The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is getting into the blockchain game, having just set up a new “industry specific group” aimed at exploring the viability and potential of blockchain technologies for various industries. Founding members include Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Telefónica, and Vodafone. These industry players will specifically examine the use of permissioned distributed ledgers, ETSI announced yesterday. The new ETSI group will try to understand the challenges of using permissioned distributed ledgers in business applications. ETSI hopes that the group will be able to develop industry standards for the use of the decentralized technology, including interfaces/APIs/protocols and information models. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges when using decentralized or distributed technologies in cross-business settings is standardizing processes and workflows in a way that works for all the involved parties. Otherwise it’s likely to create more problems than it solves. The work group will have its first meeting on January 24, 2019 at Telefónica, Madrid, where it will discuss project priorities and elect representatives from each of the participating companies. ETSI isn’t the first telecommunications firm to look into blockchain tech. Earlier this year, British telecom regulator, Ofcom, announced it was exploring the technology to help manage the nation’s database of available telephone numbers. Published December 19, 2018 — 10:52 UTC December 19, 2018 — 10:52 UTC
Google , Intel , Nokia , Huawei and Microsoft have been named as the founding members of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute 's latest industry specific group . It will examine the challenges of using large distributed networks , and develop industry standards for blockchain 's use , including interfaces , protocols and information models . The group is set to have its first meeting in Madrid on 24 September .