As described on the ITU's website, the ITU's Radiocommunication Sector "plays a vital role in the management of the radio-frequency spectrum, a finite natural resource which is increasingly in demand due to the rapid development of new radio-based services and the enormous popularity of mobile communications technologies.

"In their role as global spectrum coordinator, the Member States of the Radiocommunication Sector develop and adopt the Radio Regulations, a voluminous set of rules which serve as a binding international treaty governing the use of the radio spectrum by some 40 different services around the world. The Sector also acts, through its Bureau, as a central registrar of international frequency use, recording and maintaining the Master International Frequency Register which currently includes around 1,265,000 terrestrial frequency assignments, 87,096 assignments servicing 590 satellite networks, and another 46,179 assignments related to 3,163 satellite earth stations.

"In addition, ITU-R is responsible for coordinating efforts to ensure that the communication, broadcasting and meteorological satellites in the world’s increasingly crowded skies can co-exist without causing harmful interference to one another’s services. In this role, the Union facilitates agreements between both operators and governments, and provides practical tools and services to help frequency spectrum managers carry out their day-to-day work."

Source (as viewed on 3 December 2004)

As noted in the "Trends" section of this website, the Internet and the devices that comprise it rely on international data standards. When translated from wired space to wireless, as will increasingly be the case, these standards clash with a country’s sovereignty over its electromagnetic spectrum. A wireless system might require a certain slice of the spectrum, but that slice might not be universally available throughout the world. Multiple slices/standards for each jurisdiction could mean decreased compatibility and increased time to market, if a device manufacturer chooses to serve a country at all. The ITU stands as the body that might bring about effective international cooperation in this area that is so fundamental to the future networked world.