1. International Telecommunication Union
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Introduction to the work of ITU
ICT Trends and Challenges
in a Global Era
MSU/BSL/INT Programme
4 July 2005
Cristina Bueti
ITU Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU)
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of ITU or its Membership.
2. In 1865, the founders of ITU had already lived through
the first cycle of boom and bust in telegraphy
3. International Telecommunication Union
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ITU in brief
¾International organization where governments
and private sector coordinate global telecom
networks and services
¾UN specialized agency, concerned with the
development of telecommunication networks and
services worldwide
¾140 years old
¾189 Member States; 650+ Sector Members
¾Around 790 staff / 83 nationalities
¾2004 budget = CHF164m (USD 132m)
¾Secretary-General: Yoshio Utsumi (Japan)
¾Deputy Sec-General: Roberto Blois (Brazil)
¾Website: http://www.itu.int
4. International Telecommunication Union
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ITU structure: simple view
Radiocommunication
Sector (ITU-R)
Radiocommunication
Sector (ITU-R)
Telecommunication
Standardization
Sector (ITU-T)
Telecommunication
Standardization
Sector (ITU-T)
Telecommunication
Development
Sector (ITU-D)
Telecommunication
Development
Sector (ITU-D)
Management of the
radio-frequency
spectrum and
satellite orbits used
by services such as
fixed, mobile,
broadcasting,
amateur, space
research,
meteorology, global
positioning
systems,
environmental
monitoring and
safety of life at sea
and in the skies.
Assistance to
developing countries
to facilitate
connectivity and
access, foster policy,
regulatory and
network readiness,
expand human
capacity through
training programmes,
formulate financing
strategies and
support enterprises in
developing countries
Establish internationally
agreed technical and
operating standards
“Recommendations” for
networks and services
5. International Telecommunication Union
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Who pays what?
¾ITU has 189 Member States plus 650+
Sector Members and Associates
¾ Each chooses to pay a certain number of
contributory units e.g. US = 30, Malawi 1/16
¾ For Member States, 1 unit = CHF 315’000
¾ For Sector Members, 1 unit = CHF 63’000
¾ For Associates, 1 unit = CHF 10’500
¾Main budget = CHF 163m in 2004, of which:
¾ CHF 106m (64.6%) from Member States
¾ CHF 21m (12.8%) from Sector Members &
Associates
¾ CHF 13.1m (8.0%) from sale of publications
¾ CHF 28.3m (17.3%) from cost recovery, interest, etc
¾ CHF 1.5m (0.9%) from funds-in-trust (for dev’t)
6. International Telecommunication Union
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According to the International
Telecommunication Constitution
(Minneapolis, 1998), the role of ITU is:
¾International cooperation in
telecommunications
¾Technical assistance to LDCs
¾To promote technical development
¾To extend the benefits of telecoms
¾To promote telecoms for peaceful use
¾To harmonize national policies
¾To promote telecoms in cooperation with
other national and regional bodies
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But what does ITU actually do?
¾Spectrum allocation and registration
¾Coordination of national spectrum planning
¾International telecoms standardization
¾Collaboration in international tariff-setting
¾Cooperation in telecoms development
assistance
¾Measures for ensuring safety of life
¾Policy reviews, information exchange
¾Extension of universal access
8. Plenipotentiary
Conference
Council
World Conferences on
Int’l Telecoms
World/Regional
Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC)
Radiocommunication
Assembly (RA)
Advisory
Group
Study
Groups
World
Telecommunication
Standardization
Assembly (WTSA)
Advisory
Group
Study
Groups
Telecom Standardization
World/Regional
Telecommunication
Development
Conference (WTDC)
Advisory
Group
Study
Groups
Development
ITU structure: complex view
Radiocommunication
Secretary-General
Deputy Secretary-General TELECOM
Director
Radiocommunication
Bureau (BR)
Secretariat
Director
Telecom Standardization
Bureau (TSB)
Director
Telecom Development
Bureau (BDT)
9. International Telecommunication Union
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International Treaties
¾ITU Constitution and Convention
¾ Two complementary treaties, containing mainly
housekeeping details but also some longstanding
international commitments (e.g. common carrier
tradition)
¾ Major update in 1992; minor updates in 1994 & 1998
¾International Telecommunication Regulations
¾ Thin (10 Articles) treaty concerning mainly
accounting practices. Last update 1988 – under
review
¾Radio Regulations
¾ Thick (>10’000 pages) treaty governing use of radio
spectrum. Updated every WRC
10. ¾World Telecom Development Conference (Doha,
Qatar, 2006)
¾See www.itu.int/itu-d/
¾Director: Hammadoun Touré (Mali)
¾Regulatory assistance and technical cooperation
¾Many IP and Internet related initiatives
¾Internet Training Centres Initiative for Developing
Countries (partnerships with Cisco, Alcatel)
¾Produce well known telecommunication indicators
reports and databases (used by World Economic
Forum, World Bank and others)
¾Regional offices (11)
11. ¾World Radio Conference
¾Geneva, June 2003
¾ITU-R Recommendations
¾Stewardship of radio frequency & satellite orbits
¾Radio Regulations
¾Master International Frequency Register
¾Safety of life services (Maritime, Aeronautical,
etc.)
¾Director: Valery Timofeev (Russia)
12. ¾World Telecom Standardization Assembly
¾Florianopolis, Brazil, October 2004
¾See www.itu.int/itu-t
¾Director: Houlin Zhao (China)
¾Standardization activities are segmented into
“Study Groups” that focus on different topic areas
(e.g., security, access & transport networks,
multimedia, signalling, numbering, naming and
addressing, tariffing, IP and NGN)
¾Unique forum for public-private partnership
¾Cooperative activities with many organizations
and forums including regional telecom forums,
IETF, ISO, IEC, ETSI, etc.
13. ¾Plenipotentiary Conferences
¾Marrakesh, 2002. Invitation to Istanbul, 2006
¾World Telecom Policy Forum
¾March 2001, IP Telephony
¾ITU Council
¾ITU News: www.itu.int/itunews/
¾Support services (e.g. IS, languages)
¾ITU TELECOM (Asia in 2004, Americas 2005 and World
2006)
¾Policy, research and workshops (SPU)
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¾Launched in 1999, under the Strategy and Policy Unit
¾Workshops
¾ Next Generation Networks (Feb 2006)
¾ Cybersecurity (July 2005)
¾ Digital Divide (June 2005)
¾ Ubiquitous Networks Societies (April 2005)
¾ Digital Bridges project (Sept 2004)
¾ Spam (July 2004)
¾ Future Mobile Information Society
¾ Spectrum Management (Feb 2004)
¾ Promoting Broadband (April 2003)
¾Country case studies
¾Report 2005: “The Internet of things”
Website: www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/
ITU New Initiatives Programme
“.. New topics of a
regulatory, policy or
other nature of high-
current interest …”
Council Decision 496
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¾ITU has the lead role in organizing WSIS
¾World Summit on the Information Society
(Geneva, 2003 & Tunis, 2005)
¾to develop “common vision and understanding
of the information society and the adoption of a
declaration and plan of action for
implementation by Governments, international
institutions and all sectors of civil society”
¾Website: www.itu.int/wsis/
16. International Telecommunication Union
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¾Key issues for the Summit:
¾Mainstreaming ICTs into development
¾Promoting cultural and linguistic diversity
¾Building human capacity
¾Extending access, connectivity and
infrastructure
¾Creating an enabling legal and policy
environment
¾Building partnerships and mobilizing resources
¾Confidence and security in use of ICTs
¾Protecting fundamental freedoms
