ITU sets up expert focus group to set technical standards for metaverse

• The group will analyse the technical requirements to identify fundamental enabling technologies in areas from multimedia and network optimisation to digital currencies, the Internet of Things, digital twins and environmental sustainability.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ specialised agency for information and communication technologies, has established an expert focus group to start laying the groundwork for technical standards for the metaverse.

Metaverse has become one disruptive area of innovation with great potential to change the global economy, way of living and communicating and society.

In this nascent phase of the metaverse, the industry has not converged towards common terms and definitions. The metaverse concept has attracted considerable public attention.

“The metaverse and its layers of technologies can help human development and progress,” ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, said.

“The work of this ITU focus group is the first step in ensuring that these technologies work well and that they work for all. The benefits of the metaverse should be shared broadly and equitably, and the risks should be well understood and addressed.”

Collaboration platform for dialogue

The ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse was established under TSAG on December 16, 2022.

The group will analyse the technical requirements of the metaverse to identify fundamental enabling technologies in areas from multimedia and network optimisation to digital currencies, the Internet of Things, digital twins, and environmental sustainability.

It will also provide a collaboration platform for dialogue, for identifying stakeholders with whom ITU-T could collaborate, and for enabling the inclusion of non-members to contribute to the technical pre-standardisation work.

The Focus Group work will be enriched with the identification of relevant use cases.

Industry reports expect the sector to grow to a value of nearly $800 billion by 2024.