ETSI forms new committee to advance data-driven standards

ETSI has announced the establishment of a new Technical Committee on Data Solutions, aiming to advance data-driven technologies and support the development of industry standards.

The Technical Committee on Data Solutions (TC DATA) will focus on creating a centre of expertise in data infrastructures, services, and applications. This initiative seeks to develop data solutions tailored to support services across different sectors including Internet of Things (IoT), telecommunications systems, networks, and human services.

One of the primary goals of TC DATA is to promote responsible data sharing, enhance privacy and security, and stimulate innovation in advanced data-intensive technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The increasing integration of AI demands comprehensive frameworks to manage data sharing and accommodate new interoperability requirements. These cover data representation and availability, access control, consistency, and privacy preservation.

David Boswarthick, Director of Strategy and Innovation at ETSI, underscored the importance of access to data through open and transparent frameworks. "The widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning means we have reached a tipping point where data access through open and transparent frameworks is now more important than ever before. The TC DATA is an important initiative designed to balance the technical needs of data interactions in a way that is also respectful of legal, ethical, and individual rights. Global collaboration is critical to develop standards that will enable data sharing that has reliability, privacy and security at its core," he explained.

The committee is also tasked with creating technical standards to improve data interoperability and semantic interoperability. These standards are intended to bolster infrastructure and operations for data collection, sharing, and management across numerous sectors.

Diego López, convenor of the ETSI group, highlighted the collaboration with the European Commission to develop standards supporting the EU Data Governance Act. "TC DATA intends to collaborate closely with the European Commission to develop standards in support of the EU Data Governance Act. The adoption of data access frameworks by the telecommunications industry is a step forward in enabling the next generation of automation-driven information exchanges. The variety of use cases and the field of application of such work is extensive, so we are thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to its success in ETSI," López stated.

Initially, TC DATA will focus on applying open data solutions to telecommunication networks and services. In subsequent stages, the principles and specifications will extend to other environments, creating an open ecosystem for industrial solutions across various sectors including maritime transport, eHealth, agriculture, and network management.