PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, and SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, FRANCE, 19 November 2012

Agreement fosters continued collaboration and increases global visibility and coordination of standards.

The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) today announced they have renewed their memorandum of understanding (MOU). This agreement continues the long-standing cooperation between IEEE-SA and ETSI, fosters collaboration between the two organizations, and further promotes mutual interests through global standards coordination.

To formally acknowledge the alliance, Luis Jorge Romero, director-general of ETSI, and Konstantinos Karachalios, managing director for IEEE-SA, gathered with members of the Institute for a signing ceremony during the 60th ETSI General Assembly in Mandelieu, France on 13 November 2012. During the ceremony, the two organizations acknowledged the need for IEEE-SA and ETSI to work closely together on coordinated standards to avoid duplicated work and align under a mutually beneficial framework.

"ETSI is the ideal partner for IEEE-SA's continued progress on expanding cooperation between technical committees with a global reach," said Karachalios. "Sharing information is the key factor here. Collaboration between governing bodies is top of mind. It's all part of our vision for widespread adoption of globally relevant standards and our commitment to work cohesively with standards organizations around the world."

"The framework for coordination between technical groups will greatly benefit industry as it increasingly relies on standards for interoperability," said Romero. "This agreement will allow ETSI representatives to become more knowledgeable about IEEE activities and vice versa, of course."

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About ETSI
ETSI produces globally applicable standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including fixed, mobile, radio, converged, aeronautical, broadcast and Internet technologies and is officially recognized by the European Union as a European Standards Organization. ETSI is an independent, not-for-profit association whose more than 750 member companies and organizations, drawn from 62 countries across 5 continents worldwide, determine its work program and participate directly in its work. For more information visit http://www.etsi.org.

About the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body within IEEE, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together a broad stakeholder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. For more information visit http://standards.ieee.org/.

About IEEE
IEEE, a large, global technical professional organization, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.