ITU takes on Internet of Things standards for smart cities

Fri, 2015-06-12 06:00 -- SCC Staff

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) formed a new study group to tackle standardization requirements for the Internet of Things, with an initial focus on IoT applications in smart cities.
According to the announcement from the ITU, which is a member of the Council's Advisory Board, its new ITU-T Study Group will be responsible for international standards to enable the coordinated development of IoT technologies, including machine-to-machine communications and ubiquitous sensor networks.
Addressing urban development challenges
The group will develop standards that leverage IoT technologies to address urban development challenges. A key part of this study, the ITU says, will be the standardization of end-to-end architectures for IoT and mechanisms for the interoperability of IoT applications and datasets employed by various vertically oriented industry sectors.
“Building smart sustainable cities will require efficient collaboration between the public and private sectors,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "This new ITU-T Study Group will bring together a diverse selection of stakeholders, placing ITU’s technical expertise at the service of other industry sectors as well as the national and metropolitan administrations responsible for urban development."
Added Chaesub Lee, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau: "The coming five years will be crucial in ensuring that IoT technologies meet their potential. ITU-T is very active in IoT standardization, and we aim to assist cities around the world in creating the conditions necessary for IoT technologies to prove their worth in addressing urban development challenges.
Dubai participates in pilot
Last month, Dubai became the world’s first city to assess the efficiency and sustainability of its operations using the key performance indicators developed by the ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities. The two-year pilot project will evaluate the feasibility of the indicators with the aim of contributing to their international standardization.