Drawing on 30 years of experience we have evolved a well proven standards-making process which ensures our standards are of high quality and produced efficiently.
All our standards conform to our highly respected Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy, which balances the needs of standardization for public use with the rights of the owners of IPRs.
Consensus & transparency
ETSI’s standards-making process is based on consensus – agreement between our members – and on openness. Our members decide:
- what to standardize
- the timing and resourcing of the task
- the approval of the final drafts
So, the standards we produce truly respond to the needs of the ICT industry, as represented by our members.
Creating a standard
A proposal to start an item of work, such as to create a new standard or to update an existing one, must be supported by at least four members of ETSI and be agreed by the relevant standards group.
Who writes the standards?
- Technical committees or other types of working groups, made up of representatives of our members and led by a ‘Rapporteur’, draft most of our standards. Our members may participate in any group and work activity (other than certain security-related work where participation is controlled by the ETSI Board).
- Specialist Task Forces (STFs) set up to accelerate the work where there is an urgent need. STFs are groups of technical experts who come together for a defined period to work intensively on specific items.
- Industry Specification Groups offering an effective alternative to industry fora. They can be set up quickly to address specific technology areas.
Who approves the standards?
Depending on the document type, it will be approved by either:
- the participants in the relevant committee or
- the entire ETSI membership or
- the National Standardisation Bodies
In the case of elaborated European Standards on proposal from at least four (4) Full and/or Associate members, ETSI's National Standards Bodies give the final approval.
In the case of elaborated European Standards or European standardisation deliverables in response to Standardisation Requests, ETSI's National Standardisation Bodies give the final approval.
We provide a range of web-based approval mechanisms, to make this a highly pragmatic and visible process.
How are standards approved?
Different approval procedures are used depending upon the type of standard being created.
Technical Specifications (TS), Technical Reports (TR), Group Specifications (GS), Group Reports (GR) and Special Reports (SR)
After the Technical Committee or the Industry Specification Group has approved the draft, it submits it to the ETSI Secretariat which publishes the standard.
ETSI Guides (EG) and ETSI Standards (ES)
These documents are approved by the full ETSI membership, using the 'Membership Approval Procedure':
- After the Technical Committee has approved the draft, the ETSI Secretariat makes the document available to the Members.
- Each ETSI full and associate member may vote as to whether the standard should be adopted.
- If the vote is successful the ETSI Secretariat publishes the standard; if not, it is referred to the committee.
European Standards (EN)
EN Approval Procedure – It comprises a Public Enquiry and a weighted national Vote performed in a single process:
- After the Technical Committee has approved the draft, the ETSI Secretariat makes the document available to the National Standards Organizations (NSOs).
- The NSOs carry out the Public Enquiry. This involves consultation and submission of the national position (the weighted national ‘vote’) on the standard.
- If this vote is successful, and if no substantial comments are received as a result of this consultation, the ETSI Secretariat finalizes the draft and publishes the standard.
- Any technical comments received during Public Enquiry are considered by the Technical Committee, which may revise the draft and resubmit it to the Secretariat.
- If the changes are significant, the Secretariat may initiate another Public Enquiry; otherwise the draft will be presented directly to a second vote.
- After a successful vote, the Secretariat publishes the standard.
Voting
Votes are successful if at least 71% of the weighted votes cast are in favour of the draft. This applies to all types of documents, except for some Group Specifications. For European Standards the vote of each nation is weighted as agreed by the ETSI General Assembly. For other types of document, the vote of each ETSI member is weighted as agreed between the members.
European Standards (EN) and European standardisation deliverables
ETSI may elaborate European Standards and European standardisation deliverables in response to Standardisation Requests to support the European legislation or policies, in accordance with the amended Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012.
The above deliverables shall be adopted by the eligible members of the NSBG throughout the ETSI Standardisation Request deliverables Approval Process (SRdAP) and in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of the Rules of Procedure, and those of Clause 2.2.2 of the Technical Working Procedures.
Where linked to legislation, the European Standards that have been elaborated, adopted and published by ETSI in response to SReqs shall be qualified as Harmonised Standards (hEN) when cited by the EC in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
Standardisation Request deliverables Approval Process (SRdAP) – ENs and European standardisation deliverables follow this procedure which comprises a Standardisation Request acceptance, a WISR adoption and, a Public Enquiry and a weighted national Vote performed in a single process:
- Upon receipt of the official SReq, each NSBG member should be able to express the national position to accept or reject the SReq through a twenty-five (25) calendar days Weighted National Voting procedure organized by the Director-General. This voting procedure shall be ruled by the principles described in Article 21.5 of the Rules of Procedure.
- Upon receipt of the Work Item(s) identified in the Standardisation Request (WISR) and created by the responsible Technical Group, each member of the NSBG should be able to express the national position to adopt or reject the proposed WISR through a consultation organized by the Director-General, as specified in the Technical Working Procedures.
- After the Technical Committee has endorsed the draft, the ETSI Secretariat makes the document available to the National Standardisation Bodies (NSBs).
- The NSBs carry out the Public Enquiry. This involves consultation and submission of the national position (the weighted national ‘vote’) on the standard.
- If this vote is successful, and if no substantial comments are received as a result of this consultation, the ETSI Secretariat finalizes the draft and publishes the standard.
- Any technical comments received during Public Enquiry are considered by the Technical Committee, which may revise the draft and resubmit it to the Secretariat.
- If the changes are significant, the Secretariat may initiate another Public Enquiry; otherwise the draft will be presented directly to a second vote.
- After a successful vote, the Secretariat publishes the standard.
Publication
The approved standard is published by the ETSI Secretariat, our permanent staff based at our headquarters. The Secretariat works closely with those drafting the document and is responsible for ensuring that the relevant procedures have been followed. This helps to guarantee the high quality of the final document.
Maintenance
Maintenance is an important part of the standardization process. It is how ETSI adapts its standards to evolving technology and the developing needs of the market place.
Our standards are updated as required to take account of the latest developments and revised versions are published.
Full details of the approvals process are outlined in the ETSI Directives on the ETSI Member Portal, in particular the Technical Working Procedures.
Standardization principles
ETSI standards and technical specifications are developed through processes which fulfil the following criteria
OPENNESS
ETSI standards and technical specifications are developed on the basis of open decision-making accessible to all interested parties in the market or markets affected by those ETSI standards and technical specifications
CONSENSUS
The decision-making process is collaborative and consensus based and does not favour any particular stakeholder
TRANSPARENCY
- All information concerning technical discussions and decision making is archived and identified
- Information on new standardization activities is publicly and widely announced through suitable and accessible means
- Participation of all relevant categories of interested parties is sought with a view to achieving balance
- Consideration and response are given to comments by interested parties
ETSI standards and technical specifications meet the following requirements
MAINTENANCE
Ongoing support and maintenance of published ETSI standards and technical specifications are guaranteed over a long period
AVAILABILITY
ETSI standards and technical specifications are publicly available for implementation and use on reasonable terms (including for a reasonable fee or free of charge)
POLICY
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) technically essential to the implementation of the ETSI standards and technical specifications have to be declared in a timely manner and are licensed on (fair) reasonable and non-discriminatory terms ((F)RAND) which can be without monetary compensation
RELEVANCE
ETSI standards and technical specifications are effective and relevant
ETSI standards and technical specifications respond to market needs and/or regulatory requirements
NEUTRALITY and STABILITY
ETSI standards and technical specifications do not significantly limit the possibilities for implementers to develop competition and innovation based upon them
ETSI standards and technical specifications are based on advanced scientific and technological developments and demonstrate improvements
QUALITY
The quality and level of detail are sufficient to permit the development of a variety of competing implementations of interoperable products and services
Standardized interfaces are not hidden or controlled by anyone other than the organizations that adopted the ETSI standards and technical specifications