International Telecommunication Union Union internationale des télécommunications Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones Международный союз электросвязи الاتحاد الدولي للاتصالات 国际电信联盟 |
---|
Flag of the ITU |
Org type | UN agency |
---|
Acronyms | ITU UIT |
---|
Head | Hamadoun Touré |
---|
Status | Active |
---|
Established | 17 May 1865 |
---|
Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
---|
Website | http://www.itu.int/ |
---|
Monument in Bern,
Switzerland. The text reads: "Union Télégraphique Internationale fondée à Paris en 1865 sur l'initiative du gouvernement français. Érigé par décision de l'Union Télégraphique prise à la conférence internationale de Lisbonne en 1908." (In English: "International Telegraph Union founded at
Paris in 1865 on the initiative of the French government. [This monument] erected by a decision of the Telegraph Union made at the international conference at Lisbon in 1908.")
The International Telecommunication Union, originally founded as the International Telegraph Union, is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies.[1] The ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and assists in the development and coordination of worldwide technical standards.
ITU also organizes worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums, such as ITU TELECOM WORLD, bringing together representatives of government and the telecommunications and ICT industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology.
The ITU is active in areas including broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, TV broadcasting, and next-generation networks.
ITU, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a member of the United Nations Development Group.[2] Its membership includes 193 Member States and around 700 Sector Members and Associates.
ITU sectors
The ITU comprises three sectors, each managing a different aspect of the matters handled by the Union, as well as ITU Telecom:
- Radiocommunication (ITU-R)
- Managing the international radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources is at the heart of the work of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R).
- Standardization (ITU-T)
- ITU's standards-making efforts are its best-known — and oldest — activity; known prior to 1992 as the International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative Committee or CCITT (from its French name "Comité consultatif international téléphonique et télégraphique")
- Development (ITU-D)
- Established to help spread equitable, sustainable and affordable access to information and communication technologies (ICT).
- ITU TELECOM
- ITU Telecom organizes major events for the world's ICT community. ITU Telecom World 2011[3] is ITU Telecom's 40th Anniversary with the first event in 1971.
A permanent General Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, manages the day-to-day work of the Union and its sectors.
Legal framework of ITU
The basic texts of the ITU[4] are adopted by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.[5] In addition to the Constitution and Convention, the consolidated basic texts include the Optional Protocol on the settlement of disputes, the Decisions, Resolutions and Recommendations in force, as well as the General Rules of Conferences, Assemblies and Meetings of the Union.[citation needed]
Leadership
The ITU is headed by a Secretary-General, who is elected to a four-year term by the member states at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.[citation needed]
At the 17th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (2006) in Antalya, Turkey, the ITU's member states elected Dr Hamadoun Touré of Mali as Secretary-General of the Union.[6] He was re-elected for a second four-year term at the 18th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (2010) in Guadalajara, Mexico.[citation needed]
Directors and Secretaries-General of ITU
Directors of ITU |
---|
Name | Beginning of term | End of term | Country |
---|
Louis Curchod | 1 January 1869 | 24 May 1872 | Switzerland |
Karl Lendi | 24 May 1872 | 12 January 1873 | Switzerland |
Louis Curchod | 23 February 1873 | 18 October 1889 | Switzerland |
August Frey | 25 February 1890 | 28 June 1890 | Switzerland |
Timotheus Rothen | 25 November 1890 | 11 February 1897 | Switzerland |
Emil Frey | 11 March 1897 | 1 August 1921 | Switzerland |
Henri Étienne | 2 August 1921 | 16 December 1927 | Switzerland |
Joseph Raber | 1 February 1928 | 30 October 1934 | Switzerland |
Franz von Ernst | 1 January 1935 | 31 December 1949 | Switzerland |
Secretaries general |
---|
Léon Mulatier | 1 January 1950 | 31 December 1953 | France |
Marco Aurelio Andrada | 1 January 1954 | 18 June 1958 | Argentina |
Gerald C. Gross | 1 January 1960 | 29 October 1965 | United States |
Manohar Balaji Sarwate | 30 October 1965 | 19 February 1967 | India |
Mohamed Ezzedine Mili | 20 February 1967 | 31 December 1982 | Tunisia |
Richard E. Butler | 1 January 1983 | 31 October 1989 | Australia |
Pekka Tarjanne | 1 November 1989 | 31 January 1999 | Finland |
Yoshio Utsumi | 1 February 1999 | 31 December 2006 | Japan |
Hamadoun Touré | 1 January 2007 | present | Mali |
Membership
International Telecommunication Union member states
Membership of ITU is open to governments, which may join the Union as Member States, as well as to private organizations like carriers, equipment manufacturers, funding bodies, research and development organizations and international and regional telecommunication organizations, which can join ITU as non-voting Sector Members.[citation needed]
Member states of the ITU are 192 UN member states (all except Palau) and the Vatican City. The most recent member to join the ITU is South Sudan, which became a member on 14 July 2011.[7]
The Republic of China (Taiwan) was blocked from membership[citation needed] by the People's Republic of China, but was given a country code while being listed as "Taiwan, China".[8] Other states with limited recognition, along with Cook Islands and Niue, are also not members of the ITU. The Palestinian territories were admitted as observers in 2010.[9]
World Summit on the Information Society
The ITU was the lead organizing agency of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).[10]
World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12)
In December 2012, the ITU facilitated the The World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12) in Dubai. WCIT-12 was a treaty-level conference to address International Telecommunications Regulations: international rules for telecommunications, including international tariffs.[11] The previous conference to update the Regulations (ITRs) was held in Melbourne in 1988.[12]
In August 2012, ITU called for a public consultation on a draft document ahead of the conference.[13] It is claimed the proposal would allow government restriction or blocking of information disseminated via the internet and create a global regime of monitoring internet communications – including the demand that those who send and receive information identify themselves. It would also allow governments to shut down the internet if there is the belief that it may interfere in the internal affairs of other states or that information of a sensitive nature might be shared.[14]
Telecommunications ministers from 193 countries attended the conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[14]
Changes to International Telecommunication Regulations
The current regulatory structure was based on voice telecommunications, when the Internet was still in its infancy.[15] In 1988, telecommunications operated under regulated monopolies in most countries. As the Internet has grown, organizations such as ICANN have come into existence to manage key resources such as Internet Addresses and Domain Names. Some outside the United States believe that the United States exerts too much influence over the governance of the Internet.[16]
Proposed Changes to the Treaty And Concerns
Current proposals look to take into account the prevalence of data communications. Proposals under consideration would establish regulatory oversight by the U.N. over security, fraud, traffic accounting as well as traffic flow, management of Internet Domain Names and IP addresses, and other aspects of the Internet that are currently governed either by community-based approaches such as Regional Internet Registries, ICANN, or largely national regulatory frameworks.[17] The move by the ITU and some countries has alarmed many within the United States and within the Internet community.[18][19] Indeed some European telecommunication services have proposed a so-called "sender pays" model that would require sources of Internet traffic to pay destinations, similar to the way funds are transferred between countries using the telephone.[20][21]
The WCIT-12 activity has been attacked by Google, which has characterized it as a threat to the "...free and open internet."[22]
On 22 November 2012, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging member states to prevent ITU WCIT-12 activity that would "negatively impact the internet, its architecture, operations, content and security, business relations, internet governance and the free flow of information online".[23] The resolution asserted that "the ITU [...] is not the appropriate body to assert regulatory authority over the internet".[24]
On 5 December 2012, the lower chamber of the United States Congress passed a resolution opposing U.N. governance of the Internet by a rare unanimous 397-0 vote. The resolution warned that "... proposals have been put forward for consideration at the [WCIT-12] that would fundamentally alter the governance and operation of the Internet ... [and] would attempt to justify increased government control over the Internet ...", and stated that the policy of the United States is "... to promote a global Internet free from government control and preserve and advance the successful Multistakeholder Model that governs the Internet today." The same resolution had previously been passed unanimously by the upper chamber of the Congress in September.[25]
On 14 December 2012, an amended version of the Regulations was signed by 89 of the 152 countries. Countries that did not sign included the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, India and the United Kingdom. The Head of the U.S. Delegation, Terry Kramer, said "We cannot support a treaty that is not supportive of the multistakeholder model of Internet governance". [26][27][28]However, the organisation came out with a press release: "New global telecoms treaty agreed in Dubai".
WCIT-12 Conference Participation
The conference itself was managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). While certain parts of civil society and industry were able to advise and observe, active participation was restricted to member states.[29] The Electronic Frontier Foundation expressed concern at this, calling for a more transparent multi-stakeholder process.[30] Some leaked contributions can be found on the wcitleaks.org web site. Google-affiliated researchers have suggested that the ITU should completely reform its processes to align itself with the openness and participation of other multistakeholder organizations concerned with the Internet.[31]
See also
References
- ^ International Telecommunication Union
- ^ "UNDG Members". Undg.org. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Welcome to ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 | ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011". Itu.int. 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ "Basic texts of the International Telecommunication Union". Itu.int. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ PP10contributions. "2010 Plenipotentiary Conference". Itu.int. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Report on election of Toure". Cellular-news.com. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ New Country, New Number - Country code 211 officially assigned to South Sudan ITU Pressroom, 14 July 2011
- ^ "ITU-T : International Numbering Resources : National Numbering Plans : China, Taiwan". Itu.int. 2007-01-26. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Palestine ITU status". Itu.int. 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "World Summit on the Information Society". itu.int. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ "World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012". Itu.int. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ "International Telecommunication Regulations" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ "ITU opens public consultation on internet regulation treaty". 16 August, 2012. Retrieved November, 2012.
- ^ a b "United Nations wants control of web kill switch". news.com.au. November 12, 2012. Retrieved November, 2012.
- ^ Global Internet usage
- ^ "Russia calls for internet revolution". Indrus.in. 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ Internet Society. International Telecommunication Regulations
- ^ Mcdowell, Robert M. (2012-02-21). "Robert McDowell:The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ By L. Gordon Crovitz (2012-06-17). "Crovitz: The U.N.'s Internet Power Grab". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ McCullagh, Declan (2012-06-07). "CNET:U.N. could tax U.S.-based Web sites, leaked docs show<". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ Trivedi, Shamik (2012-06-28). "FOR APPLE AND GOOGLE, IS AN UNAVOIDABLE U.N. 'TAX' COMING?". Tax Notes Today - 2012 TNT 126-5.
- ^ "Google attacks UN net conference". BBC News. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ "European Parliament warns against UN internet control". BBC News. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ "European Parliament resolution on the forthcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) of the International Telecommunication Union, and the possible expansion of the scope of international telecommunication regulations". 22 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ "House approves resolution to keep Internet control out of UN hands". The Hill. 5 December 2012.
- ^ "U.S. Rejects Telecommunications Treaty". The New York Times. 14 December 2012.
- ^ "Japan, West snub rules for Net curbs". The Japan Times. 16 December 2012.
- ^ "WCIT-12 Final Acts Signatories". International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ "Convention of the ITU". Itu.int. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ "EFF Joins Coalition Denouncing Secretive WCIT Planning Process". Eff.org. 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ "Ryan/Glick: The ITU Treaty Negotiations: A Call for Openness and Participation". Ssrn.com. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
External links
- Official website
- History of ITU Portal (official site)
- ITU Telecom World 2011
- Protect Global Internet Freedom Coalition
- ITU defines the future of mobile communications
- U.N. Summit to Focus on Internet – Washington Post article about ICANN and the United Nations' ITU relationship
- Ryan/Glick: The ITU Treaty Negotiations: A Call for Openness and Participation
- Renda, Andrea. The U.N., Internet Regulator?, The Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- Thiere, Adam. Does the Internet Need a Global Regulator?, Forbes Magazine, May 6, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- Cerf, Vinton. Keep the Internet Open, The New York Times, May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- Harrington, Matt. House lawmakers to consider proposal for United Nations to Regulate the Internet, syracuse.com, May 29, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- Peterson, Josh. Deadline approaches for Russia and China-led U.N. Internet takeover, dailycaller.com, May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- C-SPAN. Coverage of Free State Foundation, May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- Kang, Cecilia. U.S. tech companies warn of threat to Internet from foreign governments, The Washington Post, May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- Shaw, Stephen. Putting the United Nations in charge of the Internet is the best idea ever, ZDNet. May 30, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
United Nations (UN) |
---|
| United Nations System | Principal organs | - General Assembly (→ President)
- Security Council (→ Members)
- Economic and Social Council
- Secretariat (→ Secretary-General)
- International Court of Justice
- Trusteeship Council
|
---|
| Programmes and specialized agencies | - FAO
- ICAO
- ILO
- IMO
- ITC
- IPCC
- IAEA
- UNIDO
- ITU
- UNAIDS
- SCSL
- UNCTAD
- UNCITRAL
- UNCDF
- UNDAF
- UNDG
- UNDP
- UNDPI
- UNEP (OzonAction
- UNEP/GRID-Arendal)
- UNESCO
- UNFIP
- UNFPA
- UN-HABITAT
- OHCHR
- UNHCR
- UNHRC
- UNICEF
- UNICRI
- UNIDIR
- UNITAR
- UN-Oceans
- UNODC
- UNOPS
- UNOSAT
- UNRISD
- UNRWA
- UNSSC
- UNU
- UNV
- UN Women
- UNWTO
- UPU
- WFP
- WHO
- WMO
|
---|
| Principal offices | - New York (headquarters)
- Geneva
- Nairobi
- Vienna
- (→ system by location)
|
---|
|
---|
| Members and observers | - Full members
- Founding members (→ UNSC Permanent members)
- European Union and the United Nations
- Observers
|
---|
| History | - League of Nations
- Peacekeeping missions (history
- timeline)
- Enlargement
|
---|
| Resolutions | - General Assembly (66, 67)
- Security Council
- (Cyprus
- Iraq
- Israel
- Lebanon
- Nagorno-Karabakh
- Syria)
|
---|
| Elections | - Security Council 2011
- International Court of Justice 2011
- General Assembly President 2012
- Security Council 2012
|
---|
| Related topics | - Bretton Woods system
- Charter
- CTBTO
- Delivering as One
- Flag
- Honor Flag
- Global Compact
- ICC
- Laissez-Passer
- OPCW
- Peacekeeping
- Treaty Series
- UN Day
- UDHR
- MDGs
- UNSC Veto power
- UN reform
|
---|
| - Category
- Portal
|
|
International broadcasting organizations |
---|
| Current | - ABU
- AIR
- ASBU
- CANA
- CBA
- CBU
- CPU
- EBU
- NAB
- NABA
- OTI
- SA
- URTNA
- WBU
- WRN
|
---|
| Former | |
---|
| Coordinators | |
---|
| See also: International broadcasting |
|