International Radiotelegraph Conference (IRC)

An international diplomatic conference convened to agree regulations for radiotelegraph and related radio services.

Early conferences addressed ship and coast-station communications, distress traffic, call signs, interference and operating procedures as wireless telegraphy expanded internationally. The 1906 Berlin conference produced the first International Radiotelegraph Convention.

The conference system evolved through later radiotelegraph and radio conferences into the treaty-making framework now maintained by the International Telecommunication Union through the Radio Regulations and World Radiocommunication Conferences.