ITU Symposium on ICT

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ITU Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and
Climate Change Montreal, Canada 31st May 2012

• A Multi-stakeholder Approach to Emergency
  Telecommunications
• Patrick Masambu
• Deputy Director General and
• Director of Technical Affairs

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ESTABLISHMENT OF ITSO

• INTRODUCTION
• (a) Originally known by the acronym INTELSAT,
  the organization was established in 1964 to
  implement a UN resolution on communications
  satellites and use of Outer Space. The current
  membership of the organization is 150 countries.
• (b) The then Organization underwent a major
  restructuring in 2001 in order to secure long
  term sustainability. The decision to restructure
  was driven by
• (i) the need to provide a mechanism for infusion
  of private capital to meet the high industry
  costs
• (ii) industry trends and competition
  pressures.
• (c) The restructuring outcome was
• (i) establishment of Intelsat, the private
  company, headquartered in Bermuda then
• and now based in
  Luxembourg
• (ii) change of the mandate of the
  Intergovernmental organization,
• International Telecommunications Satellite
  Organization (ITSO) based in Washington, D.C.

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Role in Emergency Communications

• 2. ITSOs Role
• Enabled by ITSOs unique relationship with
  governments as a result of the ITSO Agreement
• Strengthened by virtue of ITSOs relationship
  with Intelsat, which enhances specific
  negotiations that take into account the global
  reach of Intelsat footprint
• Important from technology point of view, noting
  that satellite technology is ubiquitous in
  coverage affords rapid deployment and is
  therefore ideal for response to communication
  needs in emergency situations.

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Memorandum of Understanding-ITSO/ITU/Intelsat

• 3. Parties to MOU
• Signed between ITSO, ITU and Intelsat in March
  2011 to enhance coordinated action by the three
  institutions.
• Recognizes
• the need for mitigating effects of disasters,
  thru facilitating implementation of Tampere
  Convention
• the value of a multi-stakeholder approach to
  partnerships, including the private sector
• The need for effective and timely deployment of
  telecom resources in countries under emergencies
  for public protection

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MOU Provisions

• 4. Arrangements Under the MOU
• Methodical information exchange and requests for
  assistance from ITU member states in event of an
  emergency
• Initiation of request by a member state to ITU
  and then ITU to Intelsat
• Consultation between ITSO and Intelsat regarding
  the request capacity in question and Intelsat
  decision
• If the need can be met, it is a free donation of
  capacity for use for a specified time duration to
  assist the country in crisis

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MOU Provisions continued

• Although the agreement by Intelsat would be for a
  specific time duration, a request for extension
  can be considered, depending on the need and
  circumstances.
• The Agreement is non- exclusive and other Parties
  can contribute within an agreed framework with
  the ITU.

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CONCLUSION

• Considering the fact that emergencies
  continue to be a challenge to many countries, any
  coordinated effort by stakeholders in the
  provision of telecommunications during an
  emergency brings to the table added value. And
  from this perspective, we believe that the
  ITSO/ITU/Intelsat Memorandum of Understanding
  should improve on the various mitigation efforts
  already in place.