The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI), a standards development organization that aims to develop, promote and maintain standards, driven by India-specific requirements and innovations, have agreed to collaborate to accelerate the development of information and communications technology (ICT) standards.
The two organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance ICT standards with a special focus on smart buildings and wireless infrastructure. They will share technical knowledge and best practices, participate in events, facilitate discussions with standards-related forums, and work together to identify potential areas for cooperation.
“TIA’s Smart Buildings Program is leading the industry globally. As communications networks become increasingly connected, ensuring we have global standards that keep up with the pace of next-generation technologies is more important than ever before,” commented Ken Koffman, CTO and Senior Vice President of Business Performance at TIA. “TIA looks forward to partnering with TSDSI as we work to develop and advance industry standards in India and around the globe.”
As its mandate, TSDSI aims at "developing and promoting India-specific requirements; standardizing solutions for meeting these requirements and contributing these to international standards; contributing to global standardization in the field of telecommunications; maintaining the technical standards and other deliverables of the organization; safe-guarding the related IPR; and helping to create manufacturing expertise in the country."
“While standards need to incorporate the unique requirements of emerging markets like India, they also need to be globally harmonized for interoperability and inclusiveness,” remarked Ms. Pamela Kumar, Director General of TSDSI. “TSDSI is looking forward to collaborating with TIA to enable the ecosystem in India to get more actively involved in the development of globally harmonized ICT standards.”
TIA and TSDSI will work together to exchange information, explore developments regarding ICT standards and participate in joint projects under the USTDA program. As the two organizations will especially focus on industry standards related to smart buildings and wireless infrastructure, specific areas identified for possible future collaborations include: physical infrastructure for smart cities; telecom towers; cloud data centers; and smart grids. Security and reliability of new technologies is also a cited common area of concern.
TIA’s voluntary and industry-driven standards establish protocols that ensure reliable, quality communications networks and services. They are broadly used by the information communication technology community. For more information, visit www.TIAonline.org.