World Telecommunication Day (WTD) celebrates the advances we have made in how we communicate with each other. It is on May 17 each year because that is the day in 1865 when the International Telegraph Union (ITU) started. The ITU manages how the world shares and uses communications. It has successfully coordinated many important developments in our history. These include the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, the world's first satellite in 1957, and the Internet. The ITU has worked to improve telecommunications in the developing world, and to protect individuals and societies from cyber-crime. WTD raises our awareness of the importance of telecommunications in today's global village.

The ITU changed its name to the International Telecommunication Union when technology moved on from telegraphs. Its website says it is "the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services." It has 191 member countries and it is "committed to connecting the world". Today the ITU manages many aspects of our lives. It helps make the rules for broadband Internet and the latest-generation wireless technologies; it helps airplanes and ships navigate the skies and seas; and it oversees the way scientists try to communicate with outer space and possible aliens.

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