World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

What Is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day?

Every May 17th is "World Telecommunication and Information Society Day." On May 17, 1865, in Paris, 20 countries came together to establish the International Telegraph Union — the forerunner of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The day has been observed as World Telecommunication Day since 1969. In 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called for May 17 to be World Information Society Day, and in 2006 the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference decided to combine the two. Today it is an international day focused on the potential of information and communication technology (ICT) and on closing the digital divide.

The History of Faster Information Exchange

The evolution of communication is the story of overcoming physical distance to connect people.

• The telegraph: The spread of Morse code telegraphy changed the speed of information from "the speed of a horse or ship" to the speed of electricity. In 1871, undersea telegraph cables were laid connecting Nagasaki with Shanghai and with Vladivostok, linking Japan to the international communication network.
• The telephone: In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell obtained a patent for the telephone. The shift from coded signals to direct voice conversation transformed business and diplomacy.

The ITU and the History of the Day

• A UN specialized agency: The ITU is now a specialized agency of the United Nations, responsible for tasks such as allocating radio frequencies and developing international telecommunication standards. It is far older than the UN itself and is often described as one of the world's oldest international organizations.
• In Japan: The ITU Association of Japan holds a ceremony around May 17 and presents awards to people who have contributed to international standardization and cooperation.

Interesting Facts About Telecommunications

• The first internet message: In 1969, an attempt to send the word "LOGIN" over ARPANET, the forerunner of the internet, crashed the system after just "LO" was transmitted.
• Undersea cables: Most international data traffic travels through fiber-optic cables laid on the ocean floor.
• Emoji: Emoji spread on Japanese mobile phones and became a worldwide standard after being adopted into Unicode, the international character encoding standard.
• Quantum cryptography: Research and deployment of quantum key distribution — which makes eavesdropping detectable — are under way.
• Beyond 5G: International discussions on the next generation, "6G," are under way, with practical use targeted around 2030.

Tips for Spending World Telecommunication Day

• Tidy up your smartphone — delete unused apps and update your operating system and security settings.
• Reach out to family or friends far away with a video call.
• Make a habit of checking where news and social media posts come from.
• Put your phone away for an hour and enjoy some time offline.

An Invisible Network Connects the World and Our Daily Lives

May 17th marks the day, more than 160 years ago, when countries first agreed on shared rules for connecting telegraph lines across borders. Our smartphones and the internet are built on that foundation. It is a good day to appreciate the communication we take for granted — and to think about how we handle the information that flows through it.