For Immediate Release
1200 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/628-6380
202/393-5453 (fax)
Contact: John Bernhards
Director of Public Relations
Phone: 202/434-8850
E-mail: jbernhards@atis.org
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For Immediate Release
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Standards Must Keep Pace with Business, Says William Daley, SBC Communications President, and former U.S. Commerce Secretary
October 17, 2002, Washington, D.C. - "American business has changed
and standards policies must change with it. Standards must move at the pace
of business," said SBC Communications President and former U.S. Secretary
of Commerce William Daley, during remarks delivered at last night's annual U.S.
World Standards Day celebration in Washington, D.C.
"With the increasing pace of new technologies, it's critically important
for the standards process to keep up," said Daley. "When the average
shelf life of some new high-tech products is as little as six months, businesses
don't have time to pause and wait."
Daley's remarks were delivered before a diverse audience of standardization
experts, business leaders, industry trade organization CEOs, as well as government
officials from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission, and the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology.
Daley reflected on the increasingly critical role of standards within the economically
troubled communications sector, citing the industry's plans to revise traditional
approaches to standards development. "SBC is working with others in our
business to build a more streamlined standards process," said Daley. "This
has become even more important with the increasing competition in our industry
and the increasing number of new networks and technologies."
Daley said the industry is channeling efforts through the Alliance for Telecommunications
Industry Solutions (ATIS), the U.S.-based communications standards organization,
headquartered in Washington, D.C. The ATIS membership of key wireless and wireline
communications carriers, manufacturers, software companies and other industry
businesses recently established a "Technical Operations Council" that
is now identifying chief technical and operational challenges and much-needed
standards work. Daley said communications companies want to set priorities that
"eliminate overlap and duplication" of standards efforts, and "ensure
that investment in standards goes towards issues of most importance to the industry."
"Too many standards can basically mean no effective standards," said
Daley. This can adversely impact an industry's standards process… draining
resources and, in some cases, increasing redundancy in standards activities."
Joining Daley at the World Standards Day celebration was Susan M. Miller, president
and CEO of ATIS. "Traditional approaches to standards development must
move to a new paradigm," said Miller. Standards organizations need to aggressively
identify industry standardization priorities, then drive a collaborative effort
to establish standards in a timely, pragmatic and cost-effective manner."
Daley served as Honorary Chairman of the U.S. World Standards Day celebration,
where he received the Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award, in recognition of leadership
excellence in U.S. standardization efforts. The award is named in honor of former
U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Ron Brown. The event and award activities
were co-hosted by the American National Standards Institute and the National
Institute of Standards and Technology.
About ATIS
The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a member company
organization and leader for standards and operating procedures for the communications
industry. More than 400 telecommunications companies participate in ATIS' 17
standardization committees and Incubator Solutions programs, where work focus
includes wireline and wireless network interconnection standards, number portability,
improved data transmission, Internet telephony, toll-free access, telecom fraud,
and order and billing issues, among others. ATIS is accredited by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit the ATIS web site at www.atis.org.
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