THE International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has always prided itself on being one of the most pragmatic organisations of the United Nations. Engineers, after all, speak a similar language, regardless where they come from. Even during the digital cold war they managed to overcome their differences and negotiate the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR), a binding global …
In the end it was a disappointment that the treaty on International Telecommunications regulations (ITRs) that had been under negotiation for two weeks at the ITU World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) was not acceptable to 55 countries, and that, as a consequence, these countries did not sign the final version of the international treaty …
A proposed global telecoms treaty that would give national governments control of the internet has been blocked by the US and key western and African nations. They said they are “not able to sign the agreement in its current form” at the end of a International Telecoms Union (ITU) conference in Dubai. read more
Here is the Draft Revised ITRs as they stand now. read more
“The United States has announced today that it cannot sign” the treaty’s provisions “in their current form,” said Terry Kramer, the U.S. ambassador to the World Conference on International Telecommunications, on Thursday as the 12-day conference draws to a close this week. Representatives of several other of the world’s largest economies also spoke out against …
China, Russia and others have withdrawn controversial proposals at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) 2012 that would have given them greater control over the Internet, following a public backlash from dismayed onlookers. read more
by Kieren McCarthy | 8 Dec 2012 | A leaked document has confirmed fears that a world conference held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will be used by some countries to expand government control over the Internet. Read More
The World Conference on International Telecommunications (#WCIT-12) currently taking place in Dubai is now in full swing. A number of high ranking officials and dignitaries are in attendance at the conference, including Mohamed Nasser Al-Ghanim, Director-General of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and Chairman of the Conference; Fadi Chehadé, President and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and …
Are ICANN and the International Telecommunications Union going to start playing nicely? That’s the message coming out of the ITU’s World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai this morning, when ITU secretary general Hamadoun Toure said the two organizations are “complementary”. Read More
Rival visions over governance of the internet have emerged at a UN conference in Dubai. Russia, the UAE and others are proposing that 193 countries have “equal rights to manage the internet” including its technical specifications. They want this stated in an international communications treaty. Read More