Author: Ultan Mulligan, BEng MIEI, director of communications, membership and partnership at ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) On 28 May, NSAI will organise a free seminar on 'Telecommunication Standards – a Key Component for Business Development in Ireland'. Industry speakers will present how participation in standardisation can be used as a basis for achieving technology leadership, competitive advantage and company growth. These are big promises. So what exactly are telecommunication standards and how can they help Irish industry in a sector that is dominated by global multinationals? Standards define the entire ICT industrial sector. Almost every piece of equipment, every service, every component is based on standards or specifications which are laid down by individual companies, or at an international level. This is true whether one considers package types for integrated circuits, components of telecommunications networks, or Application Programming Interfaces in complex software systems. ICT thrives on ‘networked innovation’, where each innovative idea is dependent on research and inventions which have gone before it and have been marketed by other companies. Often the way to access these inventions is to build towards published standards or specifications. Telecommunications is a prime example of how international standardisation has helped create a global industry. Thirty years ago, most European countries had a single telecoms operator, often government owned, offering only fixed network services at very high prices. Competition was unknown and customers waited months to get a new phone line installed. Behind each telecoms operator there were national telecoms equipment manufacturers, often in a monopoly position. Today, each country has a number of operators offering services such as mobile telephony and broadband, DSL and cable broadband, TV, video on demand and of course fixed line telephone services. Customers have a vast choice of devices at wildly different price points, and the entire market is extremely competitive. Serving the telecoms operators is a network of large and small telecoms equipment vendors competing and also partnering with each other. The telecommunications sector has managed to radically transform the services it offers customers, continually driving down prices, accepting consolidation while opening up to a range of new market entrants, all the while maintaining a highly reliable, globally-interconnected network which just works. Nobody who buys a new mobile phone today asks, “Can I connect it to my operator’s network?” The system works because all the players - operators, equipment vendors, phone manufacturers, regulators and public authorities - have come together to set out the common standards which they themselves use to build and maintain this system. These standards provide interoperability between different vendors’ equipment and between different networks. Standards also enable a wider choice of supplier and unlock economies of scale for all players. The ICT industry is dotted with industry consortia setting specifications for focused applications and markets, with a few larger bodies having a broader view. In Europe, ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, has developed a name for itself in standardising telecoms technologies which have achieved global success. It is responsible for all the standards and specifications behind the GSM mobile communications system, which has now developed into 3G and 4G systems in cooperation with standards bodies in the US, China, Japan and Korea. ETSI has developed the standard for DECT, the technology in most cordless phones sold in Europe, Japan and the US. It is also responsible for developing the European Standards referred to in Europe’s radio regulations, and is active in a range of fields, from machine-to-machine communications, smart metering and cybersecurity, through to human factors and accessibility of telecommunications services and equipment. IRISH INDUSTRY What has this got to do with Irish industry? Small businesses make up the backbone of European industry. This is particularly true in Ireland’s high-tech industrial sector, where underneath the structure of international companies which have made Ireland their European home, there is a network of small software and ICT companies. These companies are some of the fastest growing and best performing in Europe, with internationally experienced managers often sourced from the larger players. NSAI and Enterprise Ireland have realised that Irish companies can take advantage of standards activities, such as those in ETSI, to help achieve greater international growth. They recognise that participation in relevant standards organisations offers companies unique opportunities which translate into real business benefits. Based on this realisation, Enterprise Ireland has established a scheme which is almost unique in Europe, providing funds to help Irish companies who participate in international telecoms standardisation work. Called the Telecoms Standards Initiative, this innovative programme encourages companies to do more than simply participate: to take a leading or driving role in standards development, and through this gain greater competitive advantage and technology leadership, often in niche markets which they can dominate. Having operated this scheme for a number of years, Enterprise Ireland has seen participating companies gain a number of immediate benefits, in addition to their greater growth over a longer period. These can be technical in nature, such as developing in-house expertise and insight into the standardized technology, aligning product development with standards development, and being able to influence the future direction of a standard. However, the immediate business benefits are more interesting. Standards committees provide opportunities to have direct access to potential partners, and indeed potential customers. Competitors are also present, and intelligence can be gathered on their product plans and level of technical know-how. By taking a leadership position, a company gains significant reputation and credibility by having effectively 'written the standard'. And having early access to a standard will offer a reduced time to market for standards-based products – clearly a competitive advantage over those not present. Surely standards committees are dominated by large companies, with smaller companies being out-voted and having no significant influence? This is a widely held and mistaken perception among those who have never been directly involved in standards development. Technology standards committees are made up of engineers and scientists. Certainly they each represent their employers’ positions, but they also recognise fellow engineers and scientists who are skilled, have innovative ideas and are willing to contribute in a positive and diplomatic manner – regardless of which company they come from. A newcomer who actively engages, makes useful contributions and helps develop consensus will quickly become respected. EUROPEAN STANDARDS Sometimes it is sufficient simply to volunteer to edit a standard or be secretary of a working group – as European standards are published in English, native speakers are always sought after in these roles. Certainly there is a cost for a small company to volunteer the time of its best technical staff, in addition to any membership or travel costs which might arise. Here, the Enterprise Ireland scheme comes into play, giving Irish companies a unique opportunity and a real advantage over their other European counterparts. This is not just wishful thinking. In the case of ETSI, some 25% of its 770 member organisations are small businesses. The effort they need to make to engage in standards development is proportionally higher than for larger companies, and yet they chose to come and participate in large numbers. They must see a real business benefit in doing so. Then there are examples of companies who have succeeded by taking this path. Ireland has its share of them, perhaps the most memorable being Iona Technologies which, thanks to its domination of the standards community, became synonymous with the technology it helped develop, CORBA. So, back to the NSAI seminar on 28 May;

• Expect to hear how NSAI can assist you in getting to grips with the ICT standards landscape;
• Expect to receive more details on the Enterprise Ireland scheme; and
• Expect to hear from some of the Irish companies who have managed to achieve growth and success through standards. Perhaps your company is the next Iona Technologies. At the seminar, we will expect to hear from you!