This conference was held simultaneously with the International Telegraph Conference. The most significant decision made at this conference was to fuse the International Telegraph Union and the International Radiotelegraph Union to create a single organization: the International Telecommunication Union. In addition, a new convention was created by combining the International Telegraph Convention (1875) and the Radiotelegraph Convention (1927). The new International Telecommunication Convention was redrafted to include general principles common to telegraph, telephone and radio services. The International Telecommunication Convention replaced the previous Telegraph and Radiotelegraph Conventions.

Coinciding with the creation of the International Telecommunication Union was the renaming of the central office of the union in Berne. As a result of this decision it was renamed the Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union.

Several other important decisions were made at the 1932 conferences including a discussion around the official languages of the union. At this conference, it was decided that French would continue to be used for drafting all documents; however, French and English could both be used during discussions and interpreters would be provided by the Bureau.

The word “radiotelegraph” was replaced by “radiocommunications” to reflect the changes in the evolution of radio technology.

The allocation and proper use of frequencies was discussed and, as a result, two tables were inserted into the regulations: a table of tolerances and a table giving the acceptable band widths for various types of emissions. Registration of radio frequencies was strengthened and administrations were now obligated to inform the Bureau prior to putting a new frequency in service and/or making changes to the power of a frequency. In addition, changes were made to the regulation of the Maritime Mobile Service. Changes were also made to the regulations concerning the International Consultative Committee on Radio (CCIR). Permanent rules of procedure were established and the time between meetings was changed from every two years to every five years.

Finally, the radiocommunications regulations were revised and annexed to the new convention.

On 10 October 2007, ITU, the Spanish Government and the Asociación Española de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación (Spanish Association of Telecommunication Engineers) held a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1932 International Telecommunication Convention signed at Madrid. For more information on this event please visit the event page on the Asociación Española de Ingerieros de Telecomunicaciones website [in Spanish only].

In addition, two articles were published in ITU News (Issue 10, 2007) to recognize the 75th anniversary event. These articles plus more information about the conference can be found by clicking on the "Further Reading" tab below.