The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ITU or its membership. The author can contacted by at “Bridging the ICT standardization gap” Dr Tim Kelly, Head, Standardization Policy Division (ITU-T) UNECE Symposium: “Trade rules, regulations and standards” Geneva, 23 October 2007

International Telecommunication Union 2 Bridging the ICT Standardization Gap Standardization in ITU Defining the Gap  Digital Divide  Standardization “ Ladder of Development ” Measuring the Gap  Usage of Recommendations  Membership and participation statistics  Study Group officials Bridging the Gap  ITU-T Actions and collaboration to bridge the gap

Plenipotentiary Conference Council World Conferences on Int’l Telecoms World/Regional Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) Radiocommunication Assembly (RA) Radio Regulations Board (RRB Advisory Group Study Groups World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) Advisory Group Study Groups Telecom Standardization World/Regional Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Advisory Group Study Groups Development Secretary-General Deputy Secretary-General T ELECOM Director Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) Secretariat Director Telecom Standardization Bureau (TSB) Director Telecom Development Bureau (BDT) ITU structure Radiocommunication

International Telecommunication Union 4 Defining the ICT standardization gap ” ? Shortages in human resources leading to disparities in the ability of developing countries, to access, implement, contribute to and influence international ICT standards It contributes to the persistence of the wider digital divide Relevant ITU Resolutions  PP-06 Res 123  WTDC-06 Res 47  WTSA-04 Res 44 Source: ITU/UNCTAD World Information Society Report 2007: Beyond WSIS

International Telecommunication Union 5 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 R&D capability  previous engagement with standards development organisations (SDOs) These steps can be conceptualised in terms of a “ Ladder of Standardization Development ” Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Growing usage of ITU Recommendations Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings ITU Sector and Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 6 Standardization Development Ladder (1) On the lowest rung of the ladder is the growing usage of ITU Recommendations (standards) and website This can be measured in terms of sales or downloads of Recommendations Use of international standards in ICT procurement should help to reduce costs and promote inter-operability Growing use of ITU Recommendations Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings ITU Sector and Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 7 Top ten developing and transition economies, by number of downloads Growing usage of ITU Recommendations Free Downloads from ITU-T website, Jan-May Source: ITU-T Web Trends Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings ITU Sector and Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 8 Standardization Development Ladder (2) On the second rung of the ladder is the national capacity-building in use of ICT Standards Capacity-building helps to build a national resource base of qualified engineers able to implement Recommendations ITU can provide capacity-building and training programmes Growing usage of ITU Recommendations National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings ITU Sector and Associate Membership Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 9 ITU-T ’ s new policy of making Recommendations free of charge online has led to increased usage from developing countries Standardization Development Ladder (2) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations ’815 sales to 78 economies 2007, Jan-Aug >1.9m downloads from 197 economies Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings ITU Sector and Associate Membership Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 10 Standardization Development Ladder (3) On the third rung of the ladder is ITU Sector and Associate membership Institutional membership in the global community helps promote globalization while off-setting its negative aspects Membership also gives access to meeting reports, contributions, temporary documents, working documents etc Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector and Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 11 Standardization Development Ladder (3) One third of ITU-T Sector Members are from developing countries but only one sixth of Associates Growing usage of ITU Recommendations National training and capacitybuilding in use of ITU Recommendations Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings ITU Sector and Associate Membership Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Going to Study Groups and related meetings

International Telecommunication Union 12 Standardization Development Ladder (4) On the 4 th rung of the ladder is participation in Study Groups and Focus Groups Participation promotes “ learning by doing ” and opens possibilities for networking Possibilities also exist for remote participation (e.g., through Internet Broadcast of Study Group meetings and through correspondence groups) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54)

International Telecommunication Union 13 Standardization Development Ladder (5) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) On the 5 th rung, countries may seek to attract ITU meetings, or establish regional groups to foster participation Hosting events will create new opportunities for “ learning by doing ”, training and raising awareness An increasing number of joint ITU- T/ITU-D Study Groups, Focus Groups and workshops are now held in the regions

International Telecommunication Union 14 Standardization Development Ladder (5) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Recent and forthcoming regional meetings, 2007  Security workshop, Minsk, 4-6 Dec  Bridging standardization gap, Kigali, 2-4 October and in Mendoza, 24 September  Cybersecurity and CIIP, Hanoi, Aug  Electromagnetic protection, Beijing, May  African tariff group, Banjul, 9-10 May  Standardization and development of NGN, Bahrain, 29 April – 2 May  SG2, Arab Regional Group, Sharm-el-Sheikh, 26 March  NGN Planning, Bangkok, March  Americas tariff group, Havana, Feb  NGN Global Standards, Beijing, 8-12 Jan

International Telecommunication Union 15 Standardization Development Ladder (6) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) On the 6 th rung of the ladder is Giving “ contributions ” (ie input documents) at ITU-T Study Groups and related meetings By making inputs to the process, it is possible to shape future standards The whole standardization process is “ contribution-driven ”, as these form the basis for virtually all Recommendations

International Telecommunication Union 16 Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) Standardization Development Ladder (6) Developing countries account for a rising percentage of inputs to Study Groups, as exemplified by China Source: ITU-T.

International Telecommunication Union 17 Standardization Development Ladder (7) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) On the 7th rung of the ladder is Nominating representatives, eg to serve as Study Group chairs, vice chairs, rapporteurs etc These officials form part of the management team for each Study Group and help progress the work Nomination is a sign of respect for the contributions made by individuals over a number of years

International Telecommunication Union 18 Standardization Development Ladder (7) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) The number of Study Group officials from developing economies has been increasing to reach around 40%

International Telecommunication Union 19 Standardization Development Ladder (8) Growing usage of ITU Recommendations ITU Sector or Associate Membership National training and capacity-building in use of ITU Recommendations Going to Study Groups and related meetings Entering proposals at WTSA on future study questions and work programmes Nominating representatives as study group chairs, vice- chairs.rapporteurs, focus group chairs etc Giving contributions at Study Groups and related meetings Attracting ITU meetings and/or regional groups (Res 54) On the final rung of the ladder is Entering Proposals, in WTSA, eg on future study questions and work programmes ITU-T ’ s work is structured around study questions which determine the work of the Study Groups WTSA-08 will be held from October 2008 in South Africa, preceded by a Global Standards Symposium (GSS)

International Telecommunication Union 20 ITU actions to help bridge the standardization gap Regional Forums  One to be held per region per year to bring standards- making closer to the regions (e.g., Kigali, 2-4 Oct 07)  Creation of “ regional groups ” Remote participation  ITU-T Recs free of charge online since  More meetings broadcast over Internet  Creation of correspondence groups Liaison with Development Sector  Creation of Standardization Gap Fund to sponsor regional meetings, fellowships etc  Each Study Group has appointed focal points Collaboration  Global Standards Symposium open to all SDOs etc

International Telecommunication Union 21 CIIPCritical Information Infrastructure Protection CHFSwiss Francs CS/CVITU Constitution and Convention GNIGross National Income GSSGlobal Standards Symposium ICTInformation and Communication Technologies ITUInternational Telecommunication Union ITU-DITU Development Sector ITU-RITU Radiocommunication Sector ITU-TITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector Kbit/sKilobits per second LDCLeast Developed Country NGNNext Generation Networks OECDOrganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PP-06ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2006 R&DResearch and Development TIESTelecom Information Exchange System TSAGTelecommunication Standardization Advisory Group SGStudy Group UNCTADUnited National Conference on Trade and Development USDUnited States Dollars WCITWorld Conference on International Telecommunications WSISWorld Summit on the Information Society WTDCWorld Telecommunication Development Conference WTPFWorld Telecommunication Policy Forum WTSAWorld Telecommunication Standardization Assembly Glossary of terms used

International Telecommunication Union 22 Thank you.