Throughout the industrialized world legislation for greenhouse gas emissions is being, or will likely be enacted, over the coming years. These programs will introduce significant operational/financial cost impacts as well as opportunities for many industrial sectors.
Read More…

ICT in general is both a heavy user of energy, and can be a tool to make more efficient use of energy possible. ICT and Energy in this respect are somewhat like symbiotic twins, both need the other to thrive, especially in a perspective of increased demand for energy, depletion of fossil fuel reserves and especially climate change.

Read More…

To stabilize and eventually reduce greenhouse gas emissions is an enormous challenge that will require many new technologies, behaviors and business practices . New standards will ensure that these technological systems work together well, and provide end-users with the information they need to make informed decisions. This short post describes a few of the environmental standards initiatives that have already begun.
Read More…

China recently circulated a draft regulation regarding the use of patents in Chinese national standards. The regulation demands that for patents to be eligible for incorporation in standards, they must be made irrevocably available royalty free
Read More…

The Internet has completed it’s 40th anniversary this fall– But how will the next 40 years look like? And by extension, which factors will influence the next 40 years of evolution of the Internet?
Read More…

Talkstandards.com had an Open Forum on eGovernment and ICT standardization yesterday. The discussion focused on eGov policies and how eGov strategies can contribute to the development and innovation of the public sector.
Read More…

What is the relationship between standards and innovation?

Last week, Mr José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission made reference to standards as ‘enablers to bring innovation to the market’ in his keynote address at the welcome reception at the first European Innovation Summit at the European Parliament (see press release here). As per the press release: Standardization was deemed to be ‘an efficient tool to ensure the transfer of innovative products and technologies into marketable products and services.’

This visibility for standards is good news. However, the relationship between standards and innovation is not very clear and the players involved have differing motivations.
Read More…

Smart Grid  technology can enable substantial savings of energy, decrease cost and increase reliability.  ZigBee Alliance technology currently has a momentum and is being selected as the interoperability standard on several continents.  
Read More…

The history of standards rarely makes the headlines of regular media. One recent exception was the 57th anniversary of the bar code patent (see The Telegraph, Bar code: invention history behind new Google doodle); a technology more known to most of us as UPC or EAN labels on literally every product we buy in grocery stores.

Read More…

Chinese authorities have identified ICT industry as a key sector for future development and allocating significant resources to spur innovation; the plan is for national R&D expenditures to reach 2.5 percent of GDP 2020. The Chinese State Council’s official policy clearly states long term goals for Chinese ICT development and a direct goal to reduce foreign dependency.
Read More…