The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA, until 1997 Electronic Industries Association) was a standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. They developed standards to ensure the equipment of different manufacturers was compatible and interchangeable. The EIA ceased operations on February 11, 2011, but the former sectors continue to serve the constituencies of EIA.[1]
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In 1924 United States-based radio manufacturers formed a trade group called the Associated Radio Manufacturers. Later that same year, the group renamed itself the Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA). Over time, new electronic technologies brought new members and name changes, including Radio Television Manufacturers Association (RTMA) (1950), Radio Electronics Television Manufacturers (RETMA) (1953) and Electronics Industries Association (EIA) (1957). The group re-named itself for the last time in 1997, when the Electronics Industry Association became the Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA), reflecting the changing membership of the group, including non-manufacturer members.
The organization's headquarters were in Arlington, Virginia. The EIA divided its activities into the following sectors:
The EIA ceased operations on February 11, 2011.[1] EIA standards will be managed by the Electronic Components, Assemblies, Equipment & Supplies Association (ECA), but this name will also disappear, because ECA merged with National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA) to constitute the new Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) at the same time.[2]
With the changing names of the EIA also the naming convention of the standards was adapted. A standard defining serial communication between computers and modems e.g. was originally drafted by the radio sector as RS-232. Later it was taken over by the EIA as EIA-232. Later this standard was managed by the TIA and the name was changed to the current TIA-232. Because the EIA was accredited by ANSI to help develop standards in its areas, the standards are often described as e.g. ANSI TIA-232 (or formerly as ANSI EIA/TIA-232').
Well-known EIA standards include:
Prior to ceasing operations, the EIA maintained a web site at eia.org. As of February 2011[update] the eia.org URL re-directs to http://www.ecaus.org/eia/site/index.html.
EIA Standards A list of EIA Standards