China-designed IT interconnection standard near int'l recognition

BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese homegrown technological standard that can make seamless connections among computers, television sets and other electronic products has passed key hurdles with two international standards organizations, a Chinese developer of the standard said.

The standard, called Intelligent Grouping and Resource Sharing (IGRS), would be the first of its kind for the seamless integration of 3C devices (computers, communications and consumer electronics) to be recognized internationally, said Sun Yuning, director of China's IGRS Workgroup.

Sun said the IGRS standard won key votes last week by members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), two non-governmental international standards organizations.

This meant that the standard would be promulgated by the ISO as an international 3C device convergence standard next year, Sun added.

The 3C devices make up the core of the IT industry, but interconnection efforts have been hampered by incompatible technology standards. With IGRS, users can enjoy seamless interconnection of their devices, which can identify the presence of other devices and determine which resources they can share.

China's IT giants, including Lenovo, TCL and Konka, developed the standard in 2003 and have been upgrading it since.

3C convergence is the developing trend of global electronic and information industries. The success of the China-initiated technology standard will be conducive to breaking through international technology barriers and monopolies and greatly enhance the influence of Chinese enterprises in international competition, Sun said.

China's first 3C device that used IGRS was a computer produced by Lenovo in October 2004. Now, more than 30 kinds of TVs, computers and cell phones use the technology in China. The cumulative sales volume of these products is expected to reach 5 million units by the end of this year, according to Sun.