There are two main groups working on international standards: the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The IEC is a global standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Formed in June 1906 in London, UK, the IEC is composed of (TCs) technical committees and SCs (subcommittees) who prepare technical documents on specific subjects within their respective scopes, this to define the related standards. For example, the TC86 is dedicated to fiber optics, and its SC86A focused on fibers and cables.
The ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies (ICTs). It develops technical standards, methodologies and specifications related to telecommunications systems, networks and services. The ITU was founded in Paris in 1865 under the name International Telegraph Union and took its present name in 1932. It includes optical fiber and cable standardization and test and measurement applications; for example, Passive Optical Networks (PONs) such as those described in Recommendations ITU-T G.983.x and ITU-T G.984.x
The ITU has three main areas of activity organized in “sectors” which work through conferences and meetings: radiocommunications (ITU-R), telecommunication standardization (ITU-T) and telecommunication development (ITU-D).
In addition to the IEC and ITU, there are several other groups that provide guidelines and standards for the telecommunications industry: the Telecommunications Industries Association (TIA) the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop industry standards for a wide variety of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) while the EIA provides additional recommendations for the United States. ETSI defines telecommunications standards and is responsible for the standardization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within Europe.
