Advises suppliers on technical recommendations for telephone and fax communication systems. Before March 1, 1993, the ITU was known as the CCITT, or Consultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy. Every four years, the ITU, located in Geneva, Switzerland, convenes plenary sessions with the intent of adopting new telecommunications standards and communicating with other standards organizations to develop a global uniform standards system for ­communications.

See Also: Telecom.