IEEE'S ROLE
Recognizing the breakneck pace of technological advances, the IEEE adjusted its standards development process. For one, it formed the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization to provide an environment for consortia-like programs. "We needed to recapture some of the consortia people," says Judith Gorman, managing director of IEEE's standards activities. "The industry continues to form consortia," even though "companies are tired of the cost" of supporting consortia-type groups. Despite the pace of technology development, Gorman says half of all IEEE standards are now developed in two years or less.
The IEEE also launched a standards development Web site to support individuals and companies participating in the creation of standards at the IEEE. Also, in a move that could spin it in a whole new direction, the Institute is beginning to examine conformance assessment—certifying products that claim to comply with IEEE standards. If the IEEE takes on this new task, it presumably will compete with industry consortia such as the Wi-Fi Alliance, the lead industry 802.11 organization. "We're studying this now," says Gorman. "We're not prepared to discuss it yet."
In response to the speed of new wireless networking developments, the IEEE has formed the 802.18 Radio Regulatory Technical Advisory Group (802.18 RR-TAG). It will keep up to date with developments in radio regulations at the national and international levels. "IEEE standards are the best," says Howard Sachs, "de facto standards are the next best, and proprietary standards are awful. From the perspective of a guy trying to build an SoC, a proprietary standard makes it tough."
The EDA market may be the best example, he says, citing the OpenAccess Coalition and Synopsys, which recently agreed to link their data access interfaces. Prior to this development, Sachs says, "Imagine a small guy trying to fit some new tool into one of those flows getting access to the standard."
For practical purposes, it's unlikely that any of this will change soon. Technology simply moves too fast for the standards organizations to keep up. "It's like waiting for the green traffic light in the U.K., where the lights go from red to yellow, then green," Strauss says. "I find that if I wait for the green light, I'm the last one to leave the intersection. The same can be said of standards."