Connect the world, connect people, with a better
[ Home ]Since its foundation in 1865, the ITU has been dedicated to connecting
the world. At the center of its mission is the fundamental right of
people to have access to communications, as laid out in Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
But making that right a reality is as much about science as it is about law.
Whenever
we turn on our television or radio for the programs that we like, or
pick up the telephone to dial a number, or receive a call on our cell
phone, or even travel by plane or ship, we benefit from
radiocommunication services using the radio-frequency spectrum,
including satellite orbits.
With the emergence of information and
communication technologies (ICTs), telecommunications has extended
beyond the traditional areas of telephony to encompass a far wider range
of information and communications possibilities. Every time we use the
Internet for communication, information and data exchange, through
broadband or Wi-Fi, we are benefiting from a global framework of ITU
Recommendations -- essential telecommunications standards that define
how telecom networks operate and interface. More than 3000 such
Recommendations are currently in force, on topics ranging from service
definition to network architecture and security, from broadband DSL to
Gbit/s optical transmission systems to next-generation networks (NGN)
and Internet Protocol (IP) related issues such as Internet Protocol
television (IPTV), all fundamental components of today's ICTs.
Today
with the ever-more rapid development of technology, new ICTs are
constantly developed, bringing with it new potential for economic and
social development. ICTs have so profoundly permeated economic and
social -- and even political -- activities that they have become an
indispensable part of our daily life and of modern society, not merely
as communication tools, but also as facilitators of social participation
for people from all walks of life. By developing new ICT applications,
the ITU is helping people to realize their rights. From Climate change
monitoring, mitigation and adaptation, to assisting in the transition to
a green economy, improving accessibility for people with disabilities,
improving access to health services, facilitating distance-learning to
combat illiteracy and advancing the right to education in developing
countries, generating employment through IT innovation and empowering
women.
As the volume of network-based information exchange increases, cyber security challenges also arise.
"ICTs
have transformed modern lifestyles. They provide us real time
communications; border-less and almost unlimited access to a range of
innovative services. At the same time, their misuse and their
vulnerabilities have also created new threats and ever-growing
challenges across borders for all countries.” As Dr. Hamadoun Touré,
Secretary-General of the ITU described, enhancing security and building
confidence in the use of ICTs have become a major concern for the
general public. New risks have emerged for users, including children,
necessitating a broad range of international cooperative activities from
infrastructure development to legislation enhancement.
These
considerations have created demand for a review of the International
Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). This will be the focus of the
World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai in
December 2012. As the global environment has changed dramatically since
the agreement of the current ITRs in 1988, Time, Distance, Location –
the three pillars underpinning telecommunications – have all become less
important in terms of global services today while the use of networks
and IP applications is increasing.
The market is evolving fast,
just as demand is booming worldwide, bringing both opportunities and
challenges: technological convergence has blurred the distinction
between voice and data traffic, data volumes are rising much more
quickly than growth in the infrastructure needed to carry them. How is
new infrastructure to be expanded to cope with demand, in both developed
and developing countries? And how can the cost be shared reasonably
among web-based service providers and infrastructure suppliers?
A
consensus has emerged on the need to adapt the ITRs to match our
rapidly changing world and respond to present and future realities, in
order to ensure smooth connection between networks and that
international services are provided in a fair and efficient manner. The
time has now come to build on the success of the existing ITR treaty and
pave the way for a fully inclusive information and networked society
over the next decade: one that ensures the world’s people can gain
equitable and affordable access to communicate and express themselves
better, more safely and more freely.
The justification of one crime, or another
You still will be saying nothing