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.
Standards
With the changing names of the EIA, the naming convention of the standards was also adapted. For example, a standard defining serial communication between computers and modems e.g. was originally drafted as a Recommended Standard, thus the “RS” 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, these standards are often described as e.g. ANSI TIA-232 (or formerly as ANSI EIA/TIA-232). As currently authorized, any ANSI standard designated at ANSI EIA-xxx is developed or managed by ECA (and, in the future, ECIA).