GSMA’s ISAG Group adds iconectiv’s CTO to help oversee global telecom industry

Telecommunications services like phone calls and text messaging are fundamental to everyday existence, and service providers are heavily dependent on the availability of affordable and interoperable technologies to meet customer expectation for reliability and keep them safe.

To help these technologies work better together while maintaining security, the Global System Mobile Association (GSMA) provides global industry specifications—guided by industry leaders—to help the ecosystem navigate these challenges.

Last November, the GSMA launched its new process for the governance and approval of Industry Specifications. This included the creation of the Industry Specifications Approving Group (ISAG) as the oversight and approval body for all Industry Specification work.

Chief Technology Officer for iconectiv, Chris Drake, has been appointed as one of a limited number of non-service provider members of the group. “It’s an honor to be nominated by my peers and appointed to ISAG,” Drake said.

“The growing complexity of the ecosystem and increasing threat of fraud—through spam, scams and spoofs—make it even more important that industry specifications exist to help service providers interoperate worldwide while keeping their customers safe and maintaining the integrity of trusted communications platforms.”

“As advanced telecommunications services like 5G roaming, Internet of Things (IoT) and Rich Communication Services become more widely adopted, access to these depends on standardization and interoperability across all platforms. ISAG will play an important role to help make this happen,” Drake continued.

The ISAG consists of senior representatives of the industry and includes service provider and non-service provider GSMA members.