The story of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is one of international cooperation among governments, companies, academia, and other organizations involved with communications or digital technologies. ITU plays a vital role at every stage of global communications development, ensuring increasing numbers of people benefit from access to global networks, technologies, and services.

A series of videos produced by geneveMonde, with the support of the Swiss Republic and Canton of Geneva, shines a light on ITU’s technical work and contribution to international cooperation over the last 160 years.

The telegraph: Revolutionizing long-distance communications

For thousands of years, the quickest way to send complex messages over long distances was by courier on horseback or perhaps by carrier pigeon. At the end of the 18th century, scientists conducted experiments in sending electrical signals along wires, and in 1839, the world’s first commercial telegraph service opened in London.

Telegraph wires soon linked major towns in many countries. A submarine telegraph cable was laid between Britain and France in 1850, and a regular service inaugurated the following year. The first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid in 1858. But there was a problem. Wherever lines crossed national borders, messages had to be stopped and translated into the transmission code for the next jurisdiction.

To simplify matters, governments began forging regional agreements, and in Europe, representatives of 20 states gathered in Paris at an International Telegraph Conference to find ways to overcome barriers and make services more efficient. They would create the international framework to standardize telegraphy equipment, set uniform operating instructions, and lay down common international tariff and accounting rules.

On 17 May 1865, the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris by diplomats of 20 founding members, and the International Telegraph Union (the first incarnation of ITU) was established to supervise subsequent amendments to the agreement.

SOS: Radio waves save lives

Telegraphy required sending signals by cable, but cables could not reach everywhere, particularly to and from ships at sea. When experiments with radio waves confirmed that messages could be transmitted through the air, a new medium for long-distance communication was born.

Communication by radio enabled mariners to send and receive distress calls such as the famed ‘SOS.’ It also opened unprecedented possibilities for regular communications between moving vehicles, such as trains, as well as for broadcasting news and entertainment to widely dispersed mass audiences. In step with the times, the International Telegraph Union was renamed in 1934 as the International Telecommunication Union.

International Radiotelegraph Conference (Washington, 1927) © ITU

Geneva: Pushing back the walls

ITU was first headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, starting in 1869. A major turning point came in 1947, with coinciding meetings of the newly established United Nations in New York and ITU in nearby Atlantic City, New Jersey (U.S.). Following negotiations between the two bodies, ITU became the UN’s specialized agency for telecommunications, and soon relocated to Geneva, Switzerland – home to many other United Nations organizations. 

ITU did not immediately have its own dedicated space. Staff worked out of three different buildings: the Palais Wilson with its attached Maison des Congrès, and the Villa Bartholoni, located just a short walk east along the lake.

As ITU’s functions and responsibilities expanded, the Canton of Geneva and the Swiss Federation offered the organization its own building. Inaugurated in 1962, the new Varembé Building brought all ITU staff under one roof.

Satellite takes off

The organization held its first space conference in 1963, soon after the launch of the first communication satellites. 

This new global breakthrough required countries to come together and agree on regulations for space-based radiocommunications.

United Nations Secretary-General U Thant addressed the delegates attending ITU’s Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference in Geneva from his office in New York via satellite. The 1963 conference, involving 70 countries in the allocations of frequency bands for space radiocommunication purposes, confirmed the launch of a new era.

Coordination of technical assistance

Beginning in the 1950s, as part of UN initiated programmes aimed at promoting peace through economic and social development, ITU expanded its activities to include the coordination of technical assistance to develop national and international telecommunications infrastructures in developing nations. Sharing technical expertise and knowledge for the benefit of all continues to be at the heart of ITU’s work.

Today’s UN agency for digital technologies

Today, ITU brings together 194 governments, more than 1000 companies, universities and other organizations to share expert knowledge on communication technologies.

With the steady expansion of wireless networks worldwide, all services relying on radio waves compete for a share of the radio-frequency spectrum to support new applications, growing user numbers, and massively expanding digital traffic. ITU’s management of the world’s radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources has become more crucial by the day.

The ITU Secretariat in Geneva, its regional and area offices, and the organization’s diverse membership around the world continue working together to ensure vital coordination and governance, provide accessible and widely recognized technical standards, and support equitable access to digital networks and technologies.

ITU has evolved with technologies for 160 years and will keep adapting to keep pace in the dawning age of artificial intelligence, advanced mobile networks, and fully immersive digital communications. 

MORE INFORMATION

This article offers a brief insight into ITU’s history. Read more about the organization’s rich heritage on the ITU 160 website.


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