1903 - ITU-R Almanac for 100 Years of ITU Radio Regulations
Following the patenting of the telephone in 1876 and the subsequent expansion of telephony, the International Telegraph Union began, in 1885, to draw up international legislation governing telephony. With the invention in 1896 of wireless telegraphy - the first type of radiocommunication - and the utilization of this new technique for maritime and other purposes, it was decided to convene a preliminary radio conference in 1903 (photo below) to study the question of international regulations for radiotelegraph communications.
Following this preliminary radio conference in 1903, the first International Radiotelegraph Conference held in 1906 in Berlin signed the first International Radiotelegraph Convention, and the annex to this Convention contained the first regulations governing wireless telegraphy. These regulations, which have since been expanded and revised by numerous radio conferences, are now known as the Radio Regulations.
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