The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) seeks comments on proposals from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for a new joint technical committee (JTC) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on quantum technologies.
According to the BSI proposals to ISO and to the IEC, quantum technology promises revolutionary advances for some sectors of industry and society, with rapid financial growth. The proposals assert that while standards for some aspects of quantum technologies are already under development, there is a pressing need to begin standardization at the global level.
The broad and all-encompassing scope of the proposals, if approved, may have implications and impact on existing work related to quantum technologies in other ISO and IEC committees. For this reason, the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB) and the IEC Standardization Management Board (SMB) are drawing special attention to this issue. ISO and IEC voting members are specifically asked to express their position with rationale on whether standardization efforts in this field should be approached holistically within a single JTC or with a limited scope for the new JTC maintaining current related activities in already existing technical bodies. The ISO/TMB and the IEC/SMB will jointly decide on the scope of the new JTC, if approved, and the allocation of work after considering the comments of ISO and IEC members presented in the voting results and input from impacted committees.
AIC and USNC members are invited to provide their comments on the BSI proposals to Steven Cornish ([email protected]) by close of business on Friday, August 18, 2023. Commenters are also asked to note if they are conducting existing work related to quantum technologies.
Following the close of commenting on August 18, a final ANSI/USNC position with comments will be drafted and presented to the ANSI ISO Council and the USNC for consideration for submittal to ISO and IEC.
Please note the following information:
· The IEC/SMB has a Standardization Evaluation Group (SEG 14) which has been exploring the subject of quantum technologies and which has recommended the establishment of this new JTC. SEG14 is currently completing a standards roadmap document in this field which is expected to be delivered in October 2023.
· The ISO/TMB and IEC/SMB have established a Joint Task Force which is currently developing proposals for more effective processes for establishing new JTCs and for their oversight and management. This JTF is also expected to provide its recommendations to the ISO/TMB and IEC/SMB in October 2023.
· The ISO/TMB and IEC/SMB will hold a joint meeting in November 2023 to take their decisions on whether to establish this new JTC and its scope based on review of the ISO and IEC member voting and comments, the SEG14 roadmap and the recommendations of the JTF.
Access the ISO and IEC proposal forms and submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy and strategy, at [email protected] by August 18.