ITU News release

[Harald Tveit Alvestrand <harald@alvestrand.no>]

found this on the 'net
http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2003/April/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ITU TO DEMOCRATIZE AND LIBERALIZE ITS PROCESSES
NEW ROLE FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR ENVISIONED

As part of the ongoing effort of ITU reform, the ITU has now instituted the 
most sweeping set of reforms in its long history.

Its reform moves offer startling new willingness to embrace the market as a 
mechanism, empower the individual and lay the groundwork for a new world 
order.

As of today, the ITU will cease operating under the intergovernmental 
agreements that it has previously been stifled by, and embrace the new 
innovative ways of the global capitalist society.

Under the new rules, ITU will be an incorporated company with two classes 
of shareholders - 6.5 billion "P" shares to be distributed to member states 
according to their population, and 6.5 billion "D" shares to be distributed 
to member states according to their GNP. Former ITU-T sector members have 
preferential access to buy "D" shares from their governments.
The shares will be traded on the London and New York stock exchanges under 
the symbols "ITU-D" (for P shares) and "ITU-T" (for D shares). A 200-page 
instruction manual is provided explaining the interrelationships between 
the share classes and voting rules (available to paid TIES subscribers 
only).

Bidding wars for the "P" shares allocated to India are not expected to 
escalate into violence for at least several months.

Dr. Utsumi has graciously accepted the post of Chairman of the Board.
When queried for his immediate plans for the ITU, he offered this quote:

"The new rules under which the ITU now operates allow us unprecedented 
freedom of action, and will allow us to rationalize the standards 
marketplace in short order. We have already launched friendly takeover 
offers for the IETF, the World Wide Web Consortium and the MPLS Forum; each 
of these is likely to be organized as subsidiaries of the ITU within a few 
months. The immediate inclusion of drs. Berners-Lee and Alvestrand into the 
ITU pension plan have greatly helped to make these deals a reality."

When queried, Bill Gates of Microsoft and John Chambers of Cisco refused to 
comment; their respective CFOs were reported as "busy".