About the ITU Conference

The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference will be held in the United States for the first time in 50 years as a result of an invitation extended to the ITU by Vice President Al Gore at the 1994 conference in Kyoto, Japan. In October 1995, Minneapolis was chosen by the U.S. Department of State through a competitive selection process that began with more than 50 cities. More than 100 years old, ITU is a United Nations agency and world-wide organization comprised of 188 countries, within which governments and private-sector companies coordinate the establishment and operation of telecommunication networks and services. The ITU is responsible for the standardization, coordination and development of international telecommunication infrastructures. Every four years, the ITU holds a "Plenipot" conference at which approximately 2,000 delegates and staff from 188 ITU countries meet to establish the ITU budget and elect ITU’s officers to serve until the next Plenipot. The results of the conference have treaty status (i.e., are legally binding) in many countries. Therefore, the Conference attracts many ministers from the member countries. The month-long conference will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center October 12 through November 6, 1998.