TIA and UL Announce Collaboration to Advance the Smart Buildings Marketplace

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, together with UL, a leading global safety science organization, announced a new agreement to work together, through TIA's Smart Buildings Program, to accelerate the development of common framework for smart buildings.

TIA and UL are collaborating on an online aggregation portal designed to educate and inform stakeholders on the multiple aspects and solutions available for the smart buildings market. The two organizations signed an agreement to share commercial, technical, and standardization insights to further their work in the smart buildings ecosystem. TIA and UL will additionally focus on benchmarking, measurements, assessments, certification, and registration in the areas of connectivity, interoperability, safety, security ? both cyber and physical, resiliency and sustainability for buildings.

"There are more than one thousand Smart City initiatives taking place around the world," said TIA CEO Wes Johnston. "Together, TIA and UL are laying the groundwork for industry-wide standards that will foster common frameworks that will enable better connectivity, safety and reliability across Smart Buildings projects. Together we can go deeper, wider, faster, and more comprehensively."

"Smart buildings have the potential to improve efficiencies and safety, reduce costs, and dramatically improve the Quality of Experience for tenants, visitors, employees, and others within buildings," said Harry Smeenk, TIA's Senior Vice President of Technology Programs. "Working with UL ? a trusted name in research, standards development and certification ? we aim to standardize certification scheme requirements to accelerate technology and building development across the globe."

"Around the world, we are seeing more cities commit to developing smarter infrastructure and smart buildings are a key component of their respective visions," said Weifang Zhou, president of UL's Connected Technologies business unit. "This collaboration with TIA presents an opportunity to help advance societal well-being by helping to bring visibility to the value inherent in smart buildings and, ultimately, smart cities."

The two organizations will also work to create a list of relevant standards for smart buildings, develop training content for smart buildings characteristics and criteria, and provide information on the value proposition of smart buildings.

TIA's Smart Buildings Program is committed to helping develop a smart buildings ecosystem that unites connectivity, interoperability, communications, and capacity to create a scalable foundation for creating the smart city. The program creates a framework of best practices that combines functional and performance requirements with adequate security, reliability, and availability to provide a safe and connected environment.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents more than 400 global companies that enable high-speed communications networks and accelerate next-generation ICT innovation. Through leadership in U.S. and international advocacy, technology programs and standards development, and business performance solutions, TIA and its members are accelerating global connectivity across every industry and market. TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). TIA produces Network of the Future, an annual interactive experience with in-depth discussions that bring together the innovators and thought leaders shaping tomorrow's connectivity landscape. For more information, visit TIAonline.org.

About UL
UL fosters safe living and working conditions for people everywhere through the application of science to solve safety, security and sustainability challenges. The UL Mark engenders trust enabling the safe adoption of innovative new products and technologies. Everyone at UL shares a passion to make the world a safer place. We test, inspect, audit, certify, validate, verify, advise and train and we support these efforts with software solutions for safety and sustainability. To learn more about us, visit UL.com.

TIA Contact: Ashley Simmons (202) 341-9508
UL Contact: Johnathon Briggs (847) 226-8325

SOURCE Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)