CRE Telecommunications Standards Program
CRE has published a landmark white paper, Market-Driven Consortia: Implications for the FCC's Cable Access Proceedings, weighing the use of consensus standards versus privately developed non-consensus standards in regulatory applications. The paper was developed in response to concerns expressed to ANSI by an Ameritech subsidiary regarding the current process by which cable television technical standards are developed for the FCC.
CRE's paper examined an array of issues regarding the development of standard through both consensus and non-consensus processes. Key areas of inquiry included: the growing importance of market-driven consortia (MDCs); potential benefits and problems from use of non-consensus processes; ANSI's review procedures for determining consensus; and OMB Circular A-119 which implements federal policy regarding regulatory use of voluntary standards. The white paper then applied the broad discussions of standards issues to the specific instance of the development, at the FCC's request, of cable modem standards by CableLabs, an MDC organization.
CRE submitted a draft of the white paper to a number of stakeholder including ANSI. Based on comments received, a revised draft was prepared. The CRE paper was formally submitted to the Chairman of the FCC with copies to over two-hundred stakeholders throughout the telecommunications, electronic media and technology industries as well as to federal officials.
ANSI distributed the CRE paper to all members of their Company Member Council and invited CRE to deliver a presentation of their work at the next meeting of the Company Member Council Executive Committee.
CRE's Cable Access Standards Exploratory Committee
To follow-up on the conclusions in the white paper, CRE organized an Exploratory Committee to determine whether an MDC or ANSI-accredited organization should develop standards for broadband internet-cable access connections. The Exploratory Committee includes representatives of the long distance and regional phone service industries and ISPs.
The Exploratory Committee is drafting a paper which will explore the pros and cons of each method of standards development as they apply to the specific issues, technical and policy, which need to be considered in developing connection standards. Based on this detailed analysis, the paper will draw broader conclusions as to the recommended mechanism for developing the interconnection standards. The Exploratory Committee's work will be made public in draft form for comment.
SM: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week