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International Telecommunication Union

Also known as International Telegraph Union

specialized agency of the United Nations for information and communication technologies

AI overview

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a United Nations agency that works on issues related to information and communication technologies, such as telephone networks, internet services, and broadcasting. It matters because it helps coordinate how these technologies operate across countries so that people around the world can communicate with each other effectively.

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Wikidata facts

Official website: www.itu.int
Image: ITU Council 2018 (40622286475).jpg

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Article

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, the first formal and permanent international organization. The organization significantly predates the UN, making it the oldest UN agency. Doreen Bogdan-Martin is the current secretary-general of the ITU, the first woman to serve as its head.

The ITU was initially aimed at helping connect telegraphic networks between countries, with its mandate consistently broadening with the advent of new communications technologies; it adopted its current name in 1932 to reflect its expanded responsibilities over radio and the telephone. On 15 November 1947, the ITU entered into an agreement with the newly created United Nations to become a specialized agency within the UN system, which formally entered into force on 1 January 1949.