Twenty organizations that influence cable plant implementation are: 1) American National Standards Institute (ANSI) a) ANSI does not develop the American National Standards (ANS) documents, but it facilitates their development by establishing a consensus between the members interested in developing a particular standard. b) ANSI standards include, SCSI interface specifications, programming language specifications, and specifications for character sets. c) ANSI helped to coordinate the efforts of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) to develop ANSI/TIA/EIA-568, the cabling specification in the United States. 2) Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) d) The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) was originally known as the Radio Manufacturers Association. Since then, the EIA has evolved into an organization that represents a wide variety of electronics manufacturers. e) The EIA is organized along specific product and market lines that allow each EIA sector to be responsive to its specific needs. These sectors include components, consumer electronics, electronic information, industrial electronics, government, and telecommunications. f) The EIA (along with the TIA) was the driving force behind the original ANSI/TIA/EIA-568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard. 3) Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) g) The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is a trade organization that consists of a membership of over 1,100 telecommunications and electronics companies. The TIA membership manufactures and distributes virtually all the telecommunication products used in the world today. h) TIA’s mission is to represent its membership on issues relating to standards, public policy, and market development. The 1988 merger of the United States Telecommunications Suppliers Association (USTSA) and the EIA’s Information and Telecommunications Technologies Group formed the TIA. i) The TIA (along with the EIA) was instrumental in the development of the ANSI/TIA/EIA-568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard. 4) Insulated Cable Engineers Association (ICEA) j) The ICEA is a nonprofit professional organization sponsored by leading cable manufacturers in the United States. It was established in 1925 with the goal of producing cable specifications for telecommunication, electrical power, and control cables. The organization draws from the technical expertise of the representative engineer members to create documents that reflect the most current cable-design, material-content, and performance criteria. The group is organized in four sections: Power Cable, Control & Instrumentation Cable, Portable Cable, and Communications Cable. k) The ICEA has an important role in relation to the ANSI/TIA/EIA standards for network cabling infrastructure. ICEA cable specifications for both indoor and outdoor cables, copper and fiber optic, are referenced by the TIA documents to specify the design, construction, and physical performance requirements for cables. l) ICEA specifications are issued as national standards. In the Communications section, ANSI requirements for participation by an appropriate cross section of industry representatives in a document’s development is accomplished through TWCSTAC 5) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) m) The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)is a nonprofit organization to help protect people, property, and the environment from fire damage. n) NFPA is now an international organization with more than 65,000 members representing over 100 countries. The organization is a world leader on fire prevention and safety. The NFPA’s mission is to help reduce the risk of fire through codes, safety requirements, research, and fire-related education. 6) National Electrical Code (NEC). o) The NEC is published every three years and covers issues related to electrical safety requirements; it is not used as a design specification or an instruction manual. p) Two sections of the NEC are relevant to data cabling, Articles 725 and 800. Many municipalities have adopted the NEC as part of their building codes, and consequently, electrical construction and wiring must meet the specifications in the NEC. q) The NEC is not a legal document, portions of the NEC become laws if municipalities adopt them as part of their local building codes. 7) National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) r) The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is a U.S.-based industry association that helps promote standardization of electrical components, power wires, and cables. The specifications put out by NEMA help to encourage interoperability between products built by different manufacturers. The specifications often form the basis for ANSI standards. 8) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) s) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was founded in 1934 as part of the U.S. government. The FCC consists of a board of seven commissioners appointed by the President; this board has the power to regulate electrical-communications systems originating in the United States. These communications systems include television, radio, telegraph, telephone, and cable TV systems. Regulations relating to premises cabling and equipment are covered in FCC Part 68 rules. 9) Underwriters Laboratories (UL) t) Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to product safety testing and certification. Although not involved directly with cabling specifications, UL works with cabling and other manufacturers to ensure that electrical devices are safe. u) UL tests products for paying customers; if the product passes the specification for which the product is submitted, the UL listing or verification is granted. The UL mark of approval is applied to cabling and electrical devices worldwide. UL can be found on the Web at www.ul.com. 10) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) v) The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international organization of national specifications bodies and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The specifications bodies that are members of the ISO represent over 130 countries from around the world; the U.S. representative to the ISO is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). w) ISO standards include specifications for film-speed codes, telephone and banking-card formats, standardized freight containers, the universal system of measurements known as SI, paper sizes, and metric screw threads, just to name a few. x) ISO frequently collaborates with the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and the ITU (International Telecommunications Union). 11) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) y) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is an international specifications and conformity-assessment body founded to publish international specifications relating to electrical, electronic, and related technologies. z) A full member has voting rights in the international standards process. The second type of member, an associate member, has observer status and can attend all IEC meetings. {) The mission of the IEC is to promote international standards and cooperation on all matters relating to electricity, electronics, and related technologies. 12) Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) |) The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, pronounced I triple-E) is an international, nonprofit association consisting of more than 330,000 members in 150 countries. The IEEE was formed in 1963 when the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE, founded in 1884) merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE, founded in 1912). The IEEE is responsible for 30 percent of the electrical-engineering, computer, and control-technology literature published in the world today. They are also responsible for the development of over 800 active specifications and have many more under development. 13) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) }) The U.S. Congress established the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with several major goals in mind, including assisting in the improvement and development of manufacturing technology, improving product quality and reliability, and encouraging scientific discovery. ~) NIST has four major programs through which it carries out its mission: i) Measurement and Standards Laboratories ii) Advanced Technology Program iii) Manufacturing Extension Partnership iv) A quality outreach program associated with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award called the Baldrige National Quality Program 14) International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ) The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is the specifications organization formerly known as the International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative Committee (CCITT). ) The ITU does not publish specifications per se, but it does publish recommendations. These recommendations are nonbinding specifications agreed to by consensus by one of the 14 technical study groups. The mission of the ITU is to study the technical and operations issues relating to telecommunications and to make recommendations on implementing standardized approaches to telecommunications. ) The ITU currently publishes more than 2,500 recommendations, including specifications relating to telecommunications, electronic messaging, television transmission, and data communications. 15) CSA International (CSA) ) CSA International originated as the Canadian Standards Association but changed its name to reflect its growing work and influence on international standards. CSA International is a nonprofit, independent organization with more than 8,000 members worldwide; it is the functional equivalent of the UL. ) CSA International’s mission is to develop standards, represent Canada on various ISO committees, and work with the IEC when developing the standards. Some of the common standards published by CSA International include: i) CAN/CSA-T524 Residential Wiring ii) CAN/CSA-T527 Bonding and Grounding for Telecommunications iii) CAN/CSA-T528 Telecommunications Administration Standard for Commercial Buildings 16) IP/MPLS Forum (ATM Forum) ) Started in 1991, the ATM Forum is an international, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the use of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) products and services. In 2004 it merged with the IP/MPLS forum. ) Specifications developed and published by the ATM Forum include LAN Emulation (LANE) over ATM (af-lane-0021.000) and ATM Physical Medium Dependent Interface Specification for 155Mbps over Twisted-Pair Cable (af-phy-0015.000). 17) European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) ) The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a nonprofit organization based in Sophia Antipolis, France. The ETSI′s mission is to determine and produce telecommunications specifications and to encourage worldwide standardization. The ETSI coordinates its activities with international standards bodies such as the ITU. 18) Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI) ) BICSI is a nonprofit, professional organization founded in 1974 to support telephone company building-industry consultants (BICs) who are responsible for design and implementation of communications distribution systems in commercial and multifamily buildings. Currently, the BICSI serves over 25,000 members. ) BICSI supports a professional certification program called the RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer). 19) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ) A division of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was formed in 1970 with the goal of making workplaces in the United States the safest in the world. To this end, it passes laws designed to protect employees from many types of job hazards. OSHA adopted many parts of the National Electrical Code (NEC), which was not a law unto itself, giving those adopted portions of the NEC legal status. 20) ANSI/TIA-568-C Cabling Standard ) In the mid-1980s, consumers, contractors, vendors, and manufacturers became concerned about the lack of specifications relating to telecommunications cabling. Before then, all communications cabling was proprietary and often suited only to a single-purpose use. The Computer Communications Industry Association (CCIA) asked the EIA to develop a specification that would encourage structured, standardized cabling. ) Under the guidance of the TIA TR-41 committee and associated subcommittees, the TIA and EIA in 1991 published the first version of the Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard, better known as ANSI/TIA/EIA-568 or sometimes simply as TIA/EIA-568.

References https://itt-tech.vitalsource.com http://ulstandards.ul.com http://www.icea.net http://www.nfpa.org
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