Doreen Bogdan-Martin | The Global Battle for Connectivity: Satellites, AI, and the ITU’s Mission in a Divided World

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), leads one of the world’s most powerful yet least-known organizations from her base in Geneva. The ITU is responsible for everything from managing global radio frequencies and satellite orbits to bringing 2.6 billion people online and shaping the digital future.

This conversation goes far beyond acronyms and infrastructure. It’s about power, inequality, space governance, and the foundational role connectivity plays in modern life.

Key topics include:

• The cost of connecting the unconnected: why $1.6 trillion is needed by 2030

• How the ITU governs satellite orbits and global radio spectrum

• The geopolitical tug-of-war behind technical standards and spectrum access

• Why AI cannot serve humanity until the digital divide is closed

• Partnerships with the private sector and governments across 194 member states

• Early-warning systems, disaster risk reduction, and space sustainability

• How Geneva’s ecosystem of international organizations enables global cooperation

• The future of the ITU in a time of budget pressure and rising nationalism

From space debris to digital literacy, this episode explores the invisible infrastructure behind everything from your smartphone to international security.