Nigeria celebrates World Standards Day 2019 – as video standards create a global village

Advances in video technology as a modern medium of expression have changed the world, revolutionizing entertainment, connecting friends and families across the globe, enriching our communication experiences and enabling major improvements in medical care and education.

These according to a statement from the office of the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Osita Aboloma Esq. is the focus of the 2019 celebration of the World Standards Day being coordinated by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) with the theme “Video standards create a global stage”.

Aboloma posited that the innovation of recent decades has driven a huge leap forward in video quality, making it more accessible, helping people worldwide to share their stories in vivid, moving pictures.

He stressed that these gains in both the sophistication and accessibility of video are built on the development and application of International Standards.

According to him, the video compression algorithms standardized in collaboration by IEC, ISO and ITU have been honoured with two Primetime Emmy Awards, recognizing that these standards are central to industry’s ability to meet rising demand for video, one of the most bandwidth-intensive applications running over global networks.

“International Standards meet industry demand for powerful compression capabilities and enable smooth transitions to the next generation of video compression technology, helping industry to maximize return on each wave of investment”, he said.

The SON Chief Executive stated that having standards recognized and respected all over the world means that video encoded on one device can be decoded by another, regardless of the device being used. This, he said introduces economies of scale that help to grow the market, giving innovators the confidence to invest in new video applications and services.

International Standards, like those produced by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) will thus continue to be chief drivers in the continued innovation, promoting compatibility and interoperability, as well as new investments all over the world, he said.

Aboloma affirmed that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria as a representative of these international standardization bodies in Nigeria would continue to propagate the global standards through adoption and modification for local use, manpower training through seminars, workshops, consumer enlightenment activities and certification of products including management systems to international standards.

Aboloma called on all Nigerians to join the quality vanguard and continue to support SON in its quest to improve the lives of Nigerians through standards and quality assurance activities.