International Community Reaches Two Milestones in Enabling Communications Infrastructure for Emergency Response in Natural Disasters and Crises

International Community Reaches Two Milestones in Enabling Communications Infrastructure for Emergency Response in Natural Disasters and Crises

BRUSSELS, November 21/PRNewswire/ -- The European Satellite Operators' Association (ESOA) and UNOSAT, the
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational
Satellite Applications Programme, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
in Brussels today. This agreement constitutes a framework within which the
two organisations plan to work together. The objective is to identify the
appropriate satellite resources to optimise the deployment and use of
satellite solutions for international development and emergency response. In
addition they will further raise awareness within the user communities of the
unique ability of satellite technology in humanitarian crises.

This collaboration is a milestone in bringing more efficiency and
coordination to the cooperation between the international humanitarian and
development communities and private satellite operators.

This comes only a few days after the World Radio Conference 2007
confirmed last Friday, 16th November in Geneva the uninterrupted,
interference-free use of satellite C-band spectrum for the future. The C-band
spectrum plays a crucial role in the humanitarian community for emergency
communications and is to be standard radio frequency for all UN humanitarian
communications adopted by UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Working Group
on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET).

Christodoulos Protopapas, ESOA's Chairman said: "I thank ESOA members for
their outstanding collaboration that made this result possible. Particularly
I thank UNOSAT, UN OCHA and the UN World Food Programme, for their
interventions to support this 'life-saving' cause. In yesterday's news we
heard about the number of people who will die in the Bangladesh floods
because of the inability to communicate with and locate them - this is where
satellite communications, often using C-Band, play a life-saving role. With
its decision, the WRC just took a huge step in maintaining an important
global responsibility."

For more information and picture material please contact ESOA Secretary
General.

Contact:

Aarti Holla-Maini
Secretary General
European Satellite Operators' Association
t: +32-2-550-35-75
e: sg@esoa.net
w: http://www.esoa.net

Source: ESOA

Aarti Holla-Maini, Secretary General, European Satellite Operators' Association, t: +32-2-550-35-75, e: sg@esoa.net

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