text:
What do you expect from ITU in the future and where should we be directing our efforts to best serve everyone? What do you see as future challenges? We want to hear your thoughts for our strategy and priorities in the coming years: http://www.itu.int/PublicConsultations
ITU-T events in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso have strengthened African regional positions on standardization to enhance environmental responsibility and quality of service (QoS); calling for harmonized regional policy on imports of ICT equipment and the management of e-waste, and sharing knowledge of national experiences in maintaining adequate QoS for Africa's rapidly expanding communications networks.
Organized by ITU and hosted by Burkina Faso's Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP), two capacity-building workshops – free of charge and open to all – accompanied meetings of the African 'Regional Groups' tasked with coordinating African contributions to the standardization work of ITU-T Study Groups 5 (Environment and climate change) and 12 (Performance, QoS and QoE).
A workshop on "Building a Sustainable Future through Green ICT Standards", 15-16 July, introduced participants to the activities of SG5 and its Regional Group for Africa (SG5 RG-AFR). It discussed the role of ICT in tackling climate change in Africa and challenges and opportunities associated with e-waste, also offering a technical tutorial on Green ICT standards. A session sought to refine the priorities of SG5 RG-AFR to fuel the discussions of the Regional Group meeting, 16-17 July, which subsequently reached significant conclusions:
A second workshop on "Benchmarking QoS Evaluation of Multimedia Networks", 18 July, fulfilled a similar function to the 'Green ICT' workshop by providing an opportunity for high-level discussion and information exchange in the run-up to the meeting of the SG12 Regional Group for Africa (SG12 RG-AFR) on 19 July.
Ensuring QoS in today's converged, increasingly IP-based, communications ecosystem is a complex challenge, and even more so for African countries experiencing an unrelenting surge in demand for communications services and consequent network performance concerns.
The workshop and meeting of SG12 RG-AFR attracted regulators as well as operators, with discussions around 'Mobile QoS' highlighting the importance of the topic to the region. Participants discussed the draft new Recommendation ITU-T E.MQoS on mobile QoS parameters, a methodology which looks at mobile QoS parameters from a user's perspective, and Morocco presented its national experience in mobile Internet QoS evaluation. 'Broadband Internet QoS' followed, introducing the country cases of Burkina Faso, Mauritius and Rwanda, and discussing QoS contractual parameters (with reference to Recommendation ITU-T E.803) and the way to harmonize non-standardized parameters with standards.
More information on ITU-T, the Environment and Climate Change is available here.
Les TIC vertes et la qualité de service sont le thčme de réunions organisées au Burkina Faso
La ville de Ouagadougou, au Burkina Faso, sera l'hôte de réunions de l'UIT consacrées aux TIC et aux changements climatiques, ainsi qu'ŕ la qualité de service et ŕ la qualité d'expérience, du 15 au 19 juillet 2013.
Ces réunions seront organisées avec la collaboration de l'Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (ARCEP) du Burkina Faso.
La participation ŕ la premičre de ces réunions, un atelier intitulé "Bâtir un avenir durable par l'adoption de normes sur les TIC vertes", est gratuite et ouverte ŕ tous. Cet atelier aura pour objet de sensibiliser ŕ l'importance de l'utilisation de normes TIC dans l'édification d'une économie verte. Les séances, qui mettront plus particuličrement l'accent sur la région Afrique, porteront, entre autres, sur le rôle des TIC dans la lutte contre les effets des changements climatiques, sur les opportunités offertes par les TIC vertes et sur les enjeux qu'elles représentent, sur les déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques et sur la formation ŕ l'utilisation de normes relatives aux TIC vertes.
Aprčs cet atelier qui durera un jour et demi, le Groupe régional pour l'Afrique de la Commission d'études 5 (CE 5 RG-AFR) de l'UIT-T tiendra sa premičre réunion les 16 et 17 juillet. Cette réunion sera ouverte aux seuls Membres de l'UIT-T. La Commission d'études 5 est la Commission d'études de l'UIT-T qui étudie les interactions entre les TIC et les changements climatiques. Elle examine aussi les questions de compatibilité électromagnétique, qui est une préoccupation majeure dans les pays en développement.
Un atelier sur le thčme "Etablir des critčres de référence pour l'évaluation de la qualité de service des réseaux multimédias" aura lieu le 18 juillet. La participation ŕ cet atelier sera, lŕ aussi, gratuite et ouverte ŕ tous. Cet atelier facilitera les discussions du Groupe régional de la CE 12 sur la qualité de service pour la région Afrique (CE 12 RG-AFR); il donnera en effet des informations sur l'établissement de critčres pour l'évaluation de la qualité de service des réseaux multimédias. Le lendemain, le 19 juillet, le Groupe CE 12 RG-AFR tiendra sa premičre réunion, ŕ laquelle ne pourront participer que les Membres de l'UIT. La Commission d'études 12, qui axe ses travaux sur les normes de qualité de fonctionnement et de qualité de service, joue un rôle de plus en plus important du fait de la mise en service des réseaux commerciaux VoIP et des réseaux ŕ commutation par paquets.
Cliquer ici pour en savoir plus sur la Commission d'études 5.
Cliquer ici pour en savoir plus sur la Commission d'études 12.
Cliquer ici pour en savoir plus sur les travaux de l'UIT-T concernant l'environnement et les changements climatiques.
Burkina Faso events focus on Green ICT and Quality of Service
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso will play host to ITU events focussing on ICT and climate change as well as quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) from 15 to 19 July 2013.
The events will be held in collaboration with the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes (ARCEP) of Burkina Faso.
The first event, Building a Sustainable Future Through Green ICT Standards, is free and open to all and will serve as a platform to raise awareness of the importance of using ICT standards to build a green economy. With special focus on the African region, sessions will include the role of ICTs in tackling climate change, green ICT opportunities and challenges, e-waste and training on green ICT standards.
Following that one and a half day event, the first meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 5 Regional Group for Africa (SG5 RG-AFR) will take place between 16 and 17 July. This event is open only to ITU-T Members. Study Group 5 is the ITU-T Study Group responsible for studies on the interplay between ICTs and climate change. Also under its mandate is electromagentic compatibility (EMC), a major concern in developing countries.
July 18 will see a workshop on Benchmarking QoS Evaluation of Multimedia Networks. This event, also free and open, will facilitate the meeting of the Regional Group of Study Group 12 on QoS for the Africa Region (SG12 RG-AFR) by providing information on benchmarking of QoS evaluation of multimedia networks. The first meeting of SG12 RG-AFR will follow on July 19, this event is for ITU Members only. Study Group 12 focuses on standards for performance and QoS, a role that is increasingly important with the advent of commercial VoIP and packet-based networks.
Find more about Study Group 5 here.
Find more about Study Group 12 here.
Find out more on ITU-T's work on the environment and climate change here.
ITU experts are discussing ways to meet user and operator demand for a standardized methodology for measuring Internet access speeds. The establishment of such a framework would inspire greater consumer confidence in advertised speeds and ensure that accurate comparisons can be made between offerings from different operators.
The experts meeting under the auspices of the ITU-T Joint Coordination Activity on Conformance and Interoperability Testing (JCA-CIT) are discussing how end-to-end testing can be facilitated via remote access to world-class testing facilities.
A meeting of JCA-CIT, 25 April 2013, analyzed the proposal of an independent speed-testing methodology from a variety of perspectives; taking presentations from a national regulator, a national testing laboratory and a manufacturer of testing equipment.
Germany's Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency) presented its study evaluating the status quo of received Internet access speed as compared to advertised or contracted broadband speeds. The ultimate goal of Germany's research in this field is to produce fundamental considerations for the development of a quality-measurement methodology accessible to end-users. The study attempts to gain an informed basis on various QoS aspects with regard to Article 20 (Contracts) and Article 22 (Quality of Service) of the "Universal Service Directive" of the European Union, Directive 2002/22/EC on "universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services".
The testing laboratory of the Central Research Telecommunication Institute (ZNIIS, Russia) presented its implementation plan for the joint ITU-ZNIIS project to establish a 'virtual laboratory' granting developing countries remote access to cutting-edge tools for the assessment of network performance, Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE).
A central goal in the ITU-ZNIIS project is the development of a framework for the remote testing of fixed and mobile Internet access speeds. This goal is the subject of a contribution made by the Russian Federation to ITU-T Study Group 11 which proposes a new work item focused on standardizing the framework and protocols needed to enable the testing of end-to-end Internet access speed. The proposal advocates for the independent estimation of the quality of end-user access to the Internet and the interconnection speeds between carrier networks, thereby offering means to aid operators in drafting service-level agreements (SLAs) with their customers and other operators.
The presentations from the Federal Network Agency of Germany and ZNIIS were supported by a manufacturer's perspective in the form of a presentation on QoS/QoE assessment from a maker of telecom testing equipment, Arcatech (UK).
JCA-CIT enters the 2013-2016 study period with a strengthened mandate, assisting ITU-T Study Group 11 (Protocols and test specifications) in coordinating the implementation of the ITU Conformity and Interoperability (C&I) programme.
Read the report from the most recent meeting of JCA-CIT here (TIES restricted)
More information on the implementation of the ITU C&I Programme is available in the C&I Portal
A free of charge workshop titled, "Intelligent transport systems in emerging markets – drivers for safe and sustainable growth," will be held at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, 27 June 2013, to discuss recent advances in intelligent transport systems (ITS) with emphasis on improving road safety in developing countries.
The workshop is jointly organized by ITU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and will draw a number of its participants from attendees of a meeting of UNECE's Working Party 29 on Vehicle Regulations taking place in the Palais des Nations that same week.
The upcoming workshop will gather industry executives, policy makers, regulators and standardization experts from the automotive and ICT sectors to review movements in the ITS space in respect of its underlying technologies and applications as well as its emerging regulatory frameworks and standards. The event will discuss barriers to ITS adoption, explore how current obstacles might be overcome and focus on the benefits that ITS will afford emerging economies in improving road safety.
The event will be held during the eighth meeting of the Collaboration on ITS Communication Standards being held on 26 and 28 June 2013 at ITU Headquarters in Geneva. The Collaboration is providing a global forum for the creation of an internationally harmonized set of ITS communication standards to enable the deployment of fully interoperable ITS products and services in the global marketplace. The group expects that a first 'release' of ITS communication standards will be up for approval as ITU-T and ITU-R Recommendations in early 2015.
The ITU-UNECE workshop is the latest in a series of 2013 milestones in ITU's work to improve the relationship between ICTs and road safety.
The Focus Group on Driver Distraction concluded its work in March 2013, producing five technical reports being taken up by the two groups leading ITU-T's standardization work on driver distraction, ITU-T Study Group 12 (Performance, QoS and QoE) and Study Group 16 (Multimedia coding, systems and applications). News on the technical reports can be found here.
In addition, "ICTs and improving road safety" was the theme of the 2013 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) celebrated at ITU Headquarters in Geneva on 17 May.
ITU members have approved a new set of algorithmic models to monitor the quality of streamed audiovisual media. The model algorithms set out in the new ITU-T P.1200 series provide objective models for non-intrusive monitoring of the quality of User Datagram Protocol (UDP)-based video services, addressing both lower and higher resolution applications such as mobile TV and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV).
A major challenge in the management of IP-based networks is the provision of adequate Quality of Experience (QoE) and Quality of Service (QoS) for new multimedia services and applications such as IPTV, 3D video, and Internet media including over-the-top (OTT) video.
ITU-T Study Group 12 (Performance, QoS and QoE) is the expert group responsible for the ITU-T P.1200 series which offers tools to assess video quality in a scalable manner; proposing quality estimation models which operate by analysing packet-header and bitstream information as available from respective packet-trace data.The ITU-T P.1200 models are 'no-reference' or 'non-intrusive' in that their primary quality prediction does not require prior knowledge of the audiovisual stream being transported, being based solely on information as it is available on the network or inside terminals.
Recommendation ITU-T P.1201 "Parametric non-intrusive assessment of audiovisual media streaming quality" provides an overview of algorithmic models for non-intrusive monitoring of the audio, video and audiovisual quality of IP-based video services based on packet-header information. ITU-T P.1201.1 and ITU-T P.1201.2 specify model algorithms for lower and higher resolution application areas, respectively.
Recommendation ITU-T P.1202 "Parametric non-intrusive bitstream assessment of video media streaming quality" complements ITU-T P.1201 with an overview of bitstream-based algorithmic models for non-intrusive monitoring of video quality based on packet-header and bitstream information. ITU-T P.1202.1 and ITU-T P.1202.2 specify model algorithms for lower and higher resolution application areas, respectively.
The ITU-T P.1201 models cover audio, video and audiovisual quality estimates while the ITU-T P.1202 models focus on video quality, but the key difference between the two Recommendations is that ITU-T P.1201 models are restricted to the use of packet-header information whereas ITU-T P.1202 models exploit further bitstream information such as coding-related information.
Consequently, ITU-T P.1202 models can be more accurate in their quality predictions but in turn require non-encrypted streams to enable access to payload information. In addition, ITU-T P.1202 models are more complex and thus demand more computational power.
The model algorithms specified by the ITU-T P.1200 series provide individual estimates of audio, video and audiovisual quality in terms of the 5-point absolute category rating (ACR) mean opinion score (MOS) scale (described in Recommendation ITU-T P.910). The models are also capable of producing diagnostic information on the causes of quality degradations, as different types of performance parameters are derived during model calculations.
The series will in the future be extended to include transmission control protocol (TCP) and OTT video (considering both adaptive and non-adaptive streaming), and another natural progression of this work will be towards the monitoring of the video and audiovisual quality of 3D video.
More information on the work of ITU-T Study Group 12 can be found here.
The ITU-T Focus Group on Driver Distraction has presented its final deliverables in the form of five technical reports to form the basis for ITU-T's accelerating standardization work in the driver distraction arena.
Established in February 2011, the Focus Group has been instrumental in raising awareness around ITU-T activity on driver distraction and the scale of this workload, as well as in providing clear direction to ITU-T's driver-distraction work plan. The group has also been successful in opening lines of communication with key organizations and drawing new expertise into the ITU-T standardization process.
Scott Pennock's recent article on the QNX Auto Blog provides the rationale for tackling driver distraction in ITU-T and also summarizes the use cases and user scenarios targeted by forthcoming ITU-T Recommendations.
ITU-T member EXFO took the opportunity at the recent meeting of Study Group 12 to demonstrate a new product based on Recommendation ITU-T Y.1564.
ITU-T Y.1564 defines a test methodology to assess and troubleshoot the proper configuration and performance of an Ethernet network to deliver Ethernet-based services. The standard has already gained momentum in the test and measurement industry.
With multiclass Ethernet services being deployed globally, products built according to the standard can aid the deployment of Ethernet services and assist the validation of service-level agreements.
Bruno Gigučre, of EXFO was on hand to demonstrate a product from the company's range of Ethernet field-testing instruments (FTB-200 chassis with an FTB-8130NGE test module). Gigučre was the editor of the Recommendation and played a key role in its development. He says that his company's particpation in the standards process is an important way of showing leadership and demonstrating that it is not waiting for standards but playing an active role in actually producing them.
"Fully adapted to today's mobile backhaul, commercial and wholesale services, the new ITU-T Y.1564 standard is truly beneficial for our customers to optimize the quality of service and reduce operational costs", said Étienne Gagnon, EXFO's Vice-President, Wireline Division and Corporate Marketing.
Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany, an ITU-T academic member, made a significant contribution to the current meeting of ITU-T Study Group 12, on a method of video quality of experience (QoE) monitoring which drills deep into network performance, identifying service degradation by precisely calculating video stalling and rebuffering times.
Progressive download video services, such as YouTube, are responsible for a major part of the data volume in the telecommunication networks. Streaming video quality depends on sustainable throughput during transmission. To ensure acceptable video quality, the customer's perceived quality (QoE) needs to be monitored.
Experts have been calling for algorithms that provide measurement results that can give insight to end user QoE, that can in turn be used for network planning and traffic engineering. The Chemnitz University contribution was timely as a separate contribution to the same meeting called for exactly such a method to be developed.
The contribution proposes a network-based parameter-extraction applicable to video QoE estimation that allows for transparent monitoring without the need to install tools at end-user devices or on the server.
Study Group 12 has considered the contribution as part of a new international standard (ITU-T Recommendation). Consequently the two authors, Thomas Knoll and Marcus Eckert, will have their contribution recognised internationally.
Knoll and Eckert chose to supplement their formal presentation to Study Group 12 with an implementation and online demonstration, which according to the study group Chairman, Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor, was a first that gave delegates an unprecedented opportunity to see exactly how the contribution could be applied.
Participation of academics in the work of ITU-T provides invaluable networking opportunities and the chance to gain an understanding of the requirements of the industry.
More details can be found in the contributions (ITU members only) here and here. Alternatively here or for contribution details and publications.
Meeting at ITU headquarters in Geneva, 21-22 March 2013, the TSB Director's Ad Hoc Group on IPR (IPR AHG) has continued making headway in its bid to ensure protection of the integrity of the standards-development process by clarifying aspects of ITU's Patent Policy and related Guidelines– the Union's main tool to manage the challenges associated with the incorporation of patents in standards (ITU-T Recommendations).
The licensing of standards-essential patents (SEPs) on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms is a cornerstone of the standards-development process. The incorporation of SEPs on a RAND basis incentivizes the inclusion of cutting-edge patented technology in technical standards, while also ensuring that the holder of a SEP cannot abuse the dominant market position it gains from widespread adoption of a voluntary technical standard.
The IPR AHG has been active for over fiften years, providing a forum for experts to exchange views on IPR matters and offer advice on the best approach to the patent-standard relationship.
In recent months, certain stakeholders as well as competition authorities have raised concerns regarding the increase in standards-related patent litigation as well as the possible use of SEPs to exclude competitors from a market. American and European regulators have in addition expressed concerns with the possible use of SEPs to pressure standards implementers into accepting higher royalties in bi-lateral licensing negotiations – also referred to as patent hold-ups – an act which undermines the aims of RAND to the disadvantage of standards implementers, hurting the consumers ultimately shouldering these higher costs.
Against this backdrop, ITU held a high-profile Patent Roundtable in October 2012 which assembled all the key private-sector and regulatory players to unravel the source of SEP-related litigation and to plot the course to an appropriate remedy.
Acting on the conclusions of this Roundtable, the IPR AHG is currently undertaking an accelerated series of meetings, targeting two specific questions:
the conditions under which companies that have made RAND commitments should or should not be allowed to seek injunctions; and the clarification of the meaning of the word "reasonable" in the RAND context.
the conditions under which companies that have made RAND commitments should or should not be allowed to seek injunctions; and the clarification of the meaning of the word "reasonable" in the RAND context.
The next meeting of the IPR AHG will take place at ITU headquarters in Geneva, 25-26 April 2013.
A video message from the TSB Director to the IPR AHG can be viewed here.
A two-day tutorial in Gyeonggi, Korea, 30-31 October, will arm ICT experts in the region with the skills necessary to perform the roles of Rapporteur or Editor in the standardization work of ITU-T. The event is sponsored by the Korean government and ITU-T and will be hosted by the Korea ITU Committee. The tutorial will be delivered by Gary Fishman, former Chair of the ITU-T Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG). Watch a video interview with him here.
Rapporteurs are responsible for coordinating standardization work undertaken within a particular "Question" of an ITU-T Study Group. A "Question" refers to a specific area of study and a Rapporteur will oversee work on multiple standards within that subject area, while at the same time liaising with other Questions and Study Groups to ensure that suites of complementary standards are produced in a coordinated manner. An Editor coordinates the construction of particular standard (ITU-T Recommendation); incorporating and consolidating contributions to a standard, and liaising with other Editors, Questions and Study Groups as appropriate. The upcoming tutorial is part of ITU-T's ongoing efforts to increase the efficiency and harmonization of the work performed by ITU-T Study Groups. The tutorialwill address, inter alia:
Visit the event's webpage here…
In a bid to find a globally agreed solution to concerns that patent hold-ups may reduce innovation and competition, ITU hosted a roundtable on 11 October.
Standards essential patents (SEPs) relate to technology essential for the implementation of a standard in which it is incorporated, and require the patent holder to make a commitment to license the patent under RAND (Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory) terms.
The high-level roundtable was attended by representatives of Apple, Nokia, Ericsson, Microsoft, Samsung, Research in Motion, Motorola Mobility and several other key industry players, as well as regulators, patent offices, government representatives, and experts in intellectual property law.
Many of the participants attended a meeting of the TSB Director's Ad Hoc Group during the following two days. This meeting agreed a roadmap to address the main concerns in particular: the conditions under which companies that have made RAND commitments should be allowed to seek injunctions; and clarification of the meaning of the word "reasonable" in RAND.
The next meetings of the group will be 24-25 January 2013.
In conjunction with ITS World Congress 2012, ITU is hosting meetings to chart the way forward for the global communications standards needed to enable widespread, interoperable Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The events will discuss ITSs' requisite standardization frameworks, means of facilitating essential cross-sector collaboration, and the creation of standards able to reduce driver distraction attributed to information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Hosted by the Telecommunications Research Centre (FTW) at Tech Gate Vienna, the sixth meeting of the ITU Collaboration on ITS Communication Standards will take place 28 October, followed by the seventh meeting of the ITU-T Focus Group on Driver Distraction, 29-30 October. The meetings are open to any individual from an ITU Member State, free of charge, with the opportunity to 'participate remotely' from one's home country.
The Collaboration on ITS Communication Standards will continue to pursue its aim of enacting an internationally-accepted, globally-harmonized set of ITS communication standards to enable the rapid deployment of interoperable ITS products and services. In addition, the ITU-T Focus Group on Driver Distraction will progress its work deliverables addressing the safe use of installed, connected and nomadic ICT devices, networks and applications accessed by drivers of all types of road vehicles.
Directions to the venue are available here. Register for on-site or remote participation in the meeting of ITU's Collaboration on ITS Communication Standards here, and for the meeting of the ITU-T Focus Group on Driver Distraction here.
For more information, please contact Martin Adolph.
In order to help overcome a short-term backlog of editorial work, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) is inviting applications to work remotely as a Technical Editing Assistant on a temporary consultancy basis.
Applicants should ideally have experience in editing ITU texts through previous involvement with ITU-T Study Groups. The work would involve editing the publications of ITU's Standardization Sector (ITU-T) particularly ITU-T Recommendations; verifying technical consistency and validity, and taking measures to improve the quality in line with ITU-T guidelines and in consultation with relevant experts when appropriate. Remuneration is offered at 4000 CHF a month on the basis of a minimum 400 pages a month depending on the complexity of the text. Applicants should have at least eight years of experience in technical or editorial work, including at least two years editing technical texts in English. For more information or to apply, please contact email@example.com.
Briefing sessions for ITU members on proposals submitted to WCIT-12 and WTSA-12 will be held at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, on 8 and 9 October 2012. The sessions will be chaired by Mohamed Al-Ghanim, Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, United Arab Emirates. The WCIT-12 session will take place the full day on Tuesday 8 October and the morning of 9 October and the WTSA-12 session will follow that afternoon.
These meetings will provide participants with the opportunity to explain their proposals, exchange views and have a better understanding of each other's proposals and positions. The Secretariat will provide two documents, one for WCIT and one for WTSA, showing the consolidated proposals submitted by 1 October 2012.
For further information please refer to Circular 1025
ITU is inviting applications for the post of Study Group Advisor, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), at ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The successful candidate will provide secretariat support to an ITU-T Study Group; assisting the management team and working groups by, inter alia, studying all contributions and consulting with the submitting bodies,preparing draft texts (recommendations, reports, questions, etc.) and providing input on the technical accuracy and comprehensiveness of all such texts.Applicants should have at least seven years of experience in the field of ICTs/telecommunications, including at least three at the international level. A Doctorate in a related field can be considered as a substitute for three years of working experience. Expertise on service definition, numbering, naming, addressing requirements and resource assignment including criteria and procedures for reservation and assignment would be an advantage. In addition knowledge of tariff and accounting matters (including costing methodologies) for international telecommunication services and related telecommunication economic, accounting and policy issues would be an advantage.
Standards from the ITU are at the heart of modern information and communications technologies (ICTs). For more information see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/info.
The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) provides essential logistical support to ITU-T's 10 Study Groups including electronic working facilities and meeting management. It also manages promotion, workshops, membership, documents, finance, the website etc. It is the body responsible for providing cohesion to ITU-T's standards making process.
An attractive package of salary (132,499 -171,699 USD without dependents; 142,285-185,624 USD with dependents [Net of Tax]) plus international allowances and benefits is offered (subject to eligibility).
The closing date for applications is 5 November 2012.
A detailed vacancy notice and application form, including remuneration, can be downloaded here. Applications using the form must be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com or by post to ITU Human Resources Administration Division, Place des Nations, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland. Applications must reach ITU by the closing date.
ITU Council has endorsed "ICTs and improving road safety" as the theme for 2013's World Telecommunication and Information Society Day acknowledging that information and communication technology (ICT) standards have the potential to significantly reduce driver distraction and road accidents. World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) aims to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. It takes place on 17 May every year, which is the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.
Given the critical need to filter the provision of information in such a way that it does not distract drivers', ITU-T's Focus Group on Driver Distraction (FG Driver Distraction) has been bringing together experts from government agencies; standards development organisations; academic and research institutes; and the automotive, telecommunications and consumer electronics sectors since the beginning of 2011. Open to participation by all interested parties, including non-members of ITU, the group is essentially undertaking the groundwork required to launch ITU-T standardization activity in the field of driver distraction. Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau: "Intelligent transport systems will enable vehicles to communicate to optimize the flow of traffic, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, increase safety, and significantly improve the driving experience. With the advent of the Internet of Things there is the potential of a 'fully-networked car' that can save millions of lives." ITU standards will fight driver distraction in two complementary ways: Standards will define a communications interface to the vehicle allowing drivers to interact with external devices and applications through the vehicle's user interface. In this scenario, all driver interaction with ICTs is channelled through a centralized point of control able to manage the degree of distraction experienced by the driver. ITU's international standards will also aid application developers, network providers, device manufacturers and Driver Vehicle Interface (DVI) designers in building systems that minimize the distraction and cognitive workload demanded by in-vehicle ICTs. Such standards will provide guidance on ergonomic design principles and requirements for safe interaction with applications, and will define the functional requirements of systems managing distraction and cognitive workload. For more information on FG Driver Distraction, please consult the group's webpage here...
Recent ITU meetings addressed the challenges facing African countries in the measurement of Quality of Service (QoS)/Quality of Experience (QoE) parameters for voice, 3G and Internet mobile networks – nearing completion of guidelines for a QoS regulatory framework for ICT services. The meetings also addressed environmental concerns associated with ICT development, such as the growing e-waste challenge, the measurement of human exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (RF EMF), and the need to develop a sustainable means of extending telecoms-network coverage to the rural areas of developing countries.
The four ITU events were held in Cotonou, Benin, 16-20 July, hosted by Benin's Autorité Transitoire de Régulation des Postes et Télécommunications (ATRPT):
Workshop on practical measurement of QoS/QoE parameters for regulatory compliance; and Meeting of Africa Regional Group within ITU-T Study Group 12 (Performance, QoS and QoE)
The workshop was attended by over 80 participants from 21 African countries, gathering representatives of ministries, regulators, operators and vendors to discuss QoS/QoE aspects of Africa's expanding mobile networks.
The Africa regional group within ITU-T Study Group 12 (SG 12) advanced its draft guidelines for a QoS regulatory framework for ICT services, which are intended to supplement existing ITU-T recommendations on QoS. Nearing this task's completion, the group indicated that it will now direct its attention to 'QoE web browsing' under Question 13/12, and the 'Roadmap for Interconnection of Packet-based Networks' under Question 12/12.
Workshop on Tackling Climate Change and SAR Measurement; and Meeting of Africa Regional Group within ITU-T Study Group 5 (Environment and climate change)
The workshop was attended by over 70 participants from 21 African countries, discussing the application of ITU-T's 'green ICT' standards and the measurement of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of RF EMF produced by mobile-telephony base stations and devices.
The Africa regional group within ITU-T Study Group 5 (SG 5) highlighted energy efficiency, e-waste reduction and issues related to climate change as its priorities for 2013. The meeting also reviewed its advanced-stage work on a number of guidelines under preparation:
A new group has been established to investigate academia's approach to ICT standardization, with a view to increasing the weight assigned to the subject in academic curricula. It will also aim to identify ITU-T action to aid its academic membership in this endeavour. Comments are welcome on the Draft Terms of Reference for the TSB Director's Ad Hoc Group on Standards Education, available here. Proposed revisions should be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com by Wednesday 15 August.
The Ad Hoc Group will include representatives of ITU-T, academia and other standards development organizations (SDOs) interested in collaborating to advance standards education worldwide. Participation is open to all interested parties, including non-members of ITU, free of charge.
In this context, "standards education" relates not to technology-focused topics, but rather to education on the importance of standards to the ICT sector, and by extension, to the operation of businesses and economies at large. ICT today underpins almost all commercial activity and it is essential that we familiarize students with ICT standards development processes, standard strategy planning, and business case studies demonstrating the importance of international standards to industry.
A tentative work plan for the group includes; performing a "gap analysis" regarding ICT standardization courses currently offered by universities; gathering information on standards education programs from relevant external groups; developing course or curricula "templates" to be used by academia in constructing standards-education offerings; and identifying strategies to facilitate the adoption of credit-eligible courses in undergraduate and graduate programmes.
The group's first meeting will take place during the Joint ITU-GISFI-DS-CTIF Standards Education Workshop, 8-9 October 2012, Aalborg University, Denmark.
For more information, please see the Ad Hoc Group's webpage here.
ITU is organizing a roundtable on the effectiveness of RAND-based (reasonable and non-discriminatory) patent policies, 10 October 2012.
The ITU Patent Roundtable is being held in light of the recent worldwide increase in patent litigation, and possible lack of adherence to standards bodies' existing IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) policies.
The event, which will be run using a World Café methodology, will provide a neutral venue for industry, standards bodies and regulators to exchange ideas that will guide future discussions on whether current patent policies and existing industry practices adequately respond to the needs of the various stakeholders. It will bring together standards bodies, industry players and government representatives from around the world aiming to find solutions to the key issues today affecting the ICT industry's engagement with patents and standards. More here.
Standardization Committee for Vocabulary, 11 January 2012 face-to-face meeting
Meeting of Study Group 12, Geneva, Switzerland, 31 October - 9 November 2011
Registration form
A new Standards Q&A Forum will promote more interactive discussion between the experts creating ICT standards and those applying them. The pilot project has been launched to enable the submission of queries on all aspects of ITU-T Recommendations, in particular from developing countries. Alongside the transfer of knowledge to developing nations, industry members in the developed world gain an opportunity to tap into new markets; making their products and services known to rapidly growing markets in developing nations. The open, moderated forum will focus on the standardization work of ITU and offers participants a unique opportunity to engage with the experts that develop the standards underpinning ICT. An FAQ section introduces strangers to standardization and the ITU-T, covering all manner of questions from, "Why do we need international standards?," to, "How does the ITU-T decide what needs standardization?" The forum is then organized into the major themes or questions being dealt with by ITU-T study groups.
SG 12 WP2/12, Berlin, Germany, 17 September 2010
Registration FormSee TSB Collective Letter 4 for more informationSG 12 WP2/12
Meeting of ITU-T SG 12 - Performance, QoS and QoE
Geneva, 3-12 November 2009
See ITU-T SG 12 Collective Letter 2 for more information.
ITU-T Study Group 12 Home
Meeting of IPTV-GSI - IPTV Global Standards Initiative
Geneva, 26-30 October 2009
See TSB Circular 56 for more information.
IPTV-GSI Home
Fourth meeting of the Focus Group on From/In/To Cars Communication II (FG CarCom)
Geneva, 06 March 2009
See Invitation letter for more information.
FG CarCom Home
Study Group 12 - Performance, QoS and QoE
Geneva, 10-19 March 2009
Registration Form
See TSB Collective 1/12 for more information.
Study Group 12 Home
A call for abstracts has been issued for ITU, ISO and IEC's regular event focusing on information and communication technologies (ICT) in motor vehicles.
A recent meeting of ITU-T's Study Group 12 saw consent – first stage of the approval process - on two key new standards for IPTV.
The first ITU-T Recommendation defines user requirements for Quality of Experience (QoE) for IPTV services.
Quality of Experience (QoE) is defined thus: The overall acceptability of an application or service, as perceived subjectively by the end-user.
The new Recommendation (ITU-T Rec. G.1080) defines QoE requirements from an end user perspective, agnostic to network deployment architectures and transport protocols. They are specified as end-to-end and information is provided on how they influence network transport and application layer behaviour. QoE requirements for video, audio, text, graphics, control functions and meta-data are provided.
The second ITU-T Rec. (ITU-T Rec. G.1081) consented defines performance monitoring for IPTV. The goal of this is to provide higher QoS/QoE to customers by identifying, localizing and quantifying service and network issues. IPTV performance monitoring can be software based, hardware based, or a hybrid.
Monitoring parameters, monitoring points and monitoring methods are defined that allow the service provider/network operator to monitor the performance of the service delivery to the end user.
Successful deployment of IPTV services requires performance to be monitored at the customer premise (e.g. set-top-box), key aggregation points such as DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) or cable modem termination system (CMTS) and at interconnect points between disparate network domains. Performance monitoring can help:
IPTV standards are progressing rapidly through ITU-T's IPTV Global Standards Initiative (GSI). With successful first generation IPTV services offered by many service providers worldwide standards are seen as vital to boost next generation services where a customer may go into shop, buy an IPTV box, call their network operator and sign-up and then access services from a range of third party service providers. More Recommmendations are expected to be consented at the upcoming IPTV-GSI meeting 23-27 June in Geneva.
Next meeting of the Internet Protocol Television Global Standards Initiative (IPTV-GSI)
Geneva, 23-27 June 2008
See TSB Circular 221 for more information.
IPTV GSI Home
First meeting of the Focus Group on From/In/To Cars Communication II (FG CarCom)
Naerum, Denmark, 12 June 2008
Meeting Documents
Meeting of Study Group 12 - Performance and quality of service
Geneva, 22-30 May 2008
See TSB Collective-letter 6/12 for more information.
Max Mosley, the head of Formula One's governing body, the FIA, calls for accelerated standards development to support ICTs in vehicles for improvements in safety, and the mitigation and monitoring of climate change. Speaking at ITU's annual Fully Networked Car event at the Geneva Motor Show, Mosley said that the leading edge expertise within F1 to develop "green" technologies could have applications beyond the sport, particularly in the area of fuel efficiency and monitoring of environmental impact. Most F1 teams have as many as 300 channels of information flowing between the cars and the pit crew and as the complexity of systems grow their interconnection will become critical he said.
Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General, reminded participants that the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has called climate change the "moral challenge of our generation". He said: "With the Fully Networked Car we can provide traffic management, monitoring, and analysis, all of which will help meet the climate change challenge. Those who successfully meet this challenge will end up with a real competitive advantage in world markets."
The new 2008 Honda Racing F1 "Earthdreams" car with Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General; Max Mosley, President of the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Malcolm Johnson, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, ITU.
Michel Mayer, CEO Freescale Semiconductor, a leading supplier of ICTs to F1 and one of the sponsors of the event, expressed concerns at the proliferation of proprietary standards and called for global standards bodies such as ITU to take a lead. He said that it is critical that further development be standards-driven.
The event also featured a keynote presentation from David Butler, Marketing Director, Honda Racing F1 Team, who emphasised how the powerful brand platform of F1 can present a global environmental message. The Fully Networked Car event had as its centrepiece the new 2008 Honda Racing F1 "Earthdreams" car.
A particular concern, according to experts, is in the areas of telematics and the application of intelligent transport systems (ITS) which participants at the Fully Networked Car agreed offer the best solution for a reduced carbon footprint from the global use of vehicles.
ITU will help to push this standards work and convergence between the ICT and automotive industries with initiatives such as its FITCAR (From/In/To Cars Communication) Focus Group, and the hosting of the Advisory Panel for Standards Cooperation on Telecommunications related to Motor Vehicles (ASPC TELEMOV). Also helping to step up this activity, Malcolm Johnson, ITU's director of standards, announced that the Fully Networked Car event – already in its fourth year - will now become a regular fixture bringing together the two industries. The 2009 event is planned for 4-6 March. ITU will also be organising two ITU symposia on ICTs and Climate Change: in Kyoto, 15-16 April, hosted by the government of Japan; and in London, 17-18 June, hosted by BT.
Priorities identified for future standardization included: a common set of standards for the full range of nomadic devices; standards for software defined radios; standards to cope with the gap between the short lifecycle of mobile phones compared to the relatively long lifecycle of cars; and privacy, where there is a need for a common understanding about what data is reasonable to collect and retain.
The Fully Networked Car event brought together over 200 experts from the ICT and automotive worlds. It was organised by ITU with the support of ISO and IEC under the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) banner.
More photos on Flickr
Photos taken during the Fully Networked Car Workshop
ITU will team up with ISO and IEC for a third time in 2008 to present the Fully Networked Car. The three organisations working together under the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) banner will host the workshop and exhibition at one of the world's leading automotive events, the Geneva International Motor Show.
Key for 2008 is the question: How can ICTs in vehicles help mitigate and monitor climate change? The Honda Racing F1 Team has kindly agreed to display, as the key feature of the exhibition, its new 2008 F1 "Earthdreams car" to give special emphasis to the environmental theme. Experts believe that more sophisticated traffic management and driver assistance systems can help reduce the environmental impact caused by motoring.
2008 will see a keynote speech from Max Mosley, president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile), organizer of the Formula One World Championship.
In general, the event, 5 - 7 March, will focus on information and communication technologies (ICT) in motor vehicles and specifically standards that will facilitate the convergence of these industries.
ICT in vehicles represents a significant value-add for consumers in terms of safety, comfort and mobility. Predictions for the size of the market run into billions of dollars and stakeholders agree that standardization is key to the development of new technologies and that coordination between the traditionally remote vehicle manufacturing and ICT industries is crucial.
The Fully Networked Car brings together experts ranging from top decision-makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and analysts. The workshop programme features speakers from some of the biggest names in the ICT and automobile industries. The panel of high-level global experts that will frame the major issues and engage the audience in discussion on this important topic come from companies including: BMW, Connexis, Fiat, Ford, Freescale Semiconductor, Honda, Intel, Motorola, Oracle, SVOX, Telefonica, Telcordia, Toyota-InfoTechnology Center, T-Systems, Volvo and Wavecom.
Among other topics to be discussed are the radio spectrum used for car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications; the convergence of telematics and infotainment and systems and standards related to safety.
Click here for a document detailing some ITU-T highlights for 2007.
An Information Note from the ITU IS Department is available to help you configure your laptop for the ITU's Wireless LAN.
See the EWM FAQs page
Next meeting of TSAG - Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group
Geneva, 3-7 December 2007
See TSB Collective-letter 5/TSAG for more information.
TSAG Home
The news reflects the increased attention being given by ITU-T to wideband audio and other codec-related quality issues, especially regarding their subjective testing, such as for superwideband and fullband.
Work has progressed over a number of meetings, since the beginning of 2007, of the Focus Group From/In/To Car Communication on draft Recommendation - P.Carhft - under development by ITU-T's Study Group 12. The Focus Group concept allows for non-members, in this case the auto industry to participate.
While first concentrating on narrowband speech (3.4kHz), the group working under new banner - FitCarCom - will move into better quality - wideband (8kHz).
Participating companies include Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, DaimlerChrysler, France Telecom, Harman/Becker, Head Acoustics, Mitsubishi, Nortel and Volkswagen. The first meeting of the group is expected to be March or April, 2008.
Imagine a future in which cars will be able to foresee and avoid collisions, navigate the quickest route to their destination, making use of up-to-the-minute traffic reports, identify the nearest available parking slot and minimize their carbon emissions. Indeed, imagine a future where cars can largely drive themselves, leaving their passengers to use the free time to watch the sports game on live TV.
All of these possibilities already exist within the laboratories of car manufacturers and some are already available commercially. But they rely on communications links that must be increasingly high-capacity and long range to deal with the full range of requirements of future transport users. The generic technology they use is called Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). The requirement for future standards in the ITS field is to be able to provide multiple services, over multiple different platforms, that will work in different countries (as vehicles can easily cross borders), while maintaining a simple-to-use interface that requires minimum intervention from the driver.
This, then, is the rationale behind an ongoing effort, launched by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) in 2003, under the auspices of Working Group 16 of ISO Technical Committee 204, and promoted by the more recently created industry association - The CALM Forum - to develop a new family of ITS standards with the overall branding of Continuous Air-interface, Long and Medium range (CALM).
A new ITU-T Briefing Report on CALM has been released as part of the Technology Watch function, which evaluates its potential as a new area for ITU standardization work (for instance, integrated with Next-Generation Networks) and its likely implications for developing countries. The report notes the work currently going on in ITU on ITS, including the forthcoming Fully Networked Car III workshop, to be held on 3-5 March 2008 in Geneva. It is planned that this will be the first of a series of new Briefing Reports looking at emerging new technologies.
Standards produced by ITU — ITU-T Recommendations — are now available without charge. The announcement follows a highly successful trial conducted from January−October 2007, during which some two million ITU-T Recommendations were downloaded throughout the world.
The experiment's aim was to "increase the visibility and easy availability of the output of ITU-T". Offering standards for free is a significant step for the standards community as well as the wider information and communication technologies (ICT) industry. Now, anyone with Internet access will be able to download one of over 3000 ITU-T Recommendations that underpin most of the world's ICT. The move further demonstrates ITU's commitment to bridging the digital divide by extending the results of its work to the global community.
Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) Malcolm Johnson, presenting the results of the trial to the 2007 meeting of ITU's Council, said that not only had the experiment been a success in raising awareness of ITU-T, it would also attract new members. Most importantly, he noted, it had helped efforts to bridge the "standardization gap" between countries with resources to pursue standardization issues and those without. "There has been very positive feedback from developing countries," said Johnson. "Last year exactly 500 ITU-T Recommendations had been sold to developing countries; this year, after allowing free access, they have downloaded some 300 000."
ITU-T Recommendations are developed in a unique contribution-driven and consensus-based environment by industry and government members, with industry providing the most significant input. A strong focus of current standards work is providing the foundations for the so-called next-generation network (NGN). Other key areas include IPTV, ICT in vehicles, cybersecurity, quality of service, multimedia, emergency communications and standards for access, such as VDSL 2 — very high speed digital subscriber line 2, the newest and most advanced standard of DSL broadband wireline communications.
Study Group 11 meeting in Geneva, end April has consented three important documents charting protocols for quality of service (QoS) in NGN. The protocols will ensure interoperability between network elements and systems as well as giving service providers the ability to specify rules for specific communication types.
The announcement marks a significant step forward for ITU-T's NGN work. Protocol development is seen as the final stage of standards development following identification of the requirements, architecture, services etc. The Recommendations are a crucial part of the NGN standards package and a concrete realization of the functional architecture defined in ITU-T Rec. Y.2111 - Resource and admission control functions in Next Generation Networks.
The protocols agreed at the April meeting will guarantee that when a service request is made QoS needs are transmitted, ensuring that each network element provisions the correct level of bandwith and resources to ensure the class of QoS for that particular application. So – for example – more bandwidth can be allocated and guaranteed for IPTV than for voice.
The three ITU-T Recommendations include the specification of the physical entities involved in resource control signalling, the interfaces across which signalling takes place, and the mapping between these entities and interfaces and the corresponding functional entities and reference points in ITU-T Rec. Y.2111. An Appendix provides a further mapping between the interfaces and the protocol specifications which realize those interfaces.
The Recommendations refer to signalling used in different geographical parts of the world: ITU-T Recommendation H.248/Megaco used in for example Japan, COPS used for example in China and Diameter which is used in North America.
Another three protocols in the field of resource control were consented by Study Group 11 earlier in the year.
The Fully Networked Car workshop held during the Geneva Motor Show has closed today, Friday 9 March, with participants and speakers declaring the event a great success. 191 people participated in the event according to the organizers.
Malcolm Johnson, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, underlined his commitment to working with other standards bodies at the opening of the recent Fully Networked Car event in Geneva. "We are now placing great emphasis on bringing together the various standards bodies to avoid duplication of effort and to address convergence in areas such as the one addressed in this workshop," he said. "That is why I am so pleased to have had the cooperation of ISO and IEC in the organization of this workshop."
The workshop (accompanied by an exhibition on 6-10 March) was the latest initiative organized by the three partner organizations of the World Standards Cooperation (WSC): IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), ITU (International Telecommunication Union), and ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden remarked: "Following the previous workshops that we have organized with IEC and ITU on health technologies and the digital home, this workshop on the fully networked car is another example of the initiatives we have taken in the area of converging technologies."
The workshop addressed the market for information and communication technologies (ICT) in motor vehicles, which represents an ever-increasing share of innovation and added value in the automotive sector. The "fully networked car", taking full advantage of ICT for vehicles and road transport systems, is expected to offer a range of benefits including improved safety, reduced traffic congestion and pollution, and a smoother driving experience.
The WSC event provided a forum for the key specialists in the field, from top decision makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and others. It helped to identify how and which standards can speed the development of the fully networked car and its introduction into the market.
Participants at the Fully Networked Car Event.
Recommendation G.1070 gives an algorithm that
estimates videophone quality in terms of quality of
experience/quality of service (QoE/QoS). The model is designed
to be used by QoE/QoS planners to help ensure end-to-end user
satisfaction and to avoid over-engineering at the application, terminal,
and network layers.
The Recommendation, ITU-T Recommendation Y.1562,
may be used by service providers in the planning, development, and assessment
of IP service to check that it meets user performance needs; by equipment
manufacturers to give performance information that will affect equipment
design; and by end users in evaluating higher layer protocol service
The amendment takes into account the
transmission characteristics for headsets and hands free terminals. The
original Recommendation – P.313 - provides audio performance requirements for
portable digital cordless and mobile handsets, headset and loudspeaker
Specifications for car mounted hands free
terminals will be treated in a new Recommendation in progress and also under
study in the Focus Group - From/In/To Cars Communication.
The latest meeting of Study Group 12, Geneva, January, also saw
agreement on a definition for QoE. This, experts said, is particularly
important given the inclusion of QoE in the definition of IPTV agreed by the
ITU-T IPTV Focus Group. (See previous story).
of Experience (QoE)
overall acceptability of an application or service, as perceived subjectively by
the end-user.
1 Quality of Experience
includes the complete end-to-end system effects (client, terminal, network,
services infrastructure, etc).
2 Overall
acceptability may be influenced by user expectations and context.
Study Group 12 Vice Chair, Chuck Dvorak, said
that he expects that IPTV and other multimedia QoS and QoE issues will see
increasing attention in SG12 moving forward.
Dvorak also said that he expects that the
non-transport aspects of networks and services, for example call processing
performance, will also receive more attention. Additionally he says that he
expects SG12 will take a closer look at how to better address the needs of
developing countries in terms of QoS.
The Focus Group meeting in Geneva,
January, worked on specifications that will enhance communications in
vehicles. Using as a starting point a specification developed by the German
Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) the
Focus Group is looking to improve a draft Recommendation – P.Carhft –
under development by ITU-T's Study Group 12. The
Focus Group concept allows for non-members, in this case the auto industry to
A first priority is to deal with speakerphone audio quality, aiming to
provide a specification that will help to improve the speech- and sound -
quality between different devices. Second priority is requirements for headsets
including wireless. Chairman of the group, Hans Gierlich of Head Acoustics
noted also that a major problem for the car industry is car-to-car
While first concentrating on narrowband speech (3.4kHz), the group will
eventually move into better quality - wideband (8kHz). Input is also required
in the area of testing for interaction between the network and hands-free
terminals. In addition speech recognition will be addressed.
Participating companies included Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, DaimlerChrysler, France Telecom, Harman/Becker, Head
Acoustics, Mitsubushi, Nortel and Volkswagen.
A second FG meeting hosted by HARMAN/BECKER Automotive Systems is
planned for March 15 in Ulm,
following the ITU, ISO and IEC event, The
Fully Networked Car, Information and Communication Technologies in Motor
Vehicles. The event taking place at the Geneva Motor Show will review
and examine the implications of the latest developments in this fast-moving
market. A significant value-add will be an exhibition showcasing the latest
technologies in the field.
Next meeting of TSAG - Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (including meeting of the Seminar Coordination Committee (SCC)) Geneva, 26 February - 1 March 2007
See TSB Collective-letter 4/TSAG for more information.
TSAG Home
Meeting of Study Group 12 - Performance and quality of service Geneva, 16 - 25 January 2007
See TSB Collective-letter 4/12 for more information.
ITU-T is hosting a workshop NGN and Grids in collaboration with the Open Grid Forum (OGF) in Geneva, 23-24 October 2006.
ITU-T's Global Standards Initiative on Next Generation Network (NGN-GSI) is well under way and is responding to urgent market needs for global NGN standards. NGN offers increased quality and service features for users, independent of the underlying transport technology.
Grids have been widely used in the scientific community. Increasingly, Grids are being deployed within commercial settings. The Open Grid Forum is actively reaching out to communities such as the Telco community to advance Grid adoption, interoperability and scalability. Different scenarios for Telcos can be envisioned: Telcos may 1) specialize in network SLAs that are optimally suited to Grids; 2) use Grids for their IT internal needs; and/or 3) offer Grids as a managed service to customers.
More details
ITU-T Workshops and Seminars
A major event on the fast moving market of information and communication technologies in motor vehicles is being organized by the World Standards Cooperation, the entity comprising ITU, ISO and IEC, at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2007, one of the world's leading automotive events. The event includes a workshop from 7 to 9 March 2007, accompanied by an exhibition that will run the length of the public days from 8 to 18 March, as well as the press days, on 6 and 7 March. Seven hundred square meters will be made available for the exhibition to showcase new products and concepts to an audience which includes high-level decision makers and media – in addition to the traditional audience of the motor show, an expected 800,000 visitors. The event will bring together the key specialists in the field, from top decision makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and others.
More information on the Fully Networked Car Workshop and Exhibition
The Focus Group "From/In/To Cars Communication" was established by Study Group 12 at its 5 - 13 June 2006 meeting. Scope
The objective of the Focus Group is to develop a new set of requirements and specifications to help advance the work of the ITU-T SG12, mainly Questions 4/12 and 12/12, and to encourage participation in this activity of members of other standards organisations involved in car and Telecommunications/ICT industries, including experts and individuals who may not be members of ITU.
Terms of reference
The following areas should be addressed in the future activity of the Focus Group:
Focus Group "From/In/To Cars Communication" Homepage
The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2006-07-16
Group : aap updated : 2006-07-16 16:34:57 title : [040] AAP Announcement No. 40, 16 July 2006, (SG 4, 5, 12, 16) url : http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/040.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process
- For further questions, please contact TSB EDH at email@example.com - For documentation, go to http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/aap/index.html - Comments on Recommendations under AAP should be submitted by filling the appropriate forms in each Study Group AAP web page and sent to the relevant Study Group email address
More on AAP
A new ITU-T Focus Group will develop standards for
ICTs in cars, and a workshop on the same topic has been announced for March
The group, open to non-ITU members, and in particular
aiming to attract participation from car manufacturers, will be called From/In/To
Cars Communication and will, according to
terms of reference agreed at the recent meeting of ITU-T's Study Group 12 address:
Deliverables from the group will be submitted to SG 12
for formal approval as ITU-T Recommendations.
Jean-Yves Monfort, Chairman Study Group 12: "It
is essential for all stakeholders to come to grips with these technologies that
are having a profound influence on vehicle development, the driver experience
and the way that vehicles are now sold. They have the potential to vastly
improve vehicle mobility and safety, while increasing comfort and
enjoyment, but they also raise some fundamental questions. What are the right
business models in linking the automotive and telecoms sectors? How do we
face the technical and engineering challenges? How do we make sure that the
right standards are adopted to deal with the complexity of so many electronic
components and to allow this market to develop its full potential? It is the
goal of these activities, the formation of the Focus Group and the workshop, to
provide some answers to these questions."
ITU-T's SG12 work in the field started following the
2003 ITU, Workshop on
Standardization in Telecommunication for motor vehicles. The formation of the FG, will make it easier for car manufacturers,
standards organizations and others to participate in the development of a new
set of requirements and specifications to help advance the work of ITU-T.
The group, chaired by Hans Gierlich, Head Acoustics,
will first meet January 2007, with a second meeting planned during the Geneva
Motor Show, March 2007. The Motor Show will also host a workshop, convened
jointly by ITU, ISO and IEC, The Fully Networked Car, Information and
Communication Technologies in Motor Vehicles. The event will review and
examine the implications of the latest developments in this fast-moving market.
A significant value-add will be an exhibition showcasing the latest
technologies in the field. The exhibition will run the length of the Geneva
Motor Show, while the workshop will take place between 7 and 9 March.
AAP Announcement UPDATE NOTIFICATION
The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2006-06-15
Group : aap updated : 2006-06-15 17:32:22 title : [038] AAP Announcement No. 38, 16 June 2006, (SG 4, 12, 15, 16, 17) url : http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/038.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process
part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of ITU-T, you
are invited to vote for the most influential standards work from ITU-T.
work is behind many of the worlds most prevalent information and communications
technologies. Choose here from our shortlist which
you think has best shaped the ICT world of today, or feel free to suggest your
own idea.
ITU-T is hosting a workshop NGN and Grids in collaboration with the Global Grid Forum (GGF) in Geneva, 23-24 October 2006.
Grids have been widely used in the scientific community. Increasingly, Grids are being deployed within commercial settings. The Global Grid Forum is actively reaching out to communities such as the Telco community to advance Grid adoption, interoperability and scalability. Different scenarios for Telcos can be envisioned: Telcos may 1) specialize in network SLAs that are optimally suited to Grids; 2) use Grids for their IT internal needs; and/or 3) offer Grids as a managed service to customers.
More information
Next meeting of Study Group 12 - Performance and quality of service
Geneva, 5 - 13 June 2006
See TSB Collective-letter 3/12 for more information.
The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2006-02-28
Group : aap updated : 2006-02-28 17:39:29 title : [031] AAP Announcement No. 31, 1 March 2006, (SG 4, 12, 13, 15) url : http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/031.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process
More on AAP
With the agreement of the TSAG meeting 14-18 March 2005, a Joint Coordination Activity on Home Networking (JCA-HN) was established. Mr. Andrew Nunn (BT, UK) was appointed as the Convenor of this activity.
The scope of the JCA-HN was decided following a meeting held immediately after the ITU-T workshop Opportunities and Challenges in Home Networking, 13 – 14 October 2005, Geneva and discussions at the TSAG meeting 7-11 November 2005. The name "Home Network Initiative" will be used to describe work in this field spanning ITU-T Study Groups.
JCA-HN will:
More on JCA-HN
The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2006-01-31
Group : aap updated : 2006-01-31 17:43:56 title : [029] AAP Announcement No. 29, 1 February 2006, (SG 12, 13) url : http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/029.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process
If you missed the recent ITU-T webinar on NGN you may be interested to
know that the whole thing including slides, audio and the
question and answer session is available in Light Reading's archive.
Nearly 400 people attended the live event on 23 January, submitting
close to 100 questions to the speakers.
Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU) is hosting a workshop 23-24 March in Geneva focusing on the
policy and regulatory challenges related to the deployment of IP-enabled NGNs.
The draft
workshop concept document gives additional details on the objectives of the
The ITU's work on standards for next generation networks (NGNs) promises to have a fundamental impact on tomorrow's telecom services – by opening hardware and software markets to competition, driving down costs, encouraging innovation, and laying the foundation for the next phase of convergence.
You are invited to find out more about the latest release of the ITU's NGN standards and their likely impact on the telecom supply chain in a free one-hour-long online seminar, hosted by Light Reading and featuring key players in ITU's work on NGN on Monday, January 23.
The event is being held by Light Reading in collaboration with the ITU. Speakers will be:
The speakers will explain the context of the latest NGN standards and then drill down on some of the key aspects of them, explaining their importance and likely impact on telecom equipment and service markets.
The Light Reading "SuperWebinar" will comprise a short introduction by Peter Heywood, Founding Editor of Light Reading, followed by a 45 minute slide presentation given by all three speakers. There will be a 10-15 minutes Q&A session at the end.
The live event will be staged on Monday, January 23rd at 5:30 PM Central European Time, 4:30 PM London time, 11:30 AM New York time, and 8:30 AM Pacific time.
An ITU-T
workshop - NGN and its Transport Networks - will take place at the
International Conference Center Kobe (ICCK), Japan, 20 to 21 April 2006.
NGN Standardization work is now well underway in the ITU-T and other SDOs.
Following the success of the NGN Focus Group and the establishment of the NGN
Global Standards Initiative (NGN-GSI)
in ITU-T, this ITU-T workshop will be an opportunity to review the status of
the work, identify technology trends, and provide a framework for moving
forward standardization work.
This event will provide an overview of the architecture, performance and
transport aspects of NGN as well as the market drivers and challenges.
Particular emphasis will be given to network technologies, standards that
address architecture and the performance aspects of NGN and transport networks
aspects to support NGN services. More.
together with the US Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) will
hold a workshop, Next Generation Network
Technology and Standardization at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre in Las Vegas, USA,
from 19 to 20 March 2006. This workshop will be held during the TelecomNEXT event.
Standardization work is now well underway in the ITU-T, ATIS and other SDOs.
Following the success of the ITU-T's Focus Group on NGN (FGNGN), the
establishment of the NGN Global Standards Initiative (NGN-GSI) in ITU-T and the
activities within the ATIS NGN Focus Group and Technical committees, this
free workshop will be an opportunity to review the status of the work, identify
technology trends, and seek to identify areas where the ITU-T and ATIS together
with regional experts can further coordinate their standardization work.
ATIS has kindly negotiated
registration rates for workshop participants who are also interested in
attending TelecomNEXT. For details please see http://www.techthink.org/registration.html
With the
next phase of ITU-T's work on next generation networks (NGN) underway a new webpage as been unveiled
giving access to a variety of NGN resources.
The new
page will act as a portal for those people participating in NGN study but also
to those new to NGN. Features include a live news feed, a short introduction to
NGN, links to official documents, the Release 1 set of NGN specifications,
presentations and important dates for your calendar.
upcoming feature will be an NGN Roadmap, that will provide an overview of the
NGN work going on across the standardization world. Essentially, it will act as
a repository of NGN information from ITU and other SDOs. A key feature of the
tool will be the ability to track work progress and see the latest versions of
More on NGN-GSI
The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2005-11-30
Group : aap updated : 2005-11-30 18:03:51 title : [026] AAP Announcement No. 026, 1 December 2005, (SG 4, 9, 12, 17) url : http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/026.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process
new Recommendations related to IP Performance have been consented by ITU-T's Study Group 12.
these factors are used to estimate end-to-end performance levels. At
this stage, the framework includes a perceptual model for web browsing. Future
versions will focus on multimedia conferencing and other applications. The
Recommendation is designed to be helpful for people designing networks,
enabling them to know what applications can be realistically supported.
- defines a new performance metric in IP networks for short transactions, such
as trading of stocks, automated banking, and credit card point of sale
transactions. The nature of such exchanges is that they need to be quick
and reliable.
Recommendation gives the ability for the network provider to either flag a
problem based on their network measurements interpreted with this metric, or to
say that – if a problem exists – it isn't attributable to the network. The
Recommendation allows the network service provider to see how much of the
transaction time can be attributed to the network. The metric can also be
useful in drawing up service level agreements.
- addresses Network Model for Evaluating Multimedia Transmission Performance
Over Internet Protocol. The need for such a model is driven by new
challenges for multimedia applications in IP. Impairments that in typical data
transfers are of little consequence may be much more serious in video or VoIP
for example. The model is based on statistical models of a broad range of known
deployed network configurations. This way a manufacturer of networking testing
solutions can avoid speculation in configuring test scenarios.
The following files relative to AAP have been updated since 2005-10-31
Group : aap updated : 2005-10-31 19:00:15 title : [024] AAP Announcement No. 24, 01 November 2005 (SG 4, 9, 12, 16, 17, 19) url : http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/aap/announce/05-08/024.html ------------------------------------------------------------- Note : This is an automatic message for ITU-T/TSB Alternative Approval Process
advisory panel for standards cooperation on telecommunications related to motor
vehicles (APSC TELEMOV) met recently in Geneva.
meeting followed up on some of the recommendations of the recent ITU-T workshop
The Fully Networked Car - a Workshop on ICT
in Motor Vehicles. Specifically this involved the developing of
an action plan and a number of agreements for participation in other events as
well as increased cooperation with other players in the field.
to Paul Najarian Director of Telecommunication and Standards, for the
Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS
America), the advisory panel has already seen much success in terms
of enhancing cooperation between ITU, ISO,
ETSI, and others.
Najarian said the group is already witnessing close cooperation between ITU-T Study Group 12 and ISO/TC22
on vehicles in the area of HMI (human machine interface). This cooperation will
lead to the submission of a study Question to SG12. Another study Question
on eCall (emergency call notification) will be submitted to an ITU-T study
group, although it has not been decided which one.
Given the
similarities between vehicular networks and home networks, the group has agreed
to participate and provide speakers for the October 2005 workshop Opportunities and Challenges in Home
Networking. It also expects to participate and provide speakers
for the 2006 workshop on RFID. Additionally an advisory group representative
will speak on ITS and multimedia at the upcoming ITU-T Study Group 16 meeting.
Participants have also agreed to cooperate with the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) in order to develop a world report on ITS Standards.
ITU-T will lend its support for a second time to an event on the topic of wideband speech quality in terminals and networks held by ETSI. The last event concluded that there is a lack of speech quality specifications and adequate tools for assessment and planning of wideband speech communication systems. This is a critical issue as wideband systems are to be one of the driving factors in next generation networks (NGN).
To be held 22-23 June, Mainz, Germany, this workshop will provide an overview of developments since last year's event, including the voice quality prediction tool or e-model designed by ITU-T experts (see previous e-Flash story). Additionally the event will examine in technical detail the general aspects of terminal testing and reference points for wideband terminals, and there will be discussion on the requirements for wideband applications that are specific to wireless and VoIP scenarios.
A recent meeting of Study Group 12 saw progress in the development of QoS-related standards for IP-based networks and services.
QoS is seen as a key area to address in IP-based networks, especially as more carriers announce plans to carry voice traffic using the protocol.
Progress was made on the revision of Recommendation G.1020 which gives performance parameter definitions for quality of speech and other voiceband applications utilising IP networks. The updates will specify voice quality measurements associated with the use of the VoIP management protocol, RTP Control Protocol Extended Reports (RTCP XR). RTCP XR defines a set of metrics that contain information for assessing VoIP call quality and diagnosing problems.
And Y.1541 which gives network performance objectives for IP-based services, is also actively under revision to include new QoS classes with more stringent packet loss performance, needed for example for commercial video applications and certain TCP formats.
Also during its meeting - the first of the new study period - SG12 consented a revision of Recommendation G.107 (the E-model, see previous e-Flash story, to include an improved treatment of bursty packet loss.
ITU-T is to host a Workshop on Home Networking Systems, 13-14 October 2005 in Geneva.
Home Networking is the linking of all types of electronic devices for applications such as entertainment, telecommunication, home automation systems and telemetry (remote control and monitoring systems). And given the wide range of previously unrelated technologies involved, standards that allow for interoperability are seen as key to the successful marketing of the concept.
The event will be jointly organized by Study Groups 9 and 12, in cooperation with several other ITU Study Groups and organizations outside of ITU. It follows the Workshop on Home Networking and Home Services held 17-18 June 2004, Tokyo.
Study Group 9 has been working on standardization in home networking systems for more than four years. It has already approved three Recommendations in the field. A current focus is a new Recommendation that will specify ways to bridge conditional access systems (that ensure payment in pay TV for example) to digital rights management (DRM) systems, an important step toward smooth operation of fully integrated home networking.
© Copyright 2017, ITU
The information presented within this blog comes from various organizations around the world. ITU encourages users to seek more detailed information from the original source through the links provided.
Links to third-party websites are provided for the convenience of all users. The ITU is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content on these third-party websites. ITU does not offer any guarantee in that regard nor does ITU endorse the third-party organizations, their sites or content.


text: Hey guys this is my first post, but im looking for a nice slim fit gingham sport shirt, im 6 feet 200 lbs, im relatively muscular so nothing too urban slim, but slim enough to where it doesnt look like im swimming in it. what brands would you guys recommend? right now i wear anything from ben sherman brooks brother ralph lauren j crew any others brands or links you guys can recommend?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Question: I know I have seen That '70s Show's Debra Jo Rupp on something before, a very long time ago. Did she play the obnoxious Judy on Welcome Back, Kotter?
Televisionary: Nope. Actress Helaine Lembeck played Judy Borden on that series, which ran on ABC from 1975-79.
						 						But Rupp, who plays mama Kitty Forman on '70s, has been around, so you've undoubtedly spotted her before.
						 						She was on CBS's here-and-gone Valerie Harper vehicle, The Office, during its one-month run in 1995. You may better remember her as Jerry's booking agent on Seinfeld, as Phoebe's sister-in-law on Friends, or from guest spots on ER or Caroline in the City.


text:
Every day, Planned Parenthood supplies health services that women trust, including life-saving cancer screenings, well-woman exams, STD testing and treatment, family planning counseling, prenatal care, sexual health education, breast health care, and more.
More than 160,000 women, men, teens, and families in Orange and San Bernardino counties turned to Planned Parenthood this year for quality, compassionate health care, nutrition services, and education programs that help them get healthy and stay healthy.
No one does more than Planned Parenthood to protect women's health and protect access to essential health services. As the economic downturn continues to affect people nationwide, increasing numbers of women who have lost jobs and insurance are turning to Planned Parenthood for care that they can't get anywhere else.
For the second consecutive year, Planned Parenthood was honored by The Values Institute as one of the Most Trusted Brands in Orange County. Our neighbors know that they can come to us for compassionate, confidential care — regardless of their personal circumstances or ability to pay.
Read our 2013 Annual Report to see how Planned Parenthood is providing our neighbors with health services that women trust.
Get news and updates are affecting Planned Parenthood and our community in our monthly e-newsletter Health Matters.
View the Someone You Know ads and how those message are impacting women, men, teens, and families in Orange and San Bernardino counties.