternative to ITU
  membership)
• General financing of Regional Group
• Financing of meetings
• Administrative support
• Meeting logistics
• Working language
• Deliverables
• (contributions from the countries of the region,
  reports, etc. to the parent study group)
• Approval of deliverables
• Regional Groups can establish their own rules of
  approval.
• Printing and distribution of deliverables
• Progress reports
• (Regional Group progress reports are to be
  provided to the parent study group meeting)
• Meeting announcements
• Working guidelines

44
Standardization Block Meetings in the Regions
45
From the Questionnaire
46
The ITU-T Block Meetings in the region

• Cooperation with regional organizations CITEL,
  RCC, APT, ATU, LAS,
• One per year per region possibly co-located with
  the ITU Development Forums
• Topics decided by the membership and transversal
  to any ITU-T Study Groups
• Official status as generator of contributions to
  parent study groups
• TSB secretarial support, EDH facilities as any
  other SG meeting

47
The BK,J matrix concept any Question from any SG

• SG A B C D E
  F G N N1

Q
BE,3
48
Block Meetings Pros and Cos

• PROS
• More participation of experts from the region
  study, progress, approval process - have a voice
  in global standards
• Increase of contributions from the region
• Lower costs associated (travel/accomodation
  Region/Geneva) for regional experts
• Same TSB facilities available on site regional
  presence
• Possibility to co-locate S-RBMs with ITU Forums
  or other events
• Potential increase of membership sectors
  promotion
• Reduce standardization gap and digital divide
  increase capacity building
• Possibility to reduce Study group meetings
  duration

• COS
• TSB staff to move for one-two weeks
• Funding / associated organizational costs
• Risk to work on too much regional-oriented
  standards
• Need to look for co-location with ITU Forums or
  other events

49
Americas Flagship Group

• Resolution 123 (PP-06) Standardization Gap
• Resolution 44 Efforts to decrease the
  standardization gap
• Resolution 54 Regional Groups
• TSAG to set up a group on the standardization gap

50
Evaluation Mechanisms For the Standardization Gap

• Volume of downloads from Recs ITU-T site
• b) Number of TIES users
• c) Number of Sector members and associates
• Number of Chairmen and rapporteur from DCs
• Number of contributions to the SGs
• Regional groups
• Flagship groups

51
Flagship Group Americas  FLAG-AL 

• Permanent regional standards awareness
• Training on standardization in the regions also
  producing manuals and audio/video material
• Support and measure participation in ITU-T
  activities from public, private sectors and
  academia
• Translate ITU-T material
• Support SMEs
• Put in place tools for a remote or direct
  participation of experts in ITU-T activities
• Creation of regional Testing Calibration labs
• Support participation from Academia
• Invite regulators to put in place mechanisms to
  consider international standards when preparing
  national technical regulations

52
conc lus i ons
Paolo ROSA Head, Workshop and Promotion
Division ITU - Telecommunication Standardization
Bureau tsbpromo_at_itu.int