The timely identification and study of technology, policy and regulatory, social and economic aspects of emerging telecommunication/ICT trends is underway through several initiatives in all three Sectors and General Secretariat. The figures above are indicative just few of them. More details are available in the various sections relevant to each Sector, as well as on the ITU website.

In addition, since its inception in November 2013, an internal (secretariat) Intersectoral group on Emerging ICT Trends invites external experts from ICT industry, academia, research organizations, technology forecasting and business intelligence firms, or NGOs to update staff members on the latest ICT trends in technology, policy and regulatory, social and economic matters. This group has had numerous meetings (2 meetings in 2013, 6 meetings in 2014 and 7 meetings in 2015), and discussed many emerging topics, including big data, open data,  cybersecurity trends, ICT forecast in 2015, and others.

A session of ITU Talks on the Internet of Things (IoT) was held during Council 2015, under this platform, for the benefit of ITU councillors and members. This was part of a new ITU Talks series titled Emerging Trends towards Connect2020. In addition, the first Economic and Industry Expert Roundtable was organized at ITU Telecom World 2015 in Budapest, Hungary and more than 15 senior economic and industry ICT experts from global consulting firms, R&D entities, and international organizations exchanged views and analyses on the latest trends and issues related to telecommunication/ICTs, focusing on economic and financial aspects.

From June 2015 to December 2015, the ITU News team produced the final print editions of ITU News, including a special edition on the World Radio Conference (WRC-15) and a commemorative 150th anniversary edition. ITU News also covered both ITU World Telecom 2015 in Budapest, Hungary and the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS-15) in Hiroshima, Japan. 

As mandated, 2016 marks ITU News’ transition to an all-digital publication. The first all-digital issue of the magazine is a special edition on key themes coming out of WTIS-15, followed by a special edition on Smart Cities. During this time, the ITU News team – in conjunction with other SPM colleagues, IS, and other key stakeholders in each ITU bureau – also began the initial planning stages of Phase 2 of its digital transformation: building a mobile-first digital platform for more frequent, regular ICT Thought Leadership content. The key aims of the rebranded digital platform will be to attract more readers and drive them to a customized, user-friendly “My ITU” zone that fosters remote collaboration and directs each user to the specific ITU services, activities, networking and activities most relevant to them, based on their user profile and behaviour. This second phase of ITU News’ digital transformation will consolidate some other forms of ITU communication, as appropriate.​