25 November 2002 -- The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) has established a formal, cooperative relationship with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to facilitate the implementation of metro Ethernet standards.
At its recent meeting in Seattle, the MEF's Technical Committee set a goal of delivering metro Ethernet Services specifications by mid-year 2003.
Participants reached consensus and moved 16 technical documents to MEF ballot or straw ballot phase of consideration in the following four areas: Services, Protocol and Transport, Management, and Architecture.
The MEF Technical committee also advanced to draft status the Ethernet Interworking NNI (EI-NNI) Technical Specification. This specification will allow Metro Ethernet Service Providers to interconnect and thus extend service coverage for their end-customers.