Service Availability™ Forum
The Service Availability™ Forum is a coalition of the world's premier communications and computing companies working together to create and promote open, standard interface specifications. The transition to packet-based, converged, multi-service networks requires a carrier-grade infrastrucure based on interoperable hardware and software building blocks, management middleware and applications, implemented with standard interfaces.
The communications industry recognizes that an effective solution requires the broad adoption of open standards. Implementation of Service Availability™ Forum specifications is crucial because it enables the industry to build an interoperable, multi-service network capable of ensuring continuous delivery of voice, data and multimedia services to carriers and their end-user customers.
DSL Forum
DSL Forum is a consortium of approximately 200 leading industry players covering telecommunications, equipment, computing, networking and service provider companies.
Our work ensures that service providers are able to rollout, as well as introduce new services quickly and effectively, using common platforms and practices that makes all they do easily scalable, and economical.
Established in 1994, the Forum continues its drive to develop the full potential of DSL to meet the broadband needs of the mass market. In eleven years, the DSL Forum has moved through defining the core Digital Subscriber Line technology to establishing advanced architecture standards, and maximizing effectiveness in deployment, reach and application support.
International Organization for Standardizaton
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries, on the basis of one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organization: its members are not, as is the case in the United Nations system, delegations of national governments. Nevertheless, ISO occupies a special position between the public and private sectors. This is because, on the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.
Therefore, ISO is able to act as a bridging organization in which a consensus can be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society, such as the needs of stakeholder groups like consumers and users.