| A variety of standards bodies govern the exchange of information over networks. Some are established by government agencies, such as the Department of Defense and the National Bureau of Standards, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Other standards organizations have more of an international scope, such as the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Each organization has had its input into establishing a standard for network communications. Perhaps one of the most interesting of these organizations is the International Organization for Standardization. It has been in existence since 1947 and is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to promoting standards. Its mission is to develop an international set of standards to facilitate the trade of goods and services. You have to love this organizationit is always thinking. You may notice that we refer to this organization as ISO, and not IOS. The group realized that the acronym IOS wouldn't translate well. After all, the translation for standardization into Italian or German may not start with an S, and who's to say that the ordering of the words would even be the same. Instead, it chose ISO from the Greek isos, meaning equal. Through standardization, we establish equality. All vendors are free to compete in an open, nonproprietary market. ISO is a standards organization that began by standardizing its name . ISO is well known for standards in a variety of industries. ISO standards include film speed code; telephone and banking cards; standardized freight containers; safety wire ropes ; international codes for country names , currencies, and languages; and paper sizes. ISO has even established a standard for the size of screw threads. In some industries, they are best known for the ISO 9000, a standard methodology for quality management and quality assurance. ISO is a member of the International Telecommunications Union, which was established in 1865 and later became an agency of the United Nations. This organization's scope is a bit narrower than that of ISO. The ITU's focus is on international treaties , regulations, and standards for telecommunications. Prior to 1992, standardization was managed by a subgroup known as the Consultative Committee for International Telegraphy and Telephony (CCITT). As of 1992, however, CCITT ceased to exist as a separate subgroup . Organizations such as ISO and ITU are critical to the future of the Internet. The Internet is a communications medium that spans the globe. The charter of the ITU is to establish international cooperation and develop technical facilities so that all nations can benefit from improved communications. ITU is also tasked with providing technical assistance to developing nations. We need to stop and consider the benefits of such a mission. We discussed how the Internet benefits the individual organization or company trying to compete in a global economy. The same holds true for entire countries . In fact, the benefits are multiplied. As developing nations come online, they have greater access to markets where they can sell their goods and services. They also have greater access to information, providing them with the technical knowledge to improve the processes used to manufacture and deliver. Ultimately, this benefits everyone. Industrialized nations benefit as well. They gain new trading partners . As they gain new sources of goods and services, they develop markets within those emerging nationsentire new populations ready for our goods and services. The final organization we will discuss is the IEEE. Back in my undergraduate days, when I had a lot less experience and a lot more hair, IEEE was the first professional organization of which I became a member. The organization is a leader in such areas as telecommunications, aerospace, computer engineering, and biomedical technology. It is composed of 36 societies , or subgroups, and four technical councils. In addition to technical publishing and conferences, the organization is also responsible for creating a number of consensus-based standards. The remainder of this chapter examines the standards that were developed by each of these organizations. We will discuss the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model developed by ISO. We will compare the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to this model. We will then use the model to examine the technology used to build the Internet. | 
