 Nowadays we can easily speak to someone on another continent or go online to find all kinds of information. ITUT standards bring you phones and the internet and there is continual work to expand the capacity of fibre optic cables that transport data around the world. ITUT also focuses on future technologies including cloud computing, smart electricity grids and intelligent transport systems. Global challenges such as climate change, cyber security, accessibility and emergency communications are other topics where ITUT standards are important. For example, they provide a way for technology companies to report their carbon footprints as well as efficient ways to restore communications after disasters strike.