TAICS Signs Cooperation Agreement with ETSI.

On Nov. 29, 2016, the Taiwan Association of Information and Communication Standards (TAICS) signed a cooperation agreement with ETSI at ETSI’s headquarters in Sophia Antipolis, France, thus solidifying the basis for future collaborations. Under the cooperation framework, both parties will share with each other their latest industry information and technological achievements as well as create opportunities for joint research on specific topics.

As the standards developing organization (SDO) for the European Union’s ICT industry, ETSI has more than 800 members worldwide. These members span 66 countries, five continents, and include the world’s leading telecommunication institutions, national standardization organizations, network operators, equipment manufacturers, private network service providers, and user research institutions. Most of the standards established by ETSI serve as standards for Europe as well as other regions across the globe. ETSI moreover plays a decisive role in the development of standards for the global mobile communication technology industry. In fact, the standards for the global system of mobile communication (GSM), the world’s most widely used system, have been established by ETSI. ETSI also subsequently called on the world’s representative regional standards development organizations to collaborate on the co-founding of 3GPP and to promote the development of 3G and 4G LTE standards. ETSI is currently assisting 3GPP in the promotion and formulation of 5G wireless communication standards.

Since its establishment, TAICS has vigorously promoted standards development for various Taiwanese industries and endeavored to forge connections with international standards societies. By combining the efforts made by its 100+ members over the past year, TAICS has laid a markedly solid foundation and demonstrated brilliant results. In terms of connecting with international standards societies, TAICS has established bilateral cooperation relationships with many of the world’s major industrial organizations including Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN, a global operator alliance), Telecommunication Technology Committee (TTC, a Japanese standardization organization), and Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB, a Japanese standardization organization).

After one year of negotiations, ETSI has agreed to sign a cooperation agreement, thereby validating its recognition of Taiwan’s industrial strength as well as its affirmation of TAICS’s standardization platforms and outstanding performance. Under this cooperation agreement, Taiwan will be able to immediately obtain ETSI’s latest industrial standards development information, enabling the former to access comprehensive knowledge of the most recent developments in the European telecommunications industry. The two parties will additionally be able to mutually reference each other’s technological standards, and delegates may be sent to participate in the other party’s technical exchange and standard setting-related activities.

By signing a cooperation agreement with ETSI, TAICS has once again successfully connected domestic industries with international standards organizations and established an important collaboration platform. Such an accomplishment is expected to assist Taiwanese companies in areas such as engagement in international cooperations and compliance with international standards. In the future, TAICS will continue to forge international collaborations with other organizations to showcase Taiwan’s industrial and technological strength, strengthen the visibility and influence of Taiwanese industries in international standards societies, and enable Taiwan’s domestic industries to achieve full internationalization.