ITU is the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). It works in three main areas: radiocommunication, ICT standardization and ICT development to enhance access to ICTs and bridge the digital divide among and within countries.

ITU collects and curates various sets of data. ITU maintains databases on radiofrequency allocations, national and international telephone numbers and some sets of big data.

ITU's World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database is the main source of global, and internationally comparable, telecommunication/ICT statistics. It includes time series for more than 140 indicators and around 200 economies.

The DAI is built around four fundamental vectors that impact a country's ability to access ICTs: infrastructure, affordability, knowledge and quality and actual usage of ICTs. The DAI has been calculated for 181 economies where European countries were among the highest ranked.