today’s increasingly wired world, it is hard to imagine life without telecommunications. As a result of cooperative efforts between nations spanning more than a century, telecommunication networks now underpin almost every aspect of day-to-day life and are becoming increasingly important to the economic prosperity of all nations.

As the world’s oldest international organization, ITU can take much of the credit for developing the vast, interconnected web of networks which have grown to become the planet’s largest man-made artifact. Established in 1865 to manage the first international telegraph networks, the Union has worked tirelessly to ensure that the latest technological advances have been rapidly integrated into the telecommunication networks of countries all around the world.

Over more than 135 years, the Union’s mandate has expanded to cover the invention of voice telephony, the development of radiocommunications, the launch of the first communications satellites, and, most recently, the technological convergence that heralds the dawn of a new, telecommunications-based information age.

With a membership which includes almost all the world’s countries and over 650 private members from the telecommunication, broadcasting and information technology sectors, ITU can boast a long and highly successful track record in developing and managing our telecommunication resources. An international organization which is, at heart, a community of its members, today’s ITU remains unsurpassed in its ability to combine an impartial, global perspective and cooperative approach with a solid technical foundation built on the expertise of hundreds of leading manufacturers, carriers and service providers.

Through the work of its study groups and its extensive programme of international and regional conferences and meetings, ITU provides a multilateral forum where governments and the private sector can meet to broker agreements in areas of mutual interest. Together, in an atmosphere of cooperation and constructive debate, ITU members forge the standards and policies which will help shape tomorrow’s world.

The explosive growth of the telecommunication industry over the last two decades has increased the value of ITU membership manyfold. Through its unique, global network, the Union helps its members make the key business contacts essential to success in an increasingly competitive environment, and provides an unparalleled forum for forging alliances among an ever-widening range of players.

As the winds of change continue to sweep through our industry, transforming and reshaping the world around us, ITU’s role in developing and managing essential communication resources, combined with its unique ability to bring the industry together in a spirit of partnership and cooperation, will be more important than ever before.

As it has successfully done many times in the past, ITU is committed to reviewing its procedures, its activities and its priorities to ensure it remains at the forefront of the industry it has nurtured, with the aim of serving the needs of its members even more effectively into the new millennium.