ITU at a glance
Getting to know the United Nations specialized agency
for information and communication technologies
01 About us
Part 1:
Who are we?
ITU at a glance
01 About us
Who are we?
ITU is the United Nations specialized
agency for information and
communication technologies (ICTs)
Enabling a
connected world
ITU at a glance
01 About us
Who are we?
What we share:
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Subscribe to the purposes and principles of
the Charter of the UN
Address a global issue
The rationale of operation
System-wide resolutions
Coordination mechanisms
Grouped under the chairmanship of UN SG
What makes us different:
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Membership
Mandate
Governing bodies
Set of own resolutions
Secretariats
Executive heads
02 How we got here?
Timeline
ITU at a glance
02 How we got here
Timeline
1865
1932
1906
We were
founded
First SOS
1880
Invention
of radio
ITU
1925
First TV
broadcast
New name: International
Telecommunication Union
1957
Space age
comms
ITU at a glance
02 How we got here
Timeline
2010
1973
Broadband
Commission
First mobile
phone call
1969
Roots of
Internet
2015
2003/5
WSIS/ Bridging
the Digital
Divide
Let’s
celebrate!
2014
ICT innovation
and Digital
Inclusion
03 The members
Membership
ITU at a glance
03
The members
Who are we?
Our members
193
MEMBER
STATES
+700
PRIVATE SECTOR
ORGANIZATIONS
+100
ACADEMIA
MEMBERS
ITU at a glance
03 Member States
193 Member States participating through your:
Administration (CS No. 1002):
A governmental entity which has been officially identified to represent its government at ITU.
Designated Focal Point:
Designed by the Administrations of ITU Member States to deal with ITU related issues
An additional representatives may be chosen to deal with matters related to a particular Sector
(ITU-T, ITU-R or ITU-D) or more specifically a single study group.
ITU at a glance
03 Sector Members
ITU at a glance
03 ITU Academia Membership
North and
South
America
37 members
CIS
Europe 5 members
20 members
Arab States
10 members
Africa
Asia and Pacific
5 members
23 members
The Academia Challenge: From 100 to 150 Academia
Members by December 2015
04 How we are composed
Structure
ITU at a glance
04 Structure
Headquarters, Regional and Area Offices
ITU at a glance
04 Structure
Our governance
ITU at a glance
04 The Plenipotentiary Conference
The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of ITU, convened every 4 years, to:
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Elect its management team (Elected Officials) and Members of Council and of the RRB;
Establish the strategic and financial plan for the Union;
Determine general policies for fulfilling the purposes of the Union;
Deal with such other telecommunication questions as may be necessary.
Who is invited:
Member States (CV 268)
Observers
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State of Palestine (Res. 99 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010));
The United Nations (CV 269A);
Regional telecommunications organizations;
Intergovernmental organizations operating satellite systems (CV 269C);
Specialized agencies of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (CV 269D);
Sector Members referred to in CV 229 (recognized operating agencies, scientific or industrial organizations and
financial or development institutions) and CV 231 (regional and other international telecommunication,
standardization, financial or development organizations).
ITU at a glance
04 Structure
Structure & Functioning of the Council
Chairman and
Vice-Chairman
elected for one
year
One annual
ordinary session
of 8/9 days
7 Council
Working Groups
Can hold
consultations
during the year
Can take
decisions by
correspondence
between
sessions
ITU at a glance
04 Structure
Council Composition (CV 54; Res. 164, Guadalajara, 2010)
DURATION
Africa (13 seats)
Western Europe
(8 seats)
Americas (9 seats)
MEMBER
STATES
Eastern Europe
(5 seats)
Asia and Australasia
(13 seats)
Elected for
approximately a
four-year term
(between two
ordinary PPs)
ITU at a glance
04 Structure
Council 2015-2018 : composition
Region A (9 seats)
(Americas)
•Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico,
Paraguay, United States, Venezuela
Region B (8 seats)
(Western Europe)
•France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Lithuania,
Switzerland, Turkey
Region C (5 seats)
(Eastern Europe)
•Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation
Region D (13 seats)
(Africa)
•Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mali,
Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia,
Uganda
Region E (13 seats)
(Asia and Australasia)
•Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Korea (Republic of), Kuwait, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi
Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates
05 Meet us
What we do
ITU at a glance
05 Meet us
What we do
ITU Radiocommunication
Coordinating
radio-frequency
spectrum and assigning orbital
slots for satellites
3
Sectors
‘Committed to
Connecting the World’
ITU Standardization
Establishing global standards
ITU Development
Bridging the digital divide
05 Meet the sectors
ITU-R
/RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS/
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - R
KEY
ROLE
Global management of radio-frequency
spectrum and satellite orbits
Ensures equitable and efficient use of radiofrequency spectrum to accommodate huge
growth in demand for spectrum
ITU-R coordination of orbital slots prevents
radio interference preventing malfunctioning
of satellite services
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - R
MAJOR
ACHIEVEMENTS
IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced technical
frameworks underpin mobile 3G and 4G
networks
Recommendations on 3DTV, Ultra High
Definition TV (UHDTV) standards
Excellent track record in maintaining
harmonious satellite coordination
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - R
WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATION
CONFERENCE (WRC)
Reviews and revises the Radio Regulations
Excellent track record in maintaining harmonious
satellite coordination and ensures reliable radio
services remain available at all times
Addresses all radiocommunication matters
of a global nature
Reviews and instructs the Radio
Regulations Board (RRB) and the
Radiocommunication Bureau
05 Meet the sectors
ITU-T
/STANDARDIZATION/
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - T
KEY
ROLE
Crucial role in defining operation and
interoperability of technologies that underpin
global communications network
200 - 300 new global standards approved every
year, with over 4,000 in use today
Standards enable global communications by
ensuring ICT networks and devices speak the
same language globally.
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - T
MAJOR
ACHIEVEMENTS
Optical Core
Networks
40GB per second
Coming next:
Beyond 100GB
per second
G.fast
New broadband
standard
designed to
deliver access
speeds of up to
1Gbit/s over
existing
telephone wires
H.264
The Prime Time
Emmy award
winning video
codec and its
successor, H.265
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - T
WORLD
TELECOMMUNICATION
STANDARDIZATION
ASSEMBLY (WTSA)
Sets the overall direction and structure for ITU-T, in
every 4 years – next one in Q4 2016
Establishes ITU-T Study Groups and approves top
priorities and work programmes
05 Meet the sectors
ITU-D
/DEVELOPMENT/
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - D
KEY
ROLE
Spread equitable and affordable access to
telecommunications to help stimulate social and
economic development
Human capacity-building in developing and
least developed countries (LDCs)
Helps to ensure that people everywhere are
empowered to reap the benefits that
connectivity delivers
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
ITU - D
MAJOR
ACHIEVEMENTS
Measuring the Information Society report
Enhancing cybersecurity in LDCs – CIRT
programme and cyber-drills
Helping countries prepare for and respond to
natural disasters.
Helping bridge the gender divide by equipping
over 1m women with digital literacy skills
ITU at a glance
05 Meet the sectors
06 What we organize
ITU - D
WORLD
TELECOMMUNICATION
DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE (WTDC)
Study Groups
Sets the overall direction and structure
for ITU-D, in every 4 years
Draws up ITU-D Action Plan and Mandate
Establishes ITU-D Study Groups and approves top
priorities, questions and work programms
ITU at a glance
06 Our work
STUDY GROUPS
Bring together experts from public
and private sectors and academia to
discuss current ICT trends and
develop Recommendations and
Standards for the global ICT sector
Companies that compete
aggressively in the marketplace,
work collaboratively with ITU SGs
ITU at a glance
06 Our work
STUDY GROUPS
Key Themes
Cybersecurity/trust
Climate Change
Broadband
5G
IoT
Smart Sustainable Cities
Spectrum and Satellites
Policy/regulatory issues
Broadcasting
Money money
Multimedia
and more…
07 What we organize
Major Events
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
COMING SOON:
ITU Telecom
World
Annual event offering a platform for
strategic debate, innovation-showcasing and
networking for the global ICT community
Aim to help ideas go further, faster to make
the world better, sooner.
Accelerating innovation & the growth of ICT SMEs
Ideal way to reach and engage with global decision
makers, industries, & other stakeholders
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
Sector Conferences
Each Sector has its
main Conference/
Assembly
Meet every four years
to agree on roadmap
for coming four year
period.
Next: World Radio
Conference in
November. Treatingmaking conference.
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
Annual meeting of
statistics experts and
other stakeholders
Next event:
November-December
2015 in Japan.
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
Kaleidoscope
ITU’s premier
academic conference.
Held annually.
Next event: December
2015 in Spain. Theme
of “Trust in the
Information Society”
Will hold consultation
on ITU and Academia
collaboration
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
World Summit on
the Information
Society
/ WSIS
The WSIS Forum, a
multistakeholder
platform, held annually
in May to review the
implementation of the
outcomes of World
Summit on the
Information Society
(Geneva 2003, Tunis in
2005)
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
World
Telecommunication
and Information
Society Day
/ WTISD
WTISD
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Held annually on 17 May with a yearly
theme to mark the founding of ITU in
1865.
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Award ceremony: to recognize eminent
personalities for their leadership and
dedication in promoting the use of the ICT
insocieties and economies, and by finding
ways to bridge the digital divide.
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Member States and Sector Members are
invited to celebrate the day annually by
organizing national activities.
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2016 Theme: Better city, better life with
ICTs
ITU at a glance
07 What we organize
EVENTS
Global
Symposium
for
Regulators
/ GSR
The only annual event
to unite the global
community of ICT
regulators to examine
and debate the latest
ICT regulatory
challenges
Timing of 2016 event
to be announced
08 What we publish
Publications
ITU at a glance
08 What we publish
PUBLICATIONS
4.500 +
Titles
ITU NEWS
ITU News keeps
readers up-to-date
with news from ITU
and ICTs from
around the world
ITU at a glance
08 What we publish
PUBLICATIONS
The three sectors
publish a variety of
general, regulatory
and conference
publications
ITU-R
Radio Regulations
ITU-T
‘ITU-T
Recommendations and
selected Handbooks - DVDROM’
ITU-D
Annual ‘Measuring the
Information Society’ (MIS)
Report