Background briefing

on the International
Telecommunication
Union (ITU)
ITU Annex
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)
June 2014
Report Title: Background briefing on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): ITU Annex
Date Published: June 2014
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This report should be cited as follows:
MacLean, D. (2014). Background briefing on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): ITU
Annex. Ottawa: Canadian Internet Registration Authority and CENTR.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY - KEY ASPECTS OF THE ITU ................................................................... 1
Overview of the ITU .................................................................................. 1
Mandate .................................................................................................... 2
Membership .............................................................................................. 2
Structure ................................................................................................... 3
ITU SECTORS AND CYCLES ............................................................................. 3
PERIODIC STANDALONE EVENTS ........................................................................ 4
THE PLENIPOTENTIARY CONFERENCE AND COUNCIL ................................................. 4
ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE ROLE OF THE SECRETARIAT ........................................... 5
THE ROLE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL .............................................................. 5
ITU Governance Instruments .................................................................... 5
TREATIES ................................................................................................. 6
NON-BINDING INSTRUMENTS ........................................................................... 6
ITU Governance Processes ........................................................................ 7
Plenipotentiary Conference (PP or Plenipot) ............................................. 8








1
ITU Annex
BACKGROUND BRIEFING ON THE
INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION
UNION (ITU) - ITU ANNEX
SUMMARY - KEY ASPECTS OF THE ITU
What it is. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an intergovernmental
organization in which representatives of its 193 member states and more than 700 non-
government members work together in conferences, assemblies and study groups to
produce regulations, standards and policy guidelines. The role of the ITU Secretariat is to
provide administrative and logistical support to ITU members and to help them facilitate
decision-making processes by serving as secretaries to ITU meetings.
What it does. The members of the ITU produce two main kinds of outputs regulations
that are binding on member states that ratify them, and voluntary standards. The Radio
Regulations and the standards they incorporate are the ITUs most important regulatory
output. They regulate the allocation and use of radio frequencies and satellite orbital
positions in great detail. Recommendations on the technical, operational and tariff
aspects of telecommunications networks and services are its most important output of
voluntary standards. They number more than 4,000.
How it does it. All of the work done by the ITUs government and non-government
members to develop binding regulations or voluntary standards is driven bottom-up by
proposals from individual members or groups of members. The proposals are discussed
and decisions are made mainly at physical meetings of ITU members, which are led and
managed by their representatives with the support of the secretariat.
OVERVIEW OF THE ITU
The ITU became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1947, but its origins go back
to the International Telegraph Convention, a treaty concluded by 20 European states in Paris
in 1865. Today it remains an intergovernmental organization founded on treaty agreements
between sovereign nation states that are based on the sovereign right of each State to
regulate its telecommunication
1
.
At the time the ITU was established, and for much of its history, telecommunication
services were provided in most countries by government agencies.
In the few countries where services were privately provided, telecommunications
companies were subject to detailed, sector-specific regulation by government bodies,
which viewed them as natural monopolies that should be regulated according to
common carrier and public utility principles.
The governance paradigm of monopoly service provision under government ownership or
regulatory control began to be replaced in the 1980s and 1990s by a new paradigm that


2
ITU Annex
emphasized the role of market forces. This promoted privatization, liberalization,
competition, and innovation in the telecommunications sector.
In spite of this paradigm shift, telecommunications remains a government-regulated
industry both nationally and internationally.
2

The ITU has undergone many organizational changes in the past 149 years as the result of
changes in technology and the structure of the telecommunications sector, and in the
general geopolitical environment.
3

In 1992, it finalized a complete reorganization into its present form through the adoption of
a new Constitution and Convention following a reform process launched in 1989.
4
The main
features of todays ITU are described in the following sections.
MANDATE
The ITUs purposes are set out in Article 1 of its Constitution. Its basic objectives are to
promote cooperation and harmonize action among its member states and the non-
government organizations that participate in its work, in pursuit of the following goals:
1. To promote the development of technical facilities and their most efficient operation
in order to increase the efficiency, usefulness and public availability of
telecommunication services.
2. To provide technical assistance to developing countries, and to promote the
mobilization of the financial, human and material resources needed to develop
telecommunications.
3. To promote extension of the benefits of new telecommunications technologies to all
the worlds inhabitants.
4. To internationally promote the adoption of a broader approach to the issues of
telecommunications in the global information society.
MEMBERSHIP
Any state that is a member of the United Nations can become an ITU Member State by
acceding to its Constitution and Convention. States that are not members of the United
Nations must apply for ITU membership, which is granted if two-thirds of ITU Member States
approve the application and the state then accedes to the Constitution and Convention.
The ITU currently has 193 member states. They have the right to participate in all ITU
activities, the right to vote at all meetings and consultations, and the right to nominate
candidates for elected office.
5
Each member state is obliged to make an annual
contribution to the ITU budget by voluntarily choosing how many units it wishes to
contribute from a scale that ranges from 40 units at the top to 1/16 of a unit at the
bottom. Failure to make these contributions can result in loss of the right to vote.
6
Each
unit is currently valued at 318,000 Swiss francs per year ($360,000 U.S.). The U.S.
contributes 30 units, or about $10.86 million U.S.


3
ITU Annex
Non-government entities and organizations that engage in activities consistent with the
ITUs purposes can become members of the union with the approval of their member
state or the ITU Council.
More than 700 non-government entities and organizations currently participate in the
work of the ITU. This number includes telecommunications network operators and
service providers, equipment manufacturers, university research centres and various
kinds of regional and international organizations including, for example, the Internet
Society (ISOC).
These organizations have the right to participate in ITU activities they have agreed to
support financially. A full Sector Member can participate in all the activities of any sector
of which it is a member. Associates and Academia participate in the work of specific
study groups.
Sector members voluntarily choose how many units they wish to contribute to financing
sector activities. Since they do not have the right to vote, sector member contributory
units are 1/5 the value of member state contributory units. Because they can participate
only in the work of specific study groups, the fees paid by associates and academia are
lower than those paid by full sector members.
7

Sector members have the right to chair meetings and take part in decision-making
processes that do not have binding outcomes, or otherwise have policy and regulatory
implications for member states. They can also be delegated to represent member states
at ITU meetings.
STRUCTURE
ITU Sectors and cycles
Most of the ITUs mandate is carried out by three largely self-governing sectors composed of
member states and sector members the Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R); the
Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T); and the Telecommunication
Development Sector (ITU-D).
In each of these sectors, work is done through continuous cycles of activity that are based
on similar organizational templates in which:
Top-down planning takes place through Assemblies (ITU-R and ITU-T) or Conferences
(ITU-D) that meet every few years to review the results of work done in the previous
cycle and set the parameters for the work to be done in the next cycle.
Bottom-up execution of these plans takes place through the work of largely autonomous
Study Groups that generally meet several times a year.
Because of the need to adjust the international radio regulatory framework to the rapid pace
of wireless development, ITU-R runs on a flexible, three or four year cycle that features two
top-down events: a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), which updates the Radio
Regulations; and a Radiocommunication Assembly (RA), which reviews the results of study
group work done in the previous cycle, and plans the work to be done in the next. Because
the Recommendations produced by ITU-R study groups are deemed to have regulatory
implications, member states must be involved in their approval.


4
ITU Annex
ITU-T runs on a fixed four-year cycle in which the World Telecommunication Standardization
Assembly (WTSA) reviews the work done in the previous cycle and plans the work to be
done in the next.
Working in Study Groups, ITU-T members develop Recommendations (standards) for the
various fields of international telecommunications. For example, Study Group 2 is
responsible for the international telephone numbering plan and developing the supporting
standard Recommendation E.614, which is used by telecommunications carriers throughout
the world.
Because of the rapid pace of technological evolution and the need to coordinate the activities
of ITU-T study groups with those of other standardization bodies, member states generally
are not involved in the process for approving ITU-T recommendations deemed purely
technical.
ITU-D also runs on a fixed four-year cycle in which the World Telecommunication
Development Conference (WTDC) not only reviews the results of study group work done in
the previous cycle and plans the next, but also plans the capacity-building and development
assistance programs ITU-D will undertake over the next four years.
Periodic standalone events
In addition to its three sectors, the ITU structure includes two standalone events that are
convened periodically to address issues related to international telecommunication policy
and regulation.
The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) is a treaty-making
event founded in the ITU Constitution. It meets as often as ITU member states decide is
necessary to revise the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). The WCIT
has met only twice in the last 25 years in 1988 and in 2012.
8

The World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) is an informal event that was
established by a resolution of the 1994 Kyoto Plenipotentiary Conference.
9
It is convened
periodically to discuss and develop non-binding Opinions on policy issues of interest to
member states. It has met five times in the last ten years, most recently in 2013 to
discuss international Internet-related public policy issues.
10

The Plenipotentiary Conference and Council
Within the ITUs federal structure, overall governance is provided by two bodies the
Plenipotentiary Conference and the Council.
The Plenipotentiary Conference (PP) meets every four years. It is responsible for setting
overall policy directions, adopting strategic and financial plans for the next four-year
period, coordinating activities across sectors, and updating the Constitution and
Convention. The PP also elects members of the ITU Council, as well as the five officials
who head the ITU secretariat and the 12 members of the part-time Radio Regulations
Board, which develops procedures and adjudicates issues related to the application of the
Radio Regulations.
The Council, which is composed of one-quarter of the ITU member states, governs the
ITU in the period between plenipotentiary conferences. It meets annually and is
responsible for implementing the policies and plans decided at the Plenipotentiary


5
ITU Annex
Conference, approving biennial budgets, dealing with human resource issues, and
overseeing the management of the ITU secretariat.
Elected officials and the role of the Secretariat
The ITU Secretariat includes a General Secretariat headed by a Secretary-General assisted
by a Deputy Secretary-General, and three sector Bureaus each headed by a Director the
Radiocommunication Bureau (BR), the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB),
and the Bureau for Telecommunication Development (BDT).
These five officials are all elected by the Plenipotentiary Conference. Together they form the
Coordination Committee, a formal element of the ITUs constitutional structure charged with
assisting the Secretary-General in coordinating the unions activities by functioning as a
management committee.
The role of the Secretary-General
The role of the ITU Secretary-General differs from the role of agency heads in most other
U.N. organizations, which typically are unitary organizations headed by directors-general.
Although the ITU Secretary-General is responsible for coordinating the efficient and effective
use of resources throughout the secretariat and has the final say on financial and human
resource management decisions, he does not have formal authority to direct the work of the
three bureaus that support ITU-R, ITU-T and ITU-D. This is the responsibility of the three
bureau directors who, like the Secretary-General, are elected by member states at the
Plenipotentiary Conference.
11

While the internal management role of the ITU Secretary-General is circumscribed by the
ITUs federal structure, the Secretary-General is the face of the ITU to the outside world. In
addition to being the ITUs legal representative, the Secretary-General is responsible for
informing the world about the ITU, its activities, and its objectives.
The Secretary-General is also responsible for keeping ITU members informed about changes
in the telecommunications environment and recommending actions related to future ITU
policies and strategies, as input to the four-year strategic plans that are adopted by the
Plenipotentiary Conference.
12

ITU GOVERNANCE INSTRUMENTS
As indicated in the previous section, the ITU produces two different kinds of governance
instruments: treaties, which bind member states that have ratified their provisions, and
which have the force of international law; and various forms of non-binding instruments that
direct the work of the union and provide policy guidance to member states and sector
members.



6
ITU Annex
Treaties
The ITU produces four binding treaty instruments:
The Constitution (CS) and Convention (CV), two complementary treaty instruments
that set out the general principles governing the mandate, membership, structure, and
functioning of the ITU (the Constitution) as well as detailed provisions regarding its
operations, finances and conferences (the Convention). The Constitution and Convention
are produced by the Plenipotentiary Conference and updated every four years.
13

The Radio Regulations (RRs), an extremely detailed, 4-volume treaty instrument that
regulates the allocation and coordinates the use of bands in the radio frequency
spectrum and satellite orbital positions. It is produced by the World Radiocommunication
Conference and updated every three or four years.
14

The International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), a relatively short treaty
instrument setting out high-level principles that regulate international telecommunication
networks and services. It is produced by the World Conference on International
Telecommunications and updated as required, which has happened only twice in the last
twenty-five years.
15

Within the ITU treaty framework, the RRs and ITRs are formally known as Administrative
Regulations that complement the Constitution and Convention. The Constitution is the basic
instrument of the union, and its provisions prevail in the case of inconsistency with any of
the other treaty instruments.
Non-binding instruments
In addition to these binding treaty instruments, the ITU produces various kinds of non-
binding instruments:
Decisions, Resolutions and Recommendations adopted by treaty-making conferences and
appended to the treaty instruments as part of the Final Acts of these conferences.
Recommendations developed by ITU study groups that function as voluntary
international standards, and which are approved through consultative processes that
involve different configurations of member states and/or sector members, depending on
whether a recommendation is purely technical, or has policy or regulatory implications
for member states.
Resolutions, Recommendations and Declarations contained in the reports of the
Radiocommunication Assembly, World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly,
and World Conference on Telecommunication Development.
Opinions adopted by the World Telecommunication Policy Forum.
Although all are non-binding, these different instruments carry different degrees of moral
force. Decisions are things that are done; Resolutions are things that will be done;
Recommendations are things that should be done; and Opinions are things that could be
done.


7
ITU Annex
ITU GOVERNANCE PROCESSES
ITU governance processes revolve around physical meetings of treaty-making conferences,
other conferences and assemblies, study groups, and various kinds of preparatory and
coordination meetings. In addition to physical meetings, these processes include online
consultations as well as traditional forms of correspondence.
Most of these meetings are held at ITU headquarters in Geneva, which has extensive
conference facilities designed to support simultaneous interpretation into the six official
languages of the United Nations, as well as ready access to the translation and document
production services required to support ITU meetings, which tend to be document-heavy.
Some ITU events, such as the Plenipotentiary Conference and the World Telecommunication
Development Conference, are usually held outside Geneva on the invitation of host
governments prepared to cover the cost of these meetings, which includes the cost of
relocating ITU secretariat support services to the conference venue for the duration of the
event.
All ITU meetings and governance processes are driven by proposals and other forms of
contributions from ITU member states and sector members. These proposals and
contributions may come from individual countries or organizations; from groups of countries
or organizations, usually on a regional basis; or from working groups or committees
mandated to prepare reports as input to ITU meetings and governance processes for
example, the draft strategic and financial plans for 2015-18 and the report on Internet-
related public policy issues, which will be prepared by Council working groups for
consideration at the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference.
The ITU Convention contains general provisions on the organization, structure, working
methods, rules of procedure, and decision-making processes of ITU conferences, assemblies
and meetings, particularly those that lead to binding outcomes. More detailed procedures on
these subjects, which apply to the non-binding activities of conferences and assemblies,
study groups and advisory groups, are adopted at the sector level.
16

There is a fundamental distinction in all ITU governance activities between processes that
produce outcomes that bind Member States through treaty provisions, and those that do
not. There are also differences in the implications of the work done by the different ITU
sectors for the sovereign right of each State to regulate its telecommunication, the
touchstone principle on which the ITU is founded.
The distinction between binding and non-binding outcomes, combined with differences in the
nature of the work carried out by the three ITU sectors, results in differences in ITU
governance processes with respect to matters such as meeting participation, submission of
contributions, the organization and management of work during meetings, and decision-
making procedures. These differences can be illustrated with reference to three ITU
governance processes taking place in 2014 that may be of interest to the ccNSO community
because they involve Internet-related issues, meetings of ITU-T Study Group 2, the World
Telecommunication Development Conference, and the Plenipotentiary Conference. Of these,
the Plenipotentiary Conference is the most important.


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ITU Annex
PLENIPOTENTIARY CONFERENCE (PP OR PLENIPOT)
The next ITU Plenipotentiary Conference will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea from 20
October to 7 November, 2014. Among the many items on its agenda will be a number
related to the Internet. PP-14 will:
Review ten non-binding resolutions on Internet-related topics adopted at the last
Plenipot, which took place in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2010.
17

Consider the report of a Council Working Group on International Internet-Related Public
Policy Issues.
Consider proposals from member states to amend the ITU Constitution to include
Internet-related provisions or to adopt additional Internet-related resolutions or
recommendations - if any such proposals are submitted to the conference.
18

The main features of the Plenipot governance process are as follows.
The principal governance functions of the quadrennial Plenipotentiary Conference are to
determine the general policies of ITU, to establish strategic and financial plans, and to
amend the Constitution and Convention. This is done on the basis of proposals submitted
by member states, either individually or as members of regional groups, as well as
reports prepared by the ITU Council on subjects set out in the Constitution or directed by
the previous Plenipotentiary Conference.
The Plenipot is composed of delegations of member states. These delegations are headed
by, and largely composed, of officials from government departments and agencies, but
may also include representatives of private sector and civil society organizations. Sector
members have the right to attend the Plenipot as observers, but their representatives
can only participate in the work of the conference as members of national delegations.
The reports and proposals submitted to the Plenipot are allocated by the plenary to
committees for detailed study. There is usually one committee to deal with proposals to
amend the Constitution and Convention and one committee to deal with policies and
plans. To handle the very large number of reports and proposals typically submitted to
the Plenipot, working groups and drafting groups are set up by the plenary and
conference committees, either on a pre-planned or ad hoc basis. Once they have finished
their work, sub-groups report back to committees and committees report back to the
plenary.
In the Plenipot as in all ITU governance processes, decisions are almost always reached
by consensus. Votes are only taken in plenary, and only when it has been impossible to
resolve differences through extended discussion and negotiation, as well as informal
shows of hands to indicate early voting intentions.
Votes can be taken by a formal show of hands, roll call, or secret ballot. To pass, a
proposal must be supported by 50% +1 of the delegations that are present at the
conference, have the right to vote, and vote for or against the proposal. The number of
delegations that are present at the conference but do not vote, or which abstain from
voting, are not counted in computing the number of votes required for a majority.
The amendments to the Constitution and Convention and the Decisions, Resolutions and
Recommendations adopted by the conference are combined into Final Acts, which
member states are invited to sign at the end of the conference. Before signing the Final
Acts, member states can deposit Reservations with respect to any of their provisions,
which then become part of the Final Acts.


9
ITU Annex
Countries participating in the Plenipotentiary Conference are not obliged to sign the Final
Acts if they do not agree with their provisions.
Amendments to the Constitution and Convention adopted by the Plenipotentiary
Conference do not become binding on a country until they have been ratified by its
national government.
The Final Acts of a Plenipotentiary Conference reflect the diversity of ITU governance
processes. They contain treaty provisions that bind countries which ratify them, as well as
non-binding resolutions and recommendations which provide policy guidance to member
states and sector members and direct the work of the ITU for the next four years.

1
These words are from the Preamble to the ITU Constitution. See http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-
s/oth/02/09/s02090000115201pdfe.pdf for the full text.
2
At the international level, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements on trade in telecommunication services have
largely displaced the ITU International Telecommunication Regulations as the framework for regulating international
telecommunications. See http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/telecom_e/telecom_e.htm for access to information
on the WTO agreements.
3
The ITUs ability to adapt to change was recognized in a 2004 study conducted by Booz, Allan Hamilton, which identified it as
one of the worlds 10 most enduring institutions. The BAH study of The Worlds Most Enduring Institutions can be accessed at
http://www.boozallen.com/media/file/143411.pdf.
4
The ITU Constitution and Convention adopted at the 1992 Geneva Plenipotentiary Conference have been amended at
subsequent Plenipotentiary Conferences, which are held every four years. However, the purposes, structures and processes
adopted in 1992 have not been significantly changed. See http://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/ConferencesCollection.aspx for
summaries of the main results of ITU Plenipotentiary Conferences and access to their Final Acts.
5
See http://www.itu.int/online/mm/scripts/mm.list?_search=ITUstates&_languageid=1 for a list of current ITU Member
States
6
The value of a Member State contributory unit currently is CHF 318,000. Only Least Developed Countries (LDCs) can choose
to contribute 1/8 or 1/16 of a unit.
7
The value of a sector member contributory unit currently is CHF 63,600. Sector Members cannot contribute less than unit
unless they are members of the Telecommunication Development Sector, in which case they can contribute at the , 1/8, or
1/16 unit levels. The latter level is reserved for Sector Members from LDCs. See
http://www.itu.int/en/about/Pages/membership.aspx for a schedule of the minimum membership fees that must be paid by
non-government entities and organizations participating in the work of the ITU.
8
See http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Pages/default.aspx for information on WCIT-12.
9
Because the WTPF is founded in a non-binding Resolution, it is technically not part of the ITU structure defined in the
Constitution, which includes the WCIT.
10
See http://www.itu.int/en/wtpf-13/Pages/default.aspx for information on WTPF-13.
11
How this division of responsibilities works in practice has tended to depend on the management styles, personalities, and goals
of the elected officials.
12
The Secretary-Generals overall responsibilities are set out in Article 11 of the ITU Constitution and detailed in Article 5 of the
Convention.
13
The current version of the ITU Constitution and Convention, which was adopted by the 2010 Guadalajara Plenipotentiary
Conference, can be accessed at http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/oth/02/09/s02090000115201pdfe.pdf.
14
The current version of the Radio Regulations, which was adopted by the 2012 Geneva World Radiocommunication
Conference, can be accessed at http://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/RadioRegulationsA.aspx?reg=41&be=S0202000024
15
The current version of the International Telecommunication Regulations, which was adopted by the 2012 Dubai World
Conference on International Telecommunication, can be accessed at http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Documents/final-acts-
wcit-12.pdf
16
The detailed working methods of ITU-R can be accessed at http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/vadm/R-VADM-RES-
2012-PDF-E.pdf. Those of ITU-T can be accessed at http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/res/T-RES-T.1-2012-PDF-
E.pdf.
17
See http://www.itu.int/osg/csd/intgov/ for a list of these resolutions, as well as other information on ITU activities related
to Internet policy and governance.
18
See http://www.itu.int/en/plenipotentiary/2014/Pages/default.aspx for access to information about PP-14.