International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

Study Groups

In the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Study Groups are the primary working units where ITU member states and other stakeholders come together to develop international standards known as ITU-T Recommendations.

Each of the ITU's three sectors - Radiocommunication (ITU-R), Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T), and Telecommunication Development (ITU-D) - have their own Study Groups. Each Study Group is focused on a specific set of topics or technologies.

ITU-T Study Groups, for instance, are divided into different Working Parties, and these Working Parties are further subdivided into Questions. Let's look at this structure in some detail:

1. Study Groups (SGs): These focus on specific areas of telecommunication technology. For example, SG 13 focuses on Future Networks, with focus on IMT-2020, cloud computing and trusted network infrastructures.

2. Working Parties (WPs): Each Study Group is divided into several WPs. WPs are subgroups of an SG, focusing on a subset of the SG's area. For example, under SG 13, there are three Working Parties: WP1/13, WP2/13, and WP3/13.

3. Questions: Each WP is further divided into Questions. Each Question focuses on a very specific aspect of the wider topic. For example, Question 5/13 under WP 1/13 looks specifically at "Cloud computing functional requirements and architecture".

This hierarchical structure allows ITU to organize its work effectively and focus on the topics that matter most to its member states and stakeholders. The outputs and agreements produced by the study groups in the form of ITU Recommendations have a profound effect on the development of telecommunications worldwide.