• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has elected India as co-chair of its Digital Innovation Board.

• The Digital Innovation Board comprises ministers and vice ministers of telecom/ICT of 23 Member Countries of ITU spanning Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America.

• Neeraj Mittal, secretary, Department of Telecommunications, was unanimously elected as co-chair of the Board formed under the aegis of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development.

• The alliance establishes the Digital Innovation Board to provide strategic guidance, expertise and advocacy regarding its mission of building critical local enablers and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in digital development, to create a more inclusive and equitable digital future for all.

International Telecommunication Union

• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.

• ITU was founded in Paris in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union.

• It took its present name in 1932, and in 1947 became a specialised agency of the United Nations.

• ITU is the oldest agency in the UN family, connecting the world since the dawn of telegraph in 1865.

• The headquarters is situated in Geneva, Switzerland.

• ITU is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. 

• From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based earth monitoring as well as converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world.

• ITU’s global membership includes 193 Member States as well as some 1,000 companies, universities, and international and regional organisations. 

Role of ITU

• ITU makes phone calls possible. ITU standards, protocols and international agreements are the essential elements underpinning the global telecommunication system.

• ITU coordinates the world’s satellites through the management of spectrum and orbits, bringing television, vehicle GPS navigation, maritime and aeronautical communications, weather information and online maps, and enabling communications in even the remotest parts of the planet.

• It makes Internet access possible. The majority of Internet connections are facilitated by ITU standards.

• It helps support communications in the wake of disasters and emergencies – through on-the-ground assistance, dedicated emergency communications channels, technical standards for early warning systems, and practical help in rebuilding after a catastrophe.

• ITU works with the industry to define the new technologies that will support tomorrow’s networks and services.

• It powers the mobile revolution, forging the technical standards and policy frameworks that make mobile and broadband possible.

• ITU works with public and private sector partners to ensure that ICT access and services are affordable, equitable and universal.

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