INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE STANDARDS PANEL (IISP)
Below you will find the March 1997 issue of IISP's publication entitled,
"The Information Infrastructure Report". The report is a monthly
publication offering recent news items of interest related to standards,
information infrastructure and the activities of IISP. The report can
also be found on IISP's web site at, http://www.ansi.org/iisp/.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the report, or if you
would like additional information about the activities of IISP, please
do not hesitate to contact me.
Peter B. Lefkin
Program Manager, Information Infrastructure Programs
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
11 West 42nd Street, NY, NY 10036, USA
212.642.4979 - (fax) 212.398.0023
[log in to unmask]
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/
_______________________
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MARCH 1997
THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT
A publication provided by the
Information Infrastructure Standards Panel (IISP)
****************************************************************
The Information Infrastructure Report is a monthly publication offering
recent news items of interest related to standards, information
infrastructure and the activities of IISP.
Editor, Peter B. Lefkin - [log in to unmask]
IN THIS ISSUE
- IISP Tool Kit for Identification of Specification & Standards
Development Organizations for the NII/GII (February 1997)
- IISP Focus on Nomadicity Scheduled for June
- ISO Decisions on Information Privacy
- FTC Public Workshop on Consumer Information Privacy
- President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP)
- Open Systems Standards Tracking Report - March 1997
- The Open Information Interchange Initiative (OII)
- High Level Strategy Group (HLSG) Launches Web Site
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IISP Tool Kit for Identification of Specification & Standards
Development Organizations for the NII/GII (February 1997)
In March of 1996 IISP published a document entitled, "Guidelines for
Cooperative Standards Development". This document was provided by
IISP's Cross Industry Task Group (WG6) as a guideline for standards
organizations to consider when working together in a common standards
development effort. As a follow up, IISP WG6 has recently issued a
document entitled, "Tool Kit for Identification of Specification &
Standards Development Organizations (SSDOs) for the NII/GII".
This web based hypertext "Tool Kit" is an attempt to structure the
identification of the standards-developing organizations that are
actively developing standards which impact the development of the
national and global information infrastructures (NII/GII) into a helpful
tool as of the end of 1996. "Since a great deal of the infrastructure
already exists nationally and globally in such industries as cable
television, wireless/wireline telephony, and broadcast, new entrants
into these industries may find it technically and economically
attractive to utilize the existing specifications and standards work".
The Tool Kit focuses on those aspects of the NII/GII which can be "seen"
from the customer premises looking back into the infrastructure. The
structure is based on the access technology used (Hybrid Fiber / Coax,
Wireless, Satellite, Broadcast, Twisted Pair, and Optical Fiber), the
service being provided (Analog Video, Digital Video, Telephone, and
Digital Data), and the generic groupings of the layers of the protocol
stack (Physical, Communication Protocols, Application Enabling Services,
and Content Protocols).
The Tool Kit can be navigated on the web from a linkage table. Each
cell in the 24-cell table contains pointers that can be used to go to
one of three documents specific to each access-service combination.
Scenario descriptions are intended to explain the generic characteristic
of the particular combination of access technology and service; Diagrams
show the interconnections of the major elements for the particular
access - service combination; and Matrices identify which (if any) of
the four protocol groupings the various SSDOs are involved to some
degree.
The Tool Kit will help identify appropriate SSDOs whose work may be
applicable to the various GII standards needs identified by IISP.
o Tool Kit for Identification of Specification & Standards Development
Organizations for the NII/GII - http://www.ansi.org/iisp/toolkit.html
RELATED LINKS
o Guidelines for Cooperative Standards Development -
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/96-0119.html
o IISP Documents - http://www.ansi.org/iisp/docs.html
o Organizations Participating in the IISP Needs Review Process -
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/95-0074.html
__________________________
IISP Focus on Nomadicity Scheduled for June
Nomadicity will be the focus of two IISP meetings in mid-June. On June
17th IISP will hold a Standards Roundtable on Nomadicity, and Nomadicity
will also be the focus of four presentations during the Opening Session
of IISP's meeting on June 18th. Both meetings will be held at the
Embassy Suites Hotel in Alexandria, VA.
The Standards Roundtable is an IISP sponsored meeting with consortia and
standards developers to review the twelve (12) Nomadicity Standards
Needs identified by IISP (IISP Needs #86-97), as well as to discuss
existing standards and standards development programs that relate to
those needs. The Nomadicity Needs are cross industry in scope, and it
is through these Roundtable discussions that IISP hopes will further
encourage cross-SSDO discussion and possible working relationships on
standards needed to implement the GII. Standards and specifications
development organizations who wish to participate in the Roundtable
should contact Peter Lefkin at [log in to unmask] or 212-642-4979.
The Nomadicity Concept
In today's information society, people tend to be highly mobile. For
example, the advent of inexpensive mobile telephony - the cellular
telephone services has changed the traditional model of the office
dramatically. Today's professional is no longer tied to a stationary
desk linked by wires to a telephone circuit or Local Area Network (LAN)
connection. He or she now has the flexibility of communicating by voice,
data or fax while on the move. The portable "office" consists of
elements found in different locations - the individual's portable
computing system, applications, and some data stores. Similarly, a wide
variety of voice and data communications are now being used for
non-business applications, such as banking via carphone on the way to
work or chatting on the Internet.
This increase in mobility has led to a new phenomenon -- the nomadic
user <1>. "Nomadicity" is the capability of people to move from place to
place -- we can refer to them as nomads -- while retaining access to
services that may or may not be available within their local
environment. In short, it is the ability to offer clients continuity of
access in time and space <2>. The standards needs address the provision
of services which are flexible and responsive to the minimum and
essential requirements of the nomad. As in the current mobile
environment, the nomad will carry some essential connection elements
(appliances), such as a cellular phone, and rely on connecting to some
remote service to complete the tool set required for his or her
application. The major difference from the current environment is that
the nomad may connect using different appliances, different
communications services, or different locations at different times. In
this nomadic environment, there are some distinctive elements that need
to be addressed. IISP has identified twelve (12) Nomadicity Standards
Needs that seek to address a number of issues in this nomadic
environment.
o IISP Nomadicity Standards Needs #86-97 -
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/needcat.html#nomad
o Nomadicity Standards Needs -- Executive Summary -
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/96-0174.html
<1> The concepts of nomadicity and related standards are derived from
the Cross Industry Working Team (XIWT)'s white paper, "Nomadicity in the
NII." -
http://WWW.CNRI.Reston.VA.US:3000/XIWT/documents/Nomads_doc/NomadsTOC.htm
l
<2> Detailed rationale statements derived from the definition of
nomadicity based on access in time and space is provided in "Rationale
for Nomadicity Needs" - http://www.ansi.org/iisp/96-0175.html
RELATED LINKS
o IISP Standards Identification and Review Process -
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/idrevpr.html
o Nomadic '97 Conference - http://www.tticom.com/nomadic/
__________________________
ISO Decisions on Information Privacy
On January 28, 1997 the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) Technical Management Board (TMB) adopted a Resolution to establish
an ad hoc advisory group, reporting to the TMB, to study "the
desirability/practicality of ISO undertaking the development of
International Standards relevant to the protection of personal
information, and, if so, to recommend a future course of action." The
ad hoc advisory group is being convened by the Standards Council of
Canada (SCC), and up to 2 experts in the field may be nominated by each
of the 12 member countries of the TMB. The group is to make a
preliminary report to the TMB by September 1997 and a final report by
the first quarter of 1998.
According to a recent ISO announcement, "the issue of information
privacy was raised at ISO's General Assembly in September 1996 by
COPOLCO (Committee on consumer affairs). ISO's worldwide membership
endorsed the COPOLCO recommendation that TMB consider the development of
an International Standard on the protection of personal data and on
privacy."
In the United States, the ANSI International Advisory Committee (IAC)
has established an ad hoc activity to function like a Technical Advisory
Group (TAG) for the 2 U.S. experts to be nominated by ANSI to the TMB ad
hoc group. The first U.S. Privacy TAG meeting will be held after the
first meeting of the TMB ad hoc group which is scheduled for early May.
Mr. Dan Bart (TIA) has been appointed to chair the U.S. Privacy TAG.
The TAG process is open to all directly and materially interested
parties. If you are interested in participating on the TAG list as an
active participant (P), or as an observer (O), contact Dan Bart via
e-mail at [log in to unmask] and indicate your name, title, address,
phone, fax and e-mail address.
o ISO Decisions - http://www.iso.ch/presse/PRESSE11.html
RELATED LINKS
o ISO TMB (Member Countries and Terms of Reference) -
http://www.iso.ch/infoe/comm/TMB.html
o Privacy and the National Information Infrastructure: Principles for
Providing and Using Personal Information -
http://www.iitf.nist.gov/ipc/ipc/ipc-pubs/niiprivprin_final.html
o Privacy and the NII: Safeguarding Telecommunications-Related Personal
Information - http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/privwhitepaper.html
o Privacy and the Canadian Information Highway -
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/dec/wwwfetch?/sgml/ih01094e_pr702.sgml
http://www.privacy.org/pi/countries/canada/report.html
o EPIC Online Guide to Privacy Resources -
http://www.epic.org/privacy/privacy_resources_faq.html
_____________________________
FTC Public Workshop on Consumer Information Privacy
The FTC has determined to hold a second public workshop devoted to
consumer information privacy on June 10-13, 1997. The workshop will be
divided into three sections: Session 1 - Computerized Databases
Containing Sensitive Consumer Identifying Information; Session 2 -
Consumer Online Privacy; and Session 3 - Children's Online Privacy.
Those parties who wish to participate in the workshop must file written
comments to the Commission, on or before April 15, 1997.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection
held their first public workshop on Consumer Privacy on the Global
Information Infrastructure on June 4-5, 1996. In January 1997, the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Staff report which addresses
consumer privacy in the online marketplace. The Staff report is a
follow-up to the June 1996 public workshop.
o June 10-13, 1997 FTC Public Workshop on Consumer Information Privacy -
http://www.ftc.gov/os/9703/privacy.htm
RELATED LINKS
o FTC - http://www.ftc.gov/
o June 4-5, 1996 FTC Workshop on Consumer Privacy on the GII -
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/privacy/privacy.htm
o FTC Staff Report -
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/privacy/privacy1.htm
__________________________
President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP)
On July 15, 1996 President Clinton established the Commission on
Critical Infrastructure Protection by Executive Order 13010. The
President created the Commission to "bring together the combined forces
of government and industry to develop a strategy for protecting this
nation's critical infrastructures, and assuring their continued
operation."
The Commission has identified eight critical infrastructures,
"infrastructures deemed to be so vital that the incapacity or
destruction of key components would have a debilitating regional or
national impact." The critical infrastructures identified include:
telecommunications, transportation, electric power, oil and gas
(delivery and storage), banking and finance, water, emergency services,
and continuity of government services. The Commission will advise and
assist the President to identify and categorize threats (physical and
cyber), consider vulnerabilities, develop policy and legislative
options, and formulate an implementation plan.
The Commission is expected to release a Final Report by October 1997.
o PCCIP - http://www.pccip.gov/pccip/
o EXECUTIVE ORDER 13010 - http://www.pccip.gov/eo13010.html
RELATED LINKS
o Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Hosts PCCIP private
sector out-reach meeting - http://www.industry.net/c/orgunpro/tia/pccip
__________________________
Open Systems Standards Tracking Report - March 1997
The March 1997 issue of the Open Systems Standards Tracking Report
contains four (4) articles on various aspects of the information
infrastructure. The report is published monthly as a "Newsletter on
Information Technology and Telecommunications Standardization", and is
sponsored by Digital Equipment Corporation.
Articles in the March 1997 issue include:
- "Cross-Industry Working Team (XIWT)" - by Dr. Charles Brownstein
- "Proving Your Identity for Electronic Commerce" - by Donald Holden
- "NCITS: This Is Not Your Father's SDO!" - By Oliver R. Smoot
- "IEEE Computer Society Standards Activities Board Approves Computer
Based Learning Systems Projects" - by James Isaak
There is no cost to subscribe to the Open Systems Standards Tracking
Report. Those wishing to receive a complimentary hardcopy subscription
should provide full contact information to Bob Schauman, Publisher at
[log in to unmask]
o March 1997 Issue - Open Systems Standards Tracking Report -
http://www.digital.com/info/osstr/tr0397.htm
RELATED LINKS
- Open Systems Standards Tracking Report -
http://www.digital.com/info/osstr/osstrtop.htm
- Back Issues - http://www.digital.com/info/osstr/backissu.htm
__________________________
The Open Information Interchange Initiative (OII)
The Open Information Interchange Initiative is part of the European
Commission's INFO2000 program "for stimulating the development of
European multimedia content industry and encouraging the use of
multimedia content in the emerging information society". The objective
of OII, "is to provide all market actors -- including standards and
specifications developers, product and service providers, and end-users
of these products and services -- with an overview of existing and
emerging standards and industry specifications designed to facilitate
the exchange of information in electronic form".
The OII program is comprised of a number of components. The "OII
Standards and Specifications List is a comprehensive listing of formal
standards and publicly available specifications commonly used to
exchange information in electronic form." This list provides a source
of reference information for standards developers, product and service
providers, as well as for the end user of the products and services.
Another component of the OII program is the "OII Standards and
Specifications Fora List". To date there are 28 organizations who have
been identified as responsible for standards and specifications in the
OII domain. The OII also provides Workshop and Conference Reports based
on themes related to the OII program. Monthly Reports on
Multimedia/Hypermedia Standards Activity can also be found on the OII
web site.
o OII - http://www2.echo.lu/oii/en/oiistand.html
o OII Home Page (12 Languages) - http://www2.echo.lu/oii/
RELATED LINKS
o OII Overview - http://www2.echo.lu/oii/en/oii-info.html
o The OII Standards and Specifications Fora List -
http://www2.echo.lu/oii/en/fora.html
o The OII Standards and Specifications List -
http://www2.echo.lu/oii/en/oiistand.html#oiistand
o INFO 2000 - http://www2.echo.lu/info2000/infohome.html
__________________________
European High Level Strategy Group (HLSG) Launches Web Site
The HLSG for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in Europe
recently launched their web site. HLSG was formed in September 1995 by
the European Industry Associations, EUROBIT (The European Association of
Manufacturers of Business Machines and Information Technology), EACEM
(European Association of Consumer Electronics Manufacturers), ECTEL
(European Telecommunications and Professional Electronics Industry
Association) and ETNO (European Public Telecommunications Network
Operators' Association), "in order to identify the requirements for and
facilitate the provision of timely standardization and other actions in
Europe to ensure that the European industry plays a major leadership
role in the creation of new global ITC markets (EII/GII)." The HLSG is
a liaison participant of IISP.
In 1996 HLSG approved three reports related to the European Information
Society: "Barriers to Broadband Information Networking", "Barriers to
Electronic Commerce in support of SMEs", and "Home Information
Services". The full text of the three reports can be downloaded from
their web site.
o HLSG - http://www.hlsg.com/
RELATED LINKS
o "Barriers to Broadband Information Networking" -
http://www.hlsg.com/bb.htm
o "Barriers to Electronic Commerce in Support of SMEs" -
http://www.hlsg.com/ec.htm
o "Home Information Services" - http://www.hlsg.com/his.htm
o ICT Standards Board - http://www.ict.etsi.fr/
***********************************************************
The Information Infrastructure Report is compiled and edited by:
Peter B. Lefkin
Program Manager, Information Infrastructure Programs
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
11 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036, USA
+1.212.642.4979 - (fax) +1.212.398.0023
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
IISP URL: http://www.ansi.org/iisp/
(c) Copyright 1996 - 1997 Information Infrastructure Standards Panel
(IISP).
Permission is granted to distribute The Information Infrastructure
Report, in whole or part, provided the copyright notice and this
paragraph is preserved on all copies. The Information Infrastructure
Standards Panel (IISP) is sponsored by the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI). The IISP's focus is on identifying standards needed
to implement the Global Information Infrastructure (GII), and
facilitating their development. Additional information on the activities
of IISP can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ansi.org/iisp/
To SUBSCRIBE to The Information Infrastructure Report, send an e-mail to
[log in to unmask], without subject and with message: subscribe
iisp-iireport.
To UNSUBSCRIBE, send an e-mail to [log in to unmask], without
subject and with message: unsubscribe iisp-iireport.
The Information Information Infrastructure Report (Current Issue,
Archives, and Subscription Information) can also be found on the web at,
http://www.ansi.org/iisp/iireport.html.
Please send comments and contributions to Peter B. Lefkin at,
[log in to unmask] While comments and contributions are most appreciated
and welcomed, they do not guarantee inclusion in The Information
Infrastructure Report. The Editor reserves the right to select and edit
materials that are most relevant to the activities of IISP.
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