International Telecommunications Regulations

Preparations are underway for the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12). In December, Dubai hosts a meeting of the United Nation's specialised agency for information and communications technologies. Its key objective is to review and update the international treaty that provides the legal basis for global communications.

The International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) were agreed in 1988 and came into force as a treaty-level agreement in 1990. They set out the principles governing international network connection and service provision. They address:

• Cooperation among national governments
• Ensuring priority for emergency communications
• Charges for traffic exchanged between carriers in different countries