Standards make the GIH possible

Abstract

Technical telecommunications standards form the foundations of the global information highway (GIH). Yet an understanding of the taxonomy of technical standards, the value and relationship of the different fora developing standards, even the need for standards at all, remain elusive. With the global effect of the GIH, technical telecommunications standards are no longer a minor aspect of society. The International Telecommunications Union, as the leading telecommunications standards-making authority, in conjunction with the many other fora developing and contributing to telecommunications standards, needs to offer more than technical standards direction. The telecommunications standards-making community should add its own more considered view of the GIH to the current commentary from publications, politicians, and pundits.