Networks: Standards Organizations

I just want to share what I've learned from our class about standards organizations.


Standards organizations are responsible for the researching, developing, testing, etc. the standards that made the Internet to what it is now. But what are "standards" anyway?


Standards exist for programming languages, operating systems, data formats, communications protocols, and electrical interfaces. Standards are important in the computer industry because they allow the combination of products from different manufacturers to create a customized system. Without standards, only hardware and software from the same company could be used together. 


Here are some examples of Standards Organizations:


CCITT (Comite Consultatif International Telephonique et Telegraphique)
          This Committee defines international communications standards. The CCITT defined the standard for sending fax documents and the standards that define data transmission over telephone lines such as V.90 that allows transmission up to 56000 bps. After 1992, this organization became the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T).