ITU's role in global communications
Every time someone picks up a telephone and dials a number, answers a call on a mobile, sends a fax or receives an e-mail, takes a plane or a ship, listens to the radio or watches a favourite television programme, they benefit from the universal telecommunication and ICT frameworks put in place by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
ITU has been at the cutting edge of information and communication technologies, defining and adopting the globally agreed technical standards that have allowed industry to interconnect people and equipment seamlessly around the world. It has also successfully regulated worldwide use of the radio-frequency spectrum, ensuring all international wireless communications remain interference-free to ensure the relay of vital information and economic data around the world.
Spearheading telecommunications development on a global scale, ITU also fosters the deployment of telecommunications in developing countries by advising on development policies, regulatory frameworks and strategies, and by providing specialized technical assistance in the areas of technology transfer, cybersecurity, management, financing, installation and maintenance of networks, disaster mitigation, and capacity building.
Founded in Paris in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, ITU took its present name — the International Telecommunication Union — in 1934 and, in 1947, became a specialized agency of the United Nations. Nominated by leading international consultant Booz Allen Hamilton in 2002 as one of the world’s topmost enduring institutions, ITU is also the most inclusive global telecommunications organization. A public-private partnership organization since its inception, ITU now has a membership of 192 countries and over 700 public and private sector companies as well as international and regional telecommunication entities. The Union’s consensus-based approach gives a voice to all its members and its work helps deploy infrastructure, achieve connectivity, and provide efficient telecommunication services worldwide.
ITU's biggest achievement is undoubtedly the pivotal role it has played in the creation of the international telecommunications network — the largest man-made artefact ever created. Today, thanks to the advent of the Internet, mobile wireless telephony, convergence strategies and more, this network keeps us in touch, brings us world news and entertainment, provides access to a huge global store of information, and underpins the global economy. It would not exist without ITU's work. |
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