August 2013 Editor's Letter

By: Tim Young

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

International travel can bring about countless joys, from the beauty of new sights to the taste of new foods. It’s a thrill to stand on foreign soil and take in the sounds and scents of a place so far from home—to simply soak up the differentness that a new country offers.

But being in a place so different from your own can also be a drag: Your money doesn’t always work. You can’t plug in your hair dryer. You may not be able to use your mobile phone. No one can understand a word you’re saying when you try to find the beach and you can only identify two, maybe three, items on a menu. Sure, that’s no sweat for a few days or weeks, but over time it can be a real problem. Let’s just hope you’re on vacation when these problems arise, because your productivity can be severely limited—traveling may broaden your mind and help you grow as an individual, but you’re still subject to temporary discomfort.

Trust me, this isn’t a knock on international travel, of which I am quite fond. It’s just an illustration of the frustrations that can come from entering an environment in which you’re operating with a different set of standards than everyone else. From electrical connections and cellular technology to currency and language, society depends on a modicum of standardization; it saves time and maximizes output, which explains why it’s been a major priority for governments and other ruling entities for millennia.

Standards are also essential for communication, and this issue of Pipeline is dedicated to discussing interoperability and standards within the context of communications and entertainment technology (COMET). This month we look at five standards that could change the future, examine how new standards are impacting the cars we drive and the machines we interact with on a daily basis, and explore how standards are created in general. We also hear from the Broadband Forum on standards development and the role it plays along with other industry consortia, and we bring you word from Ericsson on how standards are affecting the future of LTE Broadcast. And, as always, we bring you the latest in news and opinion from the communications IT sector.

Thanks for making the trip to Pipeline. We hope you’ll stay a while.

Best,

Tim Young
Editor-in-Chief