The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) turned 160 years old on May 17, 2025. While celebratory drums rolled in Geneva, Switzerland and Paris, France, where it was founded, the multilateral agency for telecommunications development was preoccupied with a sobering reality—2.6 billion people remain unconnected to the internet.
Among these unconnected billions, the majority are women and girls. In 2024 alone, there were 189 million fewer women using the internet compared to men. Persistent gaps in access, affordability, and digital literacy are excluding women and girls from participating fully in the digital economy and shaping future innovations. This gender disparity underscores the urgent call, marked by this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), to ensure that all people, regardless of gender or geography, benefit from and contribute to the digital transformation reshaping our world.
Since 1963, the ITU has worked to ensure fair and reliable access to satellite orbits for its member states. Today, space is home to satellites from 91 countries, delivering services to billions globally. The ITU’s impact on the evolution of technology is deep and wide. In 1976, it published a technical standard enabling computer networks to communicate with each other—an essential foundation of the modern internet. It now publishes over 300 open standards annually to make emerging technologies safer, more reliable and impactful.
In the 10 years since ITU’s 150th anniversary, global connectivity has doubled. Two-thirds of the world’s population is now online, benefiting from opportunities in education, healthcare, finance and governance. Since 1906, and with over 80 per cent of global goods currently transported by sea, the ITU has provided rules and frequency resources that support reliable maritime communication and navigation. With 99 per cent of all internet traffic travelling through undersea cables, the ITU continues to promote the resilience of this critical infrastructure.
On May 17, the world celebrated WTISD, but the ITU turned the spotlight to the 2.6 billion still offline. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin expressed the collective concern and commitment of the organisation: “For 160 years, ITU has brought the world together to ensure technology benefits all of humanity. In this milestone year, let’s reaffirm our commitment to building a shared digital future where no one is left behind, and where everyone can thrive.”
From its origins in telegraphy and radio to mobile phones, satellites, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, the ITU has been a consistent force driving technological innovation and international cooperation. It inspires innovation through multilateralism and a commitment to connecting every corner of the world.
The 2025 WTISD holds special meaning as it coincides with the 160th anniversary of the ITU. Over the decades, the organisation has influenced every major communication advance: telegraphy, the telephone, satellite communications, mobile telephony, the internet and, now, artificial intelligence. Despite the gains, the digital divide remains vast. A third of the global population remains offline, a reality that WTISD urges us to confront head-on.
This year’s observance also marks 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action—a landmark global policy agenda for gender equality. The 2025 WTISD theme focuses on why digital gender equality is essential. Despite the transformative power of digital technologies, millions of women and girls are excluded from access and participation. The challenges include cost, infrastructure, device availability and limited digital skills. These barriers must be addressed to unlock economic growth, foster innovation and achieve inclusive development.
ITU secretary-general, Bogdan-Martin acknowledged the stakeholders behind this ongoing mission: “I thank ITU’s 194 member states and over 1,000 organisations from the private sector, academia and the technical community that work every day to ensure that the technologies shaping our shared digital future serve everyone, everywhere.”
Digital access is more than a technological goal, it is a social and economic imperative. Ensuring universal connectivity is not just about internet access, but also about inclusion, empowerment and resilience. To close the digital gender gap, policymakers, civil society, private sector leaders and development partners must prioritise affordability, invest in education, and support inclusive innovation ecosystems.
The ITU’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reflected in its strategic frameworks. The Plenipotentiary Conference, the highest decision-making body of the Union, approved the Strategic Plan for 2020–2023 in Dubai. This plan aligns closely with the SDGs and integrates them directly into ITU’s operations. The most relevant SDGs for ITU activities include SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 5 (gender equality).
Resolution 200, revised as part of the Connect 2030 Agenda, further reinforces ITU’s commitment to using telecommunications and ICTs as enablers of sustainable development. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Action Lines, especially those where ITU serves as the lead facilitator, serve as roadmaps for implementing global digital inclusion. The WSIS Action Lines C2 (information and communication infrastructure), C5 (building confidence and security in ICT use) and C6 (creating enabling environments) provide a structure for progress, policy alignment and accountability.
This architecture of cooperation, spanning governments, regulatory bodies, private companies, academia and international institutions, exemplifies how multistakeholder governance can propel meaningful change. It is through these collaborations that policy frameworks, infrastructure standards, and capacity-building initiatives are realised.
The ITU’s 160th anniversary is not just a time for reflection, it is a moment to double down on action. While more people are connected today than ever before, the unconnected remain disproportionately marginalised. Digital exclusion means missed opportunities in education, healthcare, employment, and political engagement. And it disproportionately affects rural communities, women, the elderly and people with disabilities.
This is why WTISD 2025 is more than a celebration, it is a call to action. Governments must invest in digital infrastructure and create enabling policies. The private sector must innovate responsibly and partner for impact. Civil society must continue to advocate for equity and justice in the digital world. And international agencies like the ITU must keep setting the global agenda, monitoring progress and convening stakeholders to share knowledge and scale solutions.
World Telecommunication Day, observed each year on May 17, serves to remind us of the power of communication technologies in transforming lives. This year’s emphasis on “Why gender equality in digital transformation matters” reinforces the truth that inclusion is not a luxury, but a necessity. When women and girls are excluded from the digital revolution, societies lose talent, ideas and leadership. When they are included, everyone benefits.
In 2025, as the ITU marks its 160th year, the path forward is clear: universal, inclusive, and meaningful connectivity must be achieved. The digital future must be one in which no one is left behind—not because they cannot afford it, or because they live in rural or conflict-affected areas, or because they are women or girls. Bridging the gap for the remaining 2.6 billion unconnected people, especially the most vulnerable among them, is the unfinished business of our digital age.
The ITU has shown for over a century and a half that cooperation, innovation and resilience can create transformational change. That legacy must now be harnessed to connect the unconnected, empower the excluded and build a digital world where opportunity is truly universal.
