The Role of the ITU in Standarization Pre-eminence Impotence, or Rubber Stamp?

Stanley Besen, J. Farrell

ResearchPublished 2004

This article, reprinted from Telecommunications Policy, argues that the historic preeminence of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in setting international standards is likely to be increasingly threatened by the regional standards organizations (RSOs) and by formal or informal coordination among the RSOs. The interests the RSOs represent are powerful enough that the ITU cannot ignore agreements among them, nor is it likely to be able to set standards if they cannot agree. At the same time their size, structure and procedures are likely to make them more effective at agreeing on standards than the ITU, despite the latter's attempts to improve its procedures. The authors conclude that, whether or not their participants intended it, RSOs threaten the ITU's pre-eminence in setting telecommunications standards. The RSOs are apt to be swifter and more successful in reaching agreement than is the ITU. Moreover, their participants have enough authority in the market to ensure that agreements among them can neither be ignored nor seriously disputed. Thus the ITU's attempt to retain its pre-eminence will probably fail.

Document Details

Originally published in: Telecommunications Policy, August 1991, pp. 311-321.

This publication is part of the RAND reprint series. The reprint series, a product of RAND from 1992 to 2011, included previously published journal articles, book chapters, and reports that were reproduced by RAND with the permission of the publisher. RAND reprints were formally reviewed in accordance with the publisher's editorial policy and compliant with RAND's rigorous quality assurance standards for quality and objectivity. For select current RAND journal articles, see external publications.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.