High cost of standards-making

Edward S. Phillips, Jr.

Tel-Com Training Inc.

Winthrop, ME

Your editorial in the May 1997 issue ("The high cost of standards-making," page 3) hit a sore spot with me. I have watched many changes to the standards recently that were not necessarily improvements to the design and installation of high-speed data-link cabling. Most of these changes are driven by special interests to accommodate weaknesses in their areas of interest, and not to improve the basic link or channel.

However, there is a partial solution to the lack of representation in standards-making by the smaller designer and installer companies. This solution is through the bicsi organization, and particularly the efforts of the bicsi Standards Committee. This committee tries to represent to the Telecommunications Industry Association (tia) the feelings of the designer and installer by surveying the bicsi membership`s opinions on important issues. This gives guidance to our tia representative, Donna Ballast.

The bicsi Standards Committee meets three times a year, on the Sunday before a bicsi conference, at 10 AM. We welcome any person to attend and take part in these meetings. Also, both Donna and I will discuss any issues that anyone has with standards. If any person has a standards issue for the bicsi Standards Committee, please contact me and I will put that issue on the next meeting agenda.

And thanks for the help in bringing forward the present problems with the standards-making process.