The International Telecommunication Union, the oldest agency in the UN family, allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits

Background

The International Telecommunication Union, or ITU, is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies. Its membership is made up of 194 Member States and more than 1000 companies, universities and international and regional organisations, which join as Sector Members. The Union is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has regional offices on every continent. It is the oldest agency in the UN family, established in 1865 to manage the first international telegraph networks, and its mandate has since widened to voice telephony, radiocommunications, communications satellites and, most recently, artificial intelligence. The ITU facilitates international connectivity in communication networks: it allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that let networks and technologies connect, and works to improve access to digital technologies in underserved communities. Its work is organised in three sectors, Radiocommunication, Standardization and Development, with a General Secretariat. The Union states that 2.2 billion people, largely in developing countries, remain unconnected. Under its Strategic Plan the Member States have set two strategic goals, universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation, and the organisation's top five officials are elected by Member States at the Plenipotentiary Conference.