Ahead of November’s World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-20) in Hyderabad, India, USCIB prepared priorities for the U.S. government delegation to pursue. The recommended priorities included avoiding premature regulation or standardization of emerging technologies to ensure future investments in markets all over the world, avoiding top-down mandates on internet protocols, and advocating for resolutions that bind the scope of study groups to the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector’s (ITU-T) telecommunication/ICTs remit.
“USCIB holds in high value the work of the ITU-T in the development of international standards that promote the interoperability of telecommunication networks. In recent years, however, the T-Sector’s workstream has expanded into areas in which we do not believe the ITU has the expertise or mandate,” said USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner. “The WTSA-20 presents a key opportunity to ensure that the ITU-T’s structure and work program remain firmly rooted in its technical telecommunication/ICT standardization core competency. USCIB is committed to working with the U.S. Government to identify opportunities for constructive engagement that helps to advance U.S. policy objectives.”
The letter also stressed that further expanding the WTSA’s work program beyond its proper remit would compromise the industry’s ability to address Internet governance-related issues and explore standards and best practices for emerging technologies that are more effectively addressed in existing multistakeholder policymaking and standards-setting bodies.
