The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) have announced the creation of a partnership in the burgeoning field of intelligent transport systems (ITS) and the instigation of a new Joint Task Force for ITS Communications.
The involvement of international standards bodies is seen as critical to easing bottlenecks resulting, in part, from poor communication between overlapping sectors – automotive, ITS players, telecom suppliers and operators. The Joint Task Force will engineer better collaboration between these sectors and pool resources within ITU and ISO, linking existing work and avoiding duplication.
Dr. Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-general, said, “There is a will from manufacturers to implement these technologies, but as yet there has been no real breakthrough in terms of the technical standards needed to roll this out on a global scale. Vehicle manufacturers do not want to create different versions of this technology for every different market. They do not want regional or national standards. They want global standards, and through this initiative, ITU and ISO are proving that we are willing and able to provide them.”
Rob Steele, ISO Secretary-general, stated, “There is a need for harmonization of standardization of essential technologies to provide a solid base for further innovation and the economies of scale for commercialization of technologies. Most interestingly of all, is the urgent need to consider the interoperability of all of this technology, not only in the vehicle, but in the wider infrastructure that is needed to support this revolution. The value of the solutions proposed is magnified when they are globally relevant.”