International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Contents

Overview
What the ITU does
How the ITU is managed
Australia's involvement in the ITU

Overview

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialised United Nations agency responsible for international cooperation in the use of telecommunications and the radiofrequency spectrum. It establishes treaty agreements and recommends world standards for telecommunications and radiocommunications (including satellite) services. Membership of the ITU includes 193 governments and approximately 700 non-government entities.

The department manages Australia's membership and participation in the ITU.

There are as many as 80 specialist ITU meetings annually, including study groups which develop recommendations for international adoption. The Australian Government and private organisations participate in many of these. Broadcasters, telecommunications carriers and other elements of the communications industry have a close interest in the work of the ITU.

ITU home page

What the ITU does

The ITU's work is carried out by three sectors:

Telecommunication Standardisation Sector (ITU-T)
Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)
Development Sector (ITU-D)

The ITU-T sector develops high quality, voluntary standards called ITU-T Recommendations that cover all fields of telecommunications. The standardisation work of ITU-T is carried out by technical Study Groups. The World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA), usually held every four years, sets the work program for the sector. The next WTSA will be held in Dubai in November 2012.

The ITU-R sector has an important role in managing the finite natural resources of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits. These are increasingly in demand from a large number of services such as fixed, mobile, broadcasting, amateur, space research, meteorology, global positioning systems, environmental monitoring and communication services. The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), usually held every four years, sets the work program for the sector. The latest conference was held in Geneva over January-February 2012. The next WRC is planned to be held in 2015.

The mission of the ITU-D sector is to assist developing countries in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs), including promoting access to ICTs and actions that narrow the digital divide. The ITU-D also develops and manages programs that facilitate information sharing on topics relevant to the needs of developing countries. The World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) is the key decision-making conference of the ITU-D. The conference is held every four years and decides the priorities, strategies, budget and operational plans for the ITU-D for the next four-year period. The most recent WTDC was held in Hyderabad, India from 24 May to 4 June 2010.

How the ITU is managed

The Plenipotentiary Conference is the top policy-making body of the ITU. Held every four years, the Conference sets the Union's general policies, adopts five-year strategic and financial plans and elects the senior management team of the organisation and the members of Council. The ITU Council manages the affairs of the ITU between the Plenipotentiary Conferences, and meets annually at the ITU headquarters in Geneva. Australia has held a membership of the Council since 1959 and was most recently re-elected at the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico.

A World Conference on International Telecommunications, which may amend the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), will occur in Dubai in December 2012. The ITRs are a global treaty that establishes general principles to facilitate the interconnection and interoperability of telecommunication facilities and the usefulness and availability of international telecommunication services to the public. The ITRs were last amended at a global conference in Melbourne in 1988.

Australia's involvement in the ITU

The department represents Australia at ITU Plenipotentiary Conferences and annual ITU Council meetings. Before each meeting, the department consults with interested stakeholders, including industry representatives, to develop Australian positions on upcoming issues and matters for decision by the meeting.

Australia also supports a range of communication and information technology development activities in the Asia-Pacific region through the ITU-D sector. Australia's contributions are used to fund projects that mostly focus on capacity-building initiatives in the areas of information and communication technology regulation and cybersecurity in the Asia-Pacific region. Examples include:

supporting training workshops-such as Centre of Excellence training courses, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) International Training Program, Asia-Pacific Regional Forums on Cybersecurity and studies on developing a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the Pacific region.
providing direct country assistance in response to specific needs on a range of legislative and regulatory issues including tariffs, interconnection, spectrum management and telecommunication laws and policy.

The ACMA manages Australia's involvement in most of the 13 ITU-T Study Groups. Industry representatives participate in the technical work of some of these Study Groups. The department represents Australia's interests at Study Group 3, which focuses on tariff and accounting principles, including related telecommunications economic and policy issues.