ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 Telecommunications and information exchange between systems is a standardization subcommittee of the Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1. It is part of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which develops and facilitates standards within the field of telecommunications and information exchange between systems.

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 was established in 1964, following the creation of a Special Working Group under ISO/TC 97 on Data Link Control Procedures and Modem Interfaces. The international secretariat of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 is the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), located in South Korea.

The scope of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 is “Standardization in the field of telecommunications dealing with the exchange of information between open systems including system functions, procedures, parameters as well as the conditions for their use. The standardization encompasses protocols and services of lower layers, including physical, data link, network, and transport as well as those of upper layers including but not limited to Directory and ASN.1.”

Future Network has recently been added as an important work scope. A considerable part of the work is done in effective cooperation with ITU-T and other standardization bodies including IEEE 802 and Ecma International.

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 has three active working groups (WGs), each of which carries out specific tasks in standards development within the field of telecommunications and information exchange between systems. The focus of each working group is described in the group’s terms of reference. Working groups can be established if new working areas arise, or disbanded if the group’s working area is no longer relevant to standardization needs. Active working groups of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 are:

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 works in close collaboration with a number of other organizations or subcommittees, both internal and external to ISO or IEC. Organizations internal to ISO or IEC that collaborate with or are in liaison with ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 include:

• ISO/IEC JTC 1/WG 7, Sensor networks
• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17, Cards and personal identification
• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25, Interconnection of information technology equipment
• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27, IT security techniques
• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29, Coding of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information
• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31, Automatic identification and data capture techniques
• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38, Distributed application platforms & services (DAPS)
• ISO/TC 68, Financial services
• ISO/TC 122, Packaging
• ISO/TC 184/SC 5, Interoperability, integration, and architectures for enterprise systems and automation applications
• ISO/TC 215, Health Informatics
• IEC/SC 46A, Coaxial cables
• IEC/SC 46C, Wires and symmetric cables
• IEC/TC 48, Electrical connectors and mechanical structures for electrical and electronic equipment
• IEC/SC 48B, Electrical connectors
• IEC/TC 65, Industrial-process measurement, control and automation
• IEC/SC 65C, Industrial networks
• IEC/TC 86, Fibre optics
• IEC/SC 86C, Fibre optic systems and active devices
• IEC/TC 93, Design automation

Some organizations external to ISO or IEC that collaborate with or are in liaison to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 include:

• European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
• European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
• European Commission (EC)
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
• Ecma International
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• IEEE 802 LMSC (LAN/MAN Standards Committee)
• Internet Society (ISOC)
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)
• ITU-T
• Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS)
• NFC Forum
• MFA Forum
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• Universal Postal Union (UPU)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• CEN/TC 247/WG 4

Countries pay a fee to ISO to be members of subcommittees.

The 19 "P" (participating) members of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 are: Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Kingdom, and United States.

The 31 "O" (observing) members of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 are: Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, France, Ghana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, and Ukraine.

There are 365 published standards under the direct responsibility of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6. Published standards by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 include:

• ISO/IEC JTC 1
• List of ISO standards
• Korean Agency for Technology and Standards
• International Organization for Standardization
• International Electrotechnical Commission

• ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 page at ISO