This comprehensive study delves into the historical evolution, current structure, and future challenges of international telecommunication regulation, with a focus on the pivotal role of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The ITU has evolved from a 19th-century entity with a limited technical focus into a United Nations Specialised Agency with 193 member states. Since its 1992–1994 reconstruction, it has become a key force in setting global telecommunication standards, managing radio frequency compliance, and actively supporting nations in developing and modernizing their telecommunication infrastructures. Tracing the origins of telecommunication governance, the book provides a detailed analysis of the ITU’s transformation, and scrutinizes the ITU’s current structure, including its three main sectors: the Standardisation Sector (ITU–T), the Development Sector (ITU–D) and the Radiocommunication Sector (ITU–R). Finally, the text explores pressing issues such as financing, state-commercial interactions, and the ITU's role in emerging challenges like satellite constellations, space communication, and cis-lunar regulation. This forward-looking perspective is complemented by a discussion of national regulatory models in the United Kingdom and the United States, providing a comprehensive view of telecommunications law and policy on both international and domestic fronts.
This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of telecommunications, commercial law and international law.
