The purpose of the Advisory Council is to ensure that IT has access to independent commentary and advice on progress, developments and direction from individuals of high international standing closely informed of/engaged with thinking, policy trends and perspectives in the international arena. To this end individuals of significant profile are selected who taken together not only cover the main technical areas addressed by IT but have also experience of direct involvement beyond telecommunications research per-se, involving research management, standardization and policy setting actions at European level and Internationally.

Curently, the council comprises Sir John O'Reilly, Visiting Professor in Telecommunications at University College London and Chairman of NICC Ltd., a pan-telecommunications sector body embracing industry, the regulatory authority and government departments responsible for ensuring interoperability for telecommunications networks and services in the UK; Professor Touradj Ebrahimi  of EPFL, Switzerland specializing in image coding and communications and serving, amongst other things, as Convenor (chairman) of the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), a Working Group of ISO/IEC, the International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission, (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 1) and of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T SG16), for securing internationally agreed imaging standards; and Professor Dominique Schreurs, of KU Leuven, Belgium, specialist in nonlinear characterization and modelling of microwave and millimeter wave devices and circuits, as well as circuit and system design for telecommunications and biomedical applications.

All three have extensive experience of evaluation of research actions and outcomes nationally, at the European level and internationally.