This chapter reveals experiences of individuals who have been involved in ICT standardization, mostly experts from leading private companies, with the processes of different standards development organizations (SDOs), discussing such aspects as practical relevance of IPR policies, dispute resolution by the organizations’ governance bodies, and the differences between drafting organizational policies and drafting standards. In particular, this chapter seeks to understand from a practical viewpoint, how compliance with due process requirements by SDOs relates to the effectiveness of their standards and, building on these findings, reveal the limits of epistemic legitimacy in ICT standardization as a regulatory tool. The main conclusion from this qualitative empirical research is that, according to the experts, the ICT standardization ecosystem functions well and does not need any interference from the public sector. As such, while the findings of this chapter take a form of anecdotal evidence, they increase our understanding of current practices in ICT standardization, and offer food for thought for both public and private regulators with respect to the design and scrutiny of standardization processes.

This chapter outlines the main findings of this book, placing them in the broader perspective of global ICT standardization. It discusses the arising challenges and sketches a broader legal, economic, and political outlook on due process in ICT standardization. In particular, this chapter provides a concise summary of the book’s main argument: if standards development organizations’ (SDOs) frameworks are to fall short on procedural guarantees, which is increasingly becoming the case due to the complexity and public function of their standards, there is little chance that their governance bodies will address the issue, which may result in lack of legitimacy in the ICT standardization ecosystem; this can be remedied, at least in part, by an “external” review of SDOs’ processes and decisions, (to be) conducted by industry experts, courts, or public law bodies. This chapter further provides recommendations and suggestions for improving both the existing regulatory framework and internal rules of SDOs, emphasizing, however, that any modifications of operational frameworks should take into account the specific sector in which these organizations operate.