ITU: from 17 May 1865 to a spectrum spanning 9 kHz to 300 GHz

The International Telecommunication Union is a specialised agency of the United Nations handling information and communication technologies. Founded on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, it was the first formal and permanent international organisation. It predates the UN, making it the oldest UN agency. Doreen Bogdan-Martin is the current ITU secretary-general and the first woman to hold the post.

The ITU initially focused on connecting telegraph networks between countries. Its mandate expanded as new communication technologies emerged. Early agreements established Morse code as the international telegraph alphabet, protected the secrecy of correspondence, and guaranteed everyone the right to use international telegraphy. The organisation adopted its current name in 1932 to reflect broader responsibilities for radio and telephony.

Berlin, 1906: 29 states and an annex that became the regulations

The International Radiotelegraph Union was another predecessor of today's ITU. It was established in 1906 at the first International Radiotelegraph Convention in Berlin. Representatives of 29 states attended, and the conference concluded with a radiotelegraph convention. The annex to that convention eventually became known as the ITU Radio Regulations.

1947: an agreement with the UN

On 15 November 1947, the ITU signed an agreement with the newly created United Nations, becoming a specialised agency in the UN system. The agreement formally entered into force on 1 January 1949. The ITU promotes shared global use of the radio spectrum, facilitates international cooperation on frequency and satellite orbital position assignment, and works on technical standardisation.

The Radio Regulations are the ITU's fundamental document governing radiocommunication services and radio frequency use under international law. They supplement the ITU Constitution and Convention and align with the International Telecommunication Regulations. The regulations cover the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum allocated for radiocommunication, from 9 kHz to 300 GHz. The approved 2012 version comprises a first volume divided into chapters. It begins with terminology and technical characteristics, then covers frequency management and radiocommunication services, radio stations and systems, operating terms, emission and equipment characteristics, frequency sharing, and technical terms relating to space.

This standards architecture is vast. Before any telephone, radio, or satellite can transmit in a specific band, a common language must exist to describe bands, powers, emissions, and coexistence modes. The ITU has maintained this language continuously since 1865, first for wire, then for wave, and now for orbit.