ITUNews No.10 – December 2007

WRC-07 decisions secure wireless future

ITU milestone commemorated in Madrid

No. 10 December 2007 Special EditionINTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION

www.itu.int/itunews

S AV I N G L I V E S

Global Forumon EffectiveUse of Telecommunications/ICT for DisasterManagement

I n t e r n a t i o n a l T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n U n i o n

GenevaInternational Conference Center (CICG)10 -12 December 2007 www.itu.int/ITU-D/globalforum/

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ITU News 10 | 2007

ITU Framework for Cooperation in EmergenciesA new global initiativeEditorial by Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General

Saving lives: Global Forum on telecommunications and ICT in disaster managementSami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau

ITU’s role in emergency telecommunications

ITU responds to natural disasters

Forging partnerships for disaster mitigation

Sharing experience, coordinating a responseITU regional events on emergency telecommunications

Thailand’s National Early Warning Centre

The Tampere Convention — A life‑saving treaty

Decisions from RA‑07 and WRC‑07 will speed up response to disastersBruce Emirali, Radio Frequency Manager, Directorate of CIS Strategy, New Zealand, and Bruce Gracie, Senior Advisor, International Organizations, Industry Canada

Emergency telecommunications

Editorial offi ce/Advertising informationTel.: +41 22 730 5234/6303Fax: +41 22 730 5935E-mail: [email protected] address: International Telecommunication UnionPlace des NationsCH–1211 Geneva 20 (Switzerland)SubscriptionsTel.: +41 22 730 6303Fax: +41 22 730 5939E-mail: [email protected]

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not engage ITU. The designations em-ployed and presentation of material in this publication, including maps, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of ITU concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or concerning the delimitations of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specifi c companies or of certain products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ITU in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

Main cover photo: Télécoms Sans Frontières. Other photos: Nathan Lounds, WMO, David Rydevik, NASA, Jesse Adams

Managing Editor: Patricia LuswetiProduction Editor: Janet BurgessArt Editor: Christine Vanoli

Printed in Geneva by the ITU Printing and Dispatch Division. Material from this publication may be reproduced in full or in part, provided that it is accompanied by the acknowledgement: ITU News.

ISSN 1020–4148www.itu.int/itunews10 issues per yearCopyright: © ITU 2007

ITU News 10 | 2007

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The role of remote sensing in disaster managementThomas vonDeak, NASA Headquarters Spectrum Management Offi ce

How satellites support the emergency responseEric Jan Bakker, Segment Manager Aid/NGO, Vizada

Using advanced mobile‑satellite services in disastersCorporate Development and Innovation Unit, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company

Country focus — IndonesiaCommunity-based programmes for emergency communications Tulus Rahardjo, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Indonesia

WRC‑07 decisions secure wireless futureA report of the World Radiocommunication Conference

ITU milestone commemorated in Madrid 75 years since ITU acquired its modern name Remarks by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain

HDTV — 2� years in Europe

Pioneers’ pagePrecursors of programming: bells, automata and silk

Offi cial announcements

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ITU News 10 | 2007 December 2007

/ ItisthreeyearssincetheIndianOceantsunamicausedmassive devastation on 26December 2004. It was awake-upcallforallofustoworktogethertoachieveef-fective disaster preparedness and response. That is whyI havemadeemergency telecommunicationsoneofmythreepriorities,alongwithclosing thedigitaldivideandcybersecurity.

Natural disasters are striking all too often. This yearalone, we have seen for example, fl oods in Bangladesh, Uganda and Mexico, major earthquakes in Peru andIndonesia, typhoons in East Asia and hurricanes in theCaribbean.Millionsofpeopleareaffectedby large-scalecatastrophes—bothintheimmediateaftermath,andinthelongertermbecauseofthedamagethatthesetragiceventscausetoinfrastructureandtheeconomy.

Information and communication technologies (ICT)canplayavitalroleinensuringthatreliefteamsgoabouttheir activities effectively for the benefi t of disaster victims. However,gettingthebestoutofhightechnology-basedsystemsandinfrastructurerequiresnational,regionalandinternational cooperation. That is why ITU is holding aGlobalForumonEffectiveUseofTelecommunications/ICTforDisasterManagement,inGenevaon10–12December2007.Atthisevent,wewilllaunchtheITU Framework for Cooperation in Emergencies (IFCE). This fl agship initiative isanimportanttoolforcoordinatingthedevelopmentanddeploymentoftelecommunicationsandICTresourcesfordisaster relief. The IFCE is built on threepillars: technol-ogy, fi nance and logistics. It will be steered by a High-Level PanelonEmergencyTelecommunications,tobeappointedattheForum.

Already, immediatelyafterdisasters,our Telecommu-nication Development Bureau sends equipment to assist affected countries, providing basic telecommunicationsand telemedicine applications via satellite. The ITU Tele-communicationStandardizationSectorisdevelopingnewtechnicalstandardsformanufacturerstomakeequipmentthatcanworkwithinandacrossbordersfordisastermoni-toringandmanagement.ActivitiesinourRadiocommuni-cation Sector help in predicting anddetectingdisasters,andinprovidingearlywarnings,throughcoordinatingtheeffectiveuseoftheradio-frequencyspectrum.

The World Radiocommunication Conference thatendedon16November2007took importantsteps thatwill make for an even faster response to disasters. OurRadiocommunication Bureau will create a database of available frequencies for use in emergencies. It will dosoincollaborationwithMemberStates,whohavebeenurgedtoprovide,onavoluntarybasis,up-to-date infor-mation concerning their national frequency allocationsandspectrummanagementpracticesforemergencyanddisasterrelief.

Telecommunicationscanassistgreatly insaving lives.However, national laws and regulations can sometimeshamper—or,evenprohibit—thetransportanduseoftelecommunication equipment at disaster scenes. Thisis why I urge our Member States to ratify the Tampere Conventionthatallowsforthetemporarywaivingofna-tionallawscoveringtheimportation,licensinganduseofsuchequipment.

IamsurethattheIFCEwillhelpwithalltheseefforts,andItakegreatpersonalinterestinitssuccess. /

ITU Framework for Cooperation in EmergenciesA new global initiative

Dr Hamadoun I. TouréITU Secretary-General

Editorial

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Global Forum

/ Whilenaturaldisasterscanneverbeentirelyprevented,information and communication technologies (ICT) canhelpreducetheirimpactandrestorenormalityanddevel-opmentefforts.Anydisasterreductionmeasurethatisnotlinkedtotelecommunicationsdoesnotgofarenough.Forthisreason,ITUisorganizingaGlobalForumonEffectiveUseofTelecommunications/ICTforDisasterManagement:Saving Lives, taking place in Geneva on 10–12 December 2007.

Attendingtheeventareministersofcommunicationsand humanitarian affairs, regulatory authorities, chiefexecutive offi cers of private-sector companies, heads of United Nations agencies, regional disaster managementorganizations,developmentbanksandfoundations,non-governmentalorganizations (NGO)and international ex-perts.TheywilldiscussandmapoutstrategiesandadoptpracticalmeasuresforusingICTindisasterearlywarnings,preparedness, and relief and response, as well as reha-bilitation of telecommunication networks. In addition,an exhibitionwill showcase innovative solutions, includ-ingremotesensing,forpreventingandmitigatingnaturaldisasters.

The forumadds toprogressmadeat theUnitedNa-tions International Meeting to Review the Implementa-tionoftheProgrammeofActionfortheSustainableDe-velopment of Small Island Developing States (Mauritius,10–14January2005),andtheWorldConferenceonDis-asterReduction(Kobe,Japan,18–22January2005).It isalsobasedona seriesofmeetings that focusedon theestablishmentofatsunamiearly-warningsystemfortheIndianOcean,aswell ITUworkshopsonemergency tel-ecommunications and disaster mitigation (see article onpages12–15).

New initiativesThe forum will see the launch of new ITU activities.

Theseinclude:ITU Framework for Cooperation in Emergencies (IFCE) Thisinitiativeaimstocoordinatedeploymentoftelecommunicationresourcesfordisasterrelief,andtomobilizeresourcesfromthe191ITUMemberStatesandmorethan700SectorMembers.ITU Network of Volunteers for Emergency Telecommunications Adatabasewillbecreatedofengineerswhoarewill-ingtoundertakeITUmissionsatshortnoticewhendisastersstrike.New partnershipsITUwillsign12partnershipagreements,whichfocuson co-fi nancing future activities aimed at mitigating theimpactofdisastersthroughtheuseofemergencytelecommunications.

Thecomplexityofdisastermanagementandmitigationmeansthatnosingleorganizationcandoitalone.Amulti-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach is required. TheGlobalForumshouldpromotethisapproachand,indoingso, help achieve the goal of “Saving Lives”. /

Saving livesGlobal Forum examines the role of telecommunications and ICT in disaster management

Sami Al Basheer Al MorshidDirector, Telecommunication Development Bureau

ITU

The ITU role

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/ Naturaldisasterskillthousandsofpeopleeach year,with those indeveloping coun-tries often the most at risk. Disasters canseverelyweakeneconomies,andare reco-gnizedasmajorimpedimentstothereduc-tion of poverty. The impact is even worseforthoselivinginremoteandisolatedareas,whomighthavenoaccesstoeventhebasiccommunication technologies that arenee-dedtoreportdamageandtocallforhelp.

The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, which resulted from the secondphaseoftheWorldSummitontheInforma-tion Society (WSIS) in 2005, stressed “theintrinsic relationship between disaster re-duction, sustainable development and theeradication of poverty”. It went on to state the importantenablingroleof informationand communication technologies (ICT) atthenational,regionalandinternationallev-els inenhancing thecapacityofcountries,particularly developing ones, with regardtodisastermanagementandpreparedness.TheTunis Agendaalsoencouragedgovern-ments to work “expeditiously towards theestablishmentof standards-basedmonitor-ing and worldwide early-warning systemslinked to national and regional networksandfacilitatingemergencydisasterresponseall over the world, particularly in high-riskregions.”

ITU, as the United Nations specializedagency for telecommunications and ICT, isdedicatedtoensuringthatcommunicationsareathandwhentheyareneededmostinemergencies and disasters. Each of ITU’sthreeSectorsisinvolvedinthiseffort.

RadiocommunicationsToreducetheimpactofdisasters,itises-

sential to quickly disseminate authoritativeinformationbefore,during,andaftereachevent.Radiocommunicationsmakethispos-sible,buttheairwavesneedtobemanagedappropriatelyinorderforgovernmentsandhumanitarianworkerstorespondeffectivelytoemergencies.

Activities by ITU’s RadiocommunicationSector(ITU–R)makeaninvaluablecontribu-tiontodisastermanagement.Theyhelp inpredicting and detecting disasters, and inprovidingearlywarnings,throughcoordinat-ingtheeffectiveuseoftheradio-frequencyspectrumandbytheestablishmentofradiostandards and guidelines concerning theuseofradiocommunicationsystems.

The latestexampleof future radiocom-munication work in the area of disastermitigation is described in the article onpages19–20.

ITU’s role in emergency telecommunications

The ITU role

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Calling from Java in the aftermath of the devastating

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StandardizationTheITUglobalstandardsthatfosterthe

seamless interoperability of ICT worldwidealsoplayavitalroleinensuringaneffectiveemergency response in times of crisis. Forexample, a number of RecommendationshavebeendevelopedbyITU’sTelecommu-nication Standardization Sector (ITU–T) forcallpriorityschemesthatensurereliefwork-erscanmakecontact.

Aswell as suffering structural damage,public switched networks can be quicklybroughttoastandstillbyatorrentofcon-gestionasvictimsstrivetomakecontactwithlovedonesorwithlocalemergencyservices.However, fi xed and mobile telecommunica-tionnetworksincorporateafeaturethatcangiveprioritytocallsfromspeciallyauthorizedusers in the event of a disaster. Based on an ITU protocol, the International EmergencyPreferenceScheme(IEPS)ensuresthatpref-erence isgiventocallsmadebypersonnelinvolvedindirectingandcoordinatingreliefoperations.IEPSisnowalsooperationalfornewtechnologiessuchasInternetprotocol-basednetworks,cablenetworksandnext-generationnetworksystems.

In addition, standards for deliveringemergency alerts are being developed forthe various communication systems defi ned by ITU. “Deployed consistently across net-works worldwide, ITU Recommendationsprovidethetechnicalcapabilitiesthatensure

communicationchannels remainopen, yetsecure,whenthey’reneeded,whiledeliver-ing the very best quality of service possible,” accordingtoMalcolmJohnson,DirectorofITU’s Telecommunication StandardizationBureau.

FormoredetailsofITU–T’sworkinemer-gencytelecommunications,seeITU NewsofJuly-August2006.

DevelopmentITU’s Telecommunication Development

Sector(ITU–D)considersemergencycommu-nicationstobeanintegralpartofitsagenda.MucheffortisdirectedatpromotingdisastermanagementaspartofICTprojects,suchasappropriateinfrastructuredevelopmentandthe establishment of enabling policy, legalandregulatoryframeworks.

Intheimmediateaftermathofdisasters,equipment is sent to assist affected coun-tries, providing basic telecommunicationsand telemedicine applications via satellite.Reconstruction and rehabilitation of net-worksisanotherimportanttask.ITU–Dun-dertakesassessmentmissionstodeterminethemagnitudeofdamagetoinfrastructure,using geographical information systems.Based on its fi ndings, it works with authori-ties in theaffected country toplan recon-struction, ensuring that disaster resistantfeatures are integrated to reduce networkvulnerabilityifanyfuturedisasterstrikes./

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/ When communication infrastructure isdamagedordestroyedduringanaturaldis-aster—orwhenitislackinginremoteareas— links need to be established quickly sothat help can be organized as swiftly andeffi ciently as possible. In addition, damage assessmentsmustbecarriedoutandfuturecommunicationsystemsplannedwithdisas-terpreparednessinmind.

ITUisrespondingtotheseneedsfollow-ing major disasters around the world. Re-cent events, such as fl oods in Africa and the deathanddestructionwroughtbya tropi-cal cyclone in Bangladesh, bring home the urgencywithwhichchallengesneedtobeaddressed.

Floods in BangladeshITUhassent30satelliteterminalstohelp

restorevitalcommunicationlinksinremoteareas of Bangladesh, which has recently been ravaged by severe fl oods. Response efforts have been hampered by damagedroadsandairstrips,andlackoftelecommu-nicationfacilities.

ITUpaysforallexpenses, includingthetransportation and usage of equipment,and training of personnel. The terminals,whicharefromThurayaSatellite,arededi-catedmainlytovoicecommunication.Theyareequippedwithsolarpanelstoprovideanindependentsourceofenergy.

Ugandan fl oods InOctober2007,ITUdeployed25satel-

liteterminalstohelprestorevitalcommuni-cation links following severe fl oods that af-fectedtheeasternandnorthernregionsofUgandafromAugust2007.Severaldistrictswere ravaged by torrential rains and fl ash fl oods that swept through the country tak-ing lives,marooningover140000people,destroyingroadsandsubmergingcrops.

The mobile terminals were transportedbyhelicoptertoservepeoplemostinneed.ITU provided Thuraya handheld satellitephones and Inmarsat GAN (Global AreaNetwork) terminals. The phones use bothsatelliteandGSM(GlobalSystemforMobilecommunications) networks, and can pro-videaccurateglobalpositioningcoordinatestoaidreliefandrescue.Theterminalsweremainlyusedforvoicecommunicationsand,insomecases,forhigh-speeddata.ITUpaidall expenses for the transportation of theequipmentanditsusage.

Indian Ocean tsunamiTheworstnaturaldisasterinrecentyears

was the Indian Ocean tsunami that struckon26December2004. ITUplayed itspartinofferingpracticalhelpforsurvivorsandbyhelpingtoplantherestorationofnetworks.

ITU responds to natural disasters

Response efforts

Aerial view of the destruction caused to the Tarbella Dam during the earthquake that hit northern Pakistan in 2005

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Satellite terminals sent to Sri LankaWith its partner Inmarsat, ITU sent

14portable GAN satellite terminals toSri Lanka, for emergency use while telecom-munication infrastructure was rebuilt. ITUalsosentanexperttoThailandtotraintech-niciansintheuseoftheterminals.

USD 2�0 000 allocated for reliefITU provided USD250000 from its

TelecomSurplusFundforaprojecttoprovideexpertservicestothetsunami-hitcountriesof Indonesia, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The moneywasusedtohelpcarryoutanassess-mentoftelecommunicationinfrastructureintheaffectedareas,preparea rehabilitationplan,andhelpdevelopanationalplan foremergency telecommunications as part ofthe tsunami early-warning system for theIndianOcean.

Australian Government donates CHF �00 000

TheGovernmentofAustraliamadeavol-untarycontributiontoITUofCHF500000for planning the rehabilitation of telecom-munication infrastructure and an early-warning system for the countries affectedby the tsunami. This contribution went along way towards assisting with work ondisasterpreparedness.

Study of emergency telecommunications in Bangladesh

Bangladesh was not seriously affected bythe2004tsunami,butitisatriskofsuchadisaster,andothers.Afterthetsunami,theBangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) asked ITU to assess the country’s telecommunication network in

thecontextofdisasters.Thiswasfollowedby an additional request to ITU in 2007to conduct a case study in Chittagong ofemergency telecommunications and early-warningsystems.Itshouldactasabench-mark for the development of disasterpreparedness for other communities inBangladesh.

Pakistan earthquakeImmediatelyfollowingthemassiveearth-

quakethatstruckthePakistan-Indiaborderarea inOctober2005, ITUsent55satelliteterminals to help restore vital communica-tionlinks.Theterminalswereusedtocoor-dinatereliefandrescueoperations,andtohelpestablishpubliccallcentresforpeopleseekingnewsoftheirlovedones.

FifteenoftheterminalswereoftheGANtypeandfromITU’sstock,procuredfollow-ing the signing of a co-financing agreement with Inmarsat Limited, which also contrib-utedafurther40regionalbroadbandglobalnetwork (RBGAN) satellite terminals, free of charge. ITUundertooktheresponsibilityoftransportinganddeployingall55terminals,aswellaspayingforalltheairtimearisingfromtheiruse.

The 15GAN terminals provided voice,data and video services, and the 40 RBGAN terminalsprovidedhigh-speeddatacommu-nications.Allwerechargedbysolarpanels,asthepublicpowersupplywasbadlydam-agedduringtheearthquake.ITUtrainedlo-calpersonnelhowtooperatetheterminals.Trainingwasalsoprovidedtophysiciansatahospital in Rawalpindi on using the RBGAN terminalsthatwerelaterdeployedbymedi-calteamstohelpinjuredpeopleinremoteareas. Diagnostic information on patients

Response efforts

Early warning by radio in NauruThe only radio station in the

Pacific island country of Nauru

has lost its transmission capa-

bilities due to a fire and aging

equipment. The Government

of Nauru asked ITU to replace

and enhance the existing FM

transmitter and its compo-

nents, with the aim of provid-

ing an early-warning system in

emergencies and disasters, in

addition to a news service. In

November 2007, ITU provided

consultants to study Nauru’s

requirements and make rec-

ommendations on the design

and specifications for the FM

broadcasting system.

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wastransmittedviasatellitetohospitals,forexpertanalysisandadvice.

Floods in SurinameHeavy rains fell on Suriname in May

2006, causing several major rivers to rap-idly rise and submerge an area estimatedat 30000km2. ITU deployed satellite ter-minals to the country in response to a re-questfromitsgovernment.Theequipmenthelped the flow of information among hu-manitarian workers in the field. The satellite terminalswerechargedbysolarpanelsandsupportedvoice,high-speeddataandvideoapplications.

Indonesian earthquakeOn 27May 2006, a major earthquake

struck the islandof Java, in Indonesia,kill-ing some 6000people, injuring thousandsmore, and making more than 1.5millionhomeless. In partnership with the UnitedNationsSatelliteAgency(UNOSAT),ITUas-sistedthegovernmentofIndonesiawiththeprovisionofsatelliteimagery,mappingserv-icesandtrainingforthereconstructionandprotectionoftelecommunicationnetworks.The high-resolution geographical mappingallowed vulnerable zones to be identified andnewnetworksplanned.

Emergency vehicles for Sri LankaFollowingarequestbytheTelecommuni-

cations Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka forassistanceinguidingthedevelopmentofmobileemergencycommunicationvehicles,in July2007, ITUprovideda consultant toundertakethestudyandprepareaninvest-mentproject.

Earthquake in PeruFollowing the devastating earthquake

measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale thatstruck southern Peru on 15August 2007,ITUdeployed50satelliteterminals(12GANand 38 RBGAN) to help restore vital commu-nicationlinksinremoteareas.MountainousterraininPeruseverelyhamperedaccessbyreliefteamsandthecoordinationofrescueoperations.Therestorationoftelecommuni-cationresourceshelpedtobridgegapsandprovide for the transmissionofhigh-speeddata and voice communications. ITU wasresponsible for transporting anddeployingall the terminals, aswell aspaying for theairtimeused.

Better links in the Marshall IslandsIn the Marshall Islands, the Ministry of

Transport and Communications asked ITUtoundertakeapilotproject inestablishingcommunitytelecentres,notonlytoimprovelinkswithruralcommunities,butalsotoen-hancedisasterpreparednessandresponse.The aim is to identify a model which istechnically,sociallyandeconomicallyviablein the Pacific island country. In September 2007, ITU provided a consultant to carryout the studyand recommend technologyoptions and an investment plan for com-munication infrastructure and services in aremoteisland. /

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/ ITUisforgingpartnershipswithnational,international and private-sector bodies, inorder to fi nance activities related to disaster preparednessandmitigation.

Inmarsat Limited At the startof2003, ITUand Inmarsat

Limited, a satellite consortium based in the UnitedKingdom,agreedtobecomepartnerstohelppromoteruralandemergencycom-munications in least developed countries(LDC). Inmarsat contributed EUR 105 000 towards the purchase of 15Global AreaNetwork (GAN) satellite terminals for ben-efi ciary countries, which are selected by ITU. ThecostsoftransportingtheterminalsandairtimearepaidbyITU.TheterminalscanbedeployedattherequestofanITUMemberStatewhosetelecommunicationshavebeendisruptedbyadisaster.

Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre ITUandtheAsianDisasterPreparedness

Centre (ADPC), a non-profi t organization, signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) in May 2006 on enhancing the ef-fi ciency of emergency telecommunication services. ITUandADPCagreed tocollabo-rateinpromotingdisasterriskmanagementin mainstream telecommunications, and

incorporating resilience into rehabilitatedinfrastructure intheaftermathofdisasters.They also cooperate to improve disasterpreparednessthroughback-upsystemsandplanningtools inemergencytelecommuni-cationsystems.

Rohde & Schwarz In 2005, Rohde & Schwarz GmbH, an

international group of companies basedinGermanyand specializing inelectronics,made a fi nancial contribution to the publi-cation of ITU’s “Handbook on EmergencyTelecommunications.” It followed this with EUR50000towards ITU’sworkonthere-construction, rehabilitation and establish-mentofearly-warningsystemsforthecoun-triesaffectedbytheIndianOceantsunamiinDecember2004.

Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company

In July 2006, ITU concluded an agree-ment with Thuraya Satellite Telecommu-nications Company, which is based in theUnited Arab Emirates. Under this partner-ship,Thurayacontributeshandheldsatelliteterminalsandsolarchargerstopowerthem.Theterminalsprovidevitallinksviasatelliteto rescue teams, government authorities

Forging partnerships for disaster mitigation

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Calling from Java in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in May 2006

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andhumanitarianagenciesforreliefandre-habilitationefforts.Theysupportvoiceanddataapplications,aswellasremotenaviga-tionservicesviatheglobalpositioningsys-tem(GPS),andtheycanhelpvictimslocatetheirrelativesandseekassistance(seearti-cleonpage24).

Télécoms Sans FrontièresITUconcludedanMoUon11April2007

withTélécoms Sans Frontières(TSF),anon-governmentalorganizationbasedinFrance,whose rapid response teamsprovidecom-municationservicesfollowinganaturaldis-aster.TSFsetsuptelecommunicationcentreswithvoiceanddatalinkstohelpcoordinatereliefefforts,aswellastoenablesurvivorstocontactlovedones.

ICO Global Communications and the Commonwealth Business Council

On20June2007,ICOGlobalCommuni-cations (ICO) and the Commonwealth Busi-ness Council (CBC) formed a partnership with ITU to use satellite communicationsforimprovedglobalresponseinthefaceofnaturaldisasters.ICOwillprovideairtimeonits F2 satellite for disaster prevention andresponse, through voice communicationsandotherapplicationssuchastelemedicine.

Anhour’sairtimewillbeprovidedeverydayforusethroughITU,tohelpcountriesmain-tainpreparednessandprovideearly-warninginformation.Intheeventofadisaster,thistimewillbeadjustedaccordingtodemand,so as to support rescue-and-rehabilitationefforts. ITU will manage and coordinateemergency telecommunications, and CBC willprovidecontentandmanageanentre-preneurialskilldevelopmentprogramme.

Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET)

ITUisamemberoftheWorkingGrouponEmergencyTelecommunications(WGET),convened by the United Nations Offi ce for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The aim ofWGETistofacilitatetheuseoftelecommu-nications for humanitarian assistance, andto increase effectiveness in the regulatory,operational and technical aspects of tele-communicationsfordisasterrelief.WGETisanactivepromoteroftheTampere Conven-tion on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations(seearticleonpages17–18)./

Regional perspectives

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Hurricane Ivan passes over Jamaica, in September 2004

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/ An importantaspectofworkonemer-gency telecommunications by ITU’s Tele-communication Development Bureau (BDT) is the organization of regional meetingson the topic,around theworld.Alongsideworkshops at a national level, these serveas exchange points for ideas and a venueforarrangingcoordinatedactionondisasterpreventionandmanagement.

Themeetingsarein linewiththeDohaAction Plan, adopted at ITU’s World Tel-ecommunication Development Conferencein2006.Ithighlightedpreparednessfordis-astersasapriority,aswellasresponseandrelief.Followingtheconference,theCarib-bean region was the first to host a high-level event to tackle the issue from a planningperspective.

Caribbean forumITU and the Commonwealth Telecom-

munications Organisation (CTO) organizedaCaribbean Forum inSeptember2006onUsing ICT for Effective Disaster Manage-ment. It took place in Ocho Rios, Jamai-ca, and was supported by the CaribbeanAssociationofNationalTelecommunicationOrganizations (CANTO) and hosted by theJamaican Office of Utilities Regulation.

The forumfocusedon improvingearly-warningcommunicationsanddisasterpre-parednessintheCaribbeanregion,whichishighlyvulnerabletohurricanesandstorms.Itassessedtheimpactofrecentemergenciesandadoptedaroadmapforbetternationalandregionalcoordinationinusinginforma-tionandcommunicationtechnologies(ICT)inthemitigationofdisasters.Theroadmapincludedformulationofappropriatepoliciesby Caribbean governments, including ratifi-cationandimplementationoftheTampereConvention. It alsocovered thechallengesofdeployingappropriate technologiesandapplications, and training of personnel.Theestablishmentofnationalplatformsforemergencycommunicationswasseenasapriority, as well as the development of re-gionalstrategieson integrating ICT intoallphasesofdisastermitigation.

The forum also focused on the role ofgovernmentsandICTregulators indisastermanagement. Presentations looked at thestatusofpolicyandpractice in theregion.AttentionwasgiventohowICTisuseddur-ing each phase of disaster management:preparedness, mitigation, relief and recon-struction. On the final day of the forum, par-ticipantsundertookexercisesinwhichthey

Sharing experience, coordinating a responseITU regional events on emergency telecommunications


National eventsIn addition to regional mee-

tings on emergency telecom-

munications, ITU has also

organized events on a natio-

nal scale in Sri Lanka (March

2006 and August 2007),

Bangladesh (March 2006),

and Nauru (August 2007).

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Communication links help a disaster survivor in Sri Lanka

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formedfourstakeholdergroups—govern-mentandregulators,civilsociety,infrastruc-tureproviders,andregionalandinternation-alorganizations.Participantsineachgroupthen worked together to produce frame-works todetailwhat actions each typeofstakeholderneededtotake.

The main recommendations stemmingfromtheforumwerethat:

Governments must catalyze the devel-opment of National Disaster Manage-mentPlans,whichshouldbedevelopedthroughbroad-basedconsultations.Countries must develop a culture ofpreparedness.Knowledgemanagementpracticesmustbe enhanced, as well as collaborationamongstakeholders.The protection of critical infrastructuremustbeimproved.Ratification of the Tampere Convention shouldbeencouraged.Thereshouldbecontinuousmonitoringofdisastermanagementandannualas-sessmentsofprogress.

Asia-Pacific workshop ITU and the United Nations Economic

andSocialCommissionforAsiaandthePa-cific (ESCAP) hosted a Regional Workshop on Disaster Communications for the Asia and Pacific Region in Bangkok, Thailand, in December2006.Themeetingwasattend-ed by 135participants from governments,non-governmentalorganizationsandcom-panies,from32countries.

Theworkshop’saimwastoprovideguid-ance on technical, policy and institutionalissuesinthedevelopmentofnetworks,sys-temsand regional cooperation in commu-nicationstosupportdisastermanagement.Participants discussed the situations, con-cerns,andoffersofcooperationfromcoun-tries in the Asia-Pacific region, and from international, intergovernmental, non-gov-ernmentalandprivate-sectororganizations.Sue Lo-Utai, Acting Permanent Secretary at Thailand’sMinistryofInformationandCom-munication Technology (MICT), told theworkshopaboutThailand’s actions follow-ingtheIndianOceantsunamiofDecember2004(seearticleonpage16).

There was consensus that, as well asat the national or local level, internationalcooperation at a regional — and global—scalewouldstrengthentheabilityofallstakeholderstoprotectcommunitiesandre-spondtodisasters.Themeetingalsoagreedthat the benefits of forming an effective regional cooperation institution would faroutweighthecostsofparticipation.Severalcompanies, organizations and governmen-tal bodies offered specific support towards thisend,sothatallstakeholderscouldgaincapacityfromsharingresourcesundersuchanumbrella. Theplatformwould also aimto provide tools to assist countries in or-ganizingtheirnationalplansforemergencytelecommunications.


Participants in the workshop at Bandung, Indonesia

UN

/E. S

chne

ider

After the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

ITU

/C. Z

avaz

ava

Indonesia hosts eventA Workshop on the Role of Telecom-

munications/ICT in Disaster Mitigationtookplace on 28 March 2007 in Bandung, Indo-nesia. As well as representatives from thehost country, it included participants fromBhutan, Chad, Cuba, India, Japan, Malaysia, andPakistan.

“Almost every year, disasters of manykinds happen in our country,” said Basuki Yusuf Iskandar, Indonesia’s Deputy Minis-ter for Posts and Telecommunications, inan opening speech. This, he added, had“opened our eyes to the crucial necessityof having disaster mitigation techniquesthat will perform well in a timely manner.” A presentation on the devastating effectsupon Indonesia of the 2004 tsunami wasgiven by Azhar Hasyim, Deputy DirectorGeneral for Standardization at Indonesia’sNationalCoordinationAgencyandDepart-mentofICT.

Themajor earthquakeon thePakistan-India border in October 2005 also causedmassivedamageandlossoflife.“Telecom-municationinfrastructurewasseverelydam-aged and the network almost perished,creating difficulties for relief and rescue operations,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Bhatti, DirectorofTelecomatPakistan’sMinistryofInformationTechnology.Hetoldthework-shopthat“cooperationandassistancesolic-itedfromITUandotheragencieswasveryuseful in relief coordination activities.”

The workshop identified key challenges in providing telecommunication resourcesfordisastermitigation,includinginstitution-al and regulatory constraints. Well-trained

peopleareneeded ingovernmentandtheprivatesector,aswellasclearlegislationandguidelines that eliminate lengthy approvalprocedures that delay the deployment ofresources. Technical constraints were alsoidentified, such as lack of personnel to maintain essential equipment, and ques-tions over whether networks could copewith congestion after a disaster. Finally, itwas recognized that financial constraints re-sultedinadearthofresourcesforstand-byfundsthatcouldbeusedinemergencies.

The workshop ended by issuing the“Bandung Declaration” that calls on ITU to launchaglobalprojecttodevelopinforma-tionICTresourcesthatcanbedeployedinatimelymanneranywhereintheworldintheeventofadisaster.

Arab States meet in EgyptAiming to strengthen international co-

operation intheArabStatesontheuseofICT fordisastermitigation,a joint regionalconferenceonDisaster: Relief and Manage-ment: International Cooperation and the Role of ICTwas held inAlexandria, Egypt,on 14–17April 2007. It was organized byITU and the League of Arab States; the ArabMinisterialCouncilof ICT,HealthandEnvironment; the World Health Organiza-tion; the United Nations Environment Pro-gramme; the Centre for Environment and Development for theArabRegionandEu-rope; and the Arab Academy for Science andTechnology,andMaritimeTransport.

Withnearly400participants,themeet-ing provided a platform for sharing bestpractice in disaster management, environ-

Amateur radioITU recognizes that ama-

teur radio can be a valuable

means of relaying informa-

tion after a disaster, and it

sponsors the holding of train-

ing courses in this field. In July

2006, for example, it organ-

ized a course on Amateur

Radio Administration in

Dakar, Senegal, together

with the Centre of Excellence

for the French Speaking

African Countries Ecole

Supérieure Multinationale des

Télécommunications (ESMT)

and in collaboration with the

International Amateur Radio

Union (IARU). The primary

objective was to help organ-

ize amateur radio enthusiasts

and to train regulators on the

administration of the amateur

service and amateur-satellite

service in developing coun-

tries, for managing disaster

relief communications.

Hen

ryk

Koto

wsk

i


Amateur radio antenna in Cape Verde

1�


mentalmonitoring,andthedeliveryof ICTapplicationsandservices(suchastelemedi-cine) for the benefit of disaster victims.

Director of BDT Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid noted that “losses from futuredisasters,with thepotential todisruptna-tional economies and acting as impedi-ments to sustainabledevelopment, canbereduced if emergency telecommunicationsand risk management are integrated intocomprehensive development planning”. Andaubiquitousandresilient telecommu-nications network is critical, he added, inproviding a “last-mile” link to communities before,duringandafteradisaster.

Theconferencemade12recommenda-tions, encouraging countries to establishnational emergency telecommunicationplans and early-warning systems that canhandlevariouskindsofhazard.Itsaidthatacooperationandcoordinationmechanismindisastermanagementshouldbeestablishedatinternational,regionalandnationallevelsandinvolvinggovernmentauthorities,Unit-edNationsagencies,andnon-governmen-talorganizations.Theprivatesectorshouldalsoplayanactiveroleandmakeresourcesavailableforhumanitarianpurposes.

In addition, the meeting highlightedthe link between disasters and the envi-ronment, saying “it is important that na-tions should seriously take into accountthe impactofglobalwarmingandclimatechangewhenplanningapolicyondisastermanagement.”

Central Africa adopts a plan of action

Experts from governments, interna-tionalorganizations,theprivatesectorandcivilsocietymetinYaoundé,Cameroon,on30May–1June 2007 at a Workshop on the Role of Telecommunications and ICT in Disaster Management for the Central African Region. Theworkshopwasorgan-izedjointlybyITUandCameroon’sMinistryofPostsandTelecommunications,andwasattendedby international experts and rep-resentativesof11CentralAfricancountries.Theworkshopnoted the lackofcoordina-tion,infrastructureandregulatoryprovisionsintheregionand,toaddressthisproblem,adoptedaplanofactiontobeimplementedduring 2007−2010.

TheplancallsonCentralAfricancoun-triestoestablishappropriatetelecommuni-cationandICTstrategiesforthepublicandprivate sectors, including thedevelopmentofemergencyplansaspartofdisasterpre-paredness.ItasksITUtohelpwiththis,andwith incorporating disaster managementfeatures into the development and opera-tion of infrastructure and networks. Gov-ernments are urged to ratify the TampereConvention and incorporate its provisionsinto national legislation and regulations.Theplanofactionsaysthatnationalsimu-lationexercisesshouldbeconductedtoes-tablishacountry’slevelofpreparedness.Inaddition,afteradisasterhasstruck,ITUwillprovidesuchassistanceasportablesatelliteterminals,freeofcharge,sothatbasiccom-munication services and telemedicine canoperateasquicklyaspossible. /

ITU

/S. A

char

ya

Thailand

Sue Lo-Utai, Acting Permanent Secretary at Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology

Tsunami damage in Phuket, Thailand

“We all know that informa-

tion and communication

technologies are fundamental

components of disaster man-

agement,” said Mr Lo-Utai,

explaining that emergency

telecommunications must be

integrated into strategic and

comprehensive development

planning. “At the centre of all

this, a ubiquitous, resilient,

and multi-hazard telecommu-

nication network is critical,”

he added.

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

Tho

rfinn

Sta

info

rth

/ The regional workshop on disastercommunicationsorganizedby ITUand theUnitedNationsEconomicandSocialCom-mission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok in December 2006, (see page 13), heardhowthehostcountry,Thailand,hadresponded to a major disaster. The IndianOcean tsunami on 26December 2004was the first such giant wave ever to hit Thailand. In six of its coastal provincesalongside theAndamanSea, thousandsoflocalsandforeigntouristswerekilled.

“The scale of the disaster served as awake-up call,” Sue Lo-Utai, Acting Perma-nentSecretaryatThailand’sMinistryof In-formationandCommunicationTechnology(MICT),toldtheworkshop.“Thaiauthoritiesknewthattheyhadtoimprovethenationalearly-warningsystem,notonlyfortsunami,butalsoforsuchothereventsaslandslidesand floods.”

Just one month after the tsunami, inJanuary2005,MICTandThailand’sMinistryofForeignAffairsjointlyorganizedaminis-terialmeetingonRegional Cooperation on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements.Min-isters from countries in the Association ofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN)tookpart,aswellasthosefromcountriesaffectedbythe tsunami, alongside representatives ofother invited nations and international or-ganizations.Themeetingdiscussedsuchis-suesas informationmanagement,capacity

building,andeducationtoraiseawarenessofnaturaldisasters.Italsoproposedtheset-tingupofavoluntarytrustfundforestab-lishingaregionalearly-warningsystem.

On26September2005,ThailandsignedatrustfundagreementwithESCAP,aimedatsupporting tsunamiearly-warningarrange-ments in the Indian Ocean and SoutheastAsia.ManagedbyESCAP,theregionaltrustfund was launched with a contribution ofUSD10millionfromtheRoyalThaiGovern-ment.“Anetworkofearly-warningcentreswillhelptobridgethecapabilitygapindis-asterpreparednessamongcountries intheregion,” said Mr Lo-Utai.

Aswellasjoiningeffortsinregionalco-operation, Thailand established a NationalEarlyWarningCentreinmid-2005.Itmoni-tors geological signs of possible earth-quakesandtsunami,andtrainsgovernmentofficials and members of the private sector onhowtoprepare.ThecentreislinkingthewarningsystemtotheexistingbroadcastingnetworkinThailand,soastocoversmallvil-lagesthatareparticularlyvulnerable.Italsocooperateswithanumberofdomesticandinternational agencies. March 2007 sawthedeploymentbyThailand,incooperationwith the United States, of floating detectors ofseismicwaves in the IndianOcean.Thecompletionoftheseinstallationsisexpectedto bring region-wide benefits. /

Thailand’s National Early Warning Centre

The Tampere Conference Centre, where the treaty was born

ITU

/P. K

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Tampere Convention

17


The Tampere Convention — a life-saving treaty

/ In Tampere, a city in Finland 200kmnorth of Helsinki, 225delegates from75countriesgatheredinJune,1998,fortheIntergovernmental Conference on Emer-gency Telecommunications. That landmarkmeeting culminated in the adoption andsigningoftheTampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Relief and Mitigation and Relief Operations — the world’s first global treaty recognizingthevitalimportanceofcommu-nicationtechnology inhumanitariancrises.ITUwasoneoftheorganizationsatthefo-refrontindraftingthislife-savingtreaty.

The Tampere Convention came intoforce on 8 January 2005, following its ratifi-cationby30StatesjusttwoweeksafterthemassiveIndianOceantsunamiinDecember2004. It has been ratified by a total of 36countries to date. The United NationsSecretary-General is the Depository of theConvention.

Removing barriers to the deployment of telecommunication equipment

Inmanycountries,lawsandregulationsstill hamper — or, in the worst case, pro-hibit — the timely arrival and deploymentof telecommunication equipment at disas-ter scenes. Local customs officials might be stymiedbyrestrictiveimportprovisions,andhumanitarianagencies leftstrugglingwith-

out access to even basic communicationsduringsearchandrescueoperations.

TheTampereConventionseekstoexpe-ditetheuseofinformationandcommunica-tiontechnologies(ICT)byemergencyteams,by allowing for the temporary waiving ofnational laws covering the importation, li-censinganduseofcommunicationsequip-ment.ItalsoassureslegalimmunityforaidworkersusingemergencyICTsystemsinre-spondingtodisasters.

Thetreatyprovidesforimproveddisasterpreparednessbycreatingamechanism forthesharingofinformationandbestpractice.Inaddition,itsetsoutaclearframeworkforinternationalcooperation,managedbyITUthroughnationalfocalpoints.

Almosttenyearson,theTampereCon-ventionhasbecometheglobalfoundationforeffective ICTdeployment inemergencyrelief efforts. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA), which acts as the treaty’s globaloperational coordinator, notes that majorimprovements have already been madein the area of disaster preparedness, withmany countries proactively establishingemergencyresponsepartnerships.

More work requiredHowever,expertsagreethatmorework

isurgentlyneedediftheenormouspotentialofICTistobeputtobestuse.Oneimpor-

Even though telecommunica-

tions can save lives following

disasters, regulatory barriers

can make it difficult to use

the necessary equipment.

ITU was a driving force in

drafting and promoting the

Tampere Convention. It calls

on States to waive regulatory

barriers that impede the use

of ICT. These barriers include

licensing requirements to use

frequencies, restrictions on

importing equipment, and li-

mits on the movement of hu-

manitarian teams.

Tampere Convention

Foto

sear

ch

ITU News 10 | 2007

1�

December 2007

tantareaisradiocommunications.“Tofacili-tatespeedyauthorizationofradiocommuni-cation-basedequipmentinemergencies,weareencouragingnationalauthoritiestoputrulesinplaceaheadoftime,tofacilitatetheoperationofequipmentbyvisitingperson-nel,” said Fabio Leite, Deputy to the Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau. “We alsourgemanufacturerstoensurethattheirradioandwirelessequipment conforms toITURecommendations,toavoidanychanceofharmful interferencewithotherservicesinanycountry inwhichsuchequipment isdeployed,” he added.

Regulatoryreformisanotherareaneed-ing attention. “One of the reasons morecountries have not yet ratified the Tampere agreement is thatunder-resourcednationslack the expertise needed to ascertain theimpactoftheConventiononexistinglegis-lation, national rights and responsibilities,” noted Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication DevelopmentBureau. To encourage more countries to ratifythetreaty,theWorldTelecommunica-tion Development Conference in Doha inMarch2006tookadecision(Resolution34)that will see ITU assume a more activerole in supporting national administrationsin their work towards implementing theTampereConvention.

Resolution34focusesontheroleoftel-ecommunicationsandICT“inearlywarningandmitigationofdisastersandhumanitar-ian assistance”. In November 2006, the ITU PlenipotentiaryConference inAntalyatookanother importantdecision inthisarea. ItsResolution36invites Member States “towork towards their accession to the Tam-pere Convention as a matter of priority”.

ItalsourgesMemberStatesthatarepartiestotheConventiontotakeallpracticalstepstoapplythetreaty,andtoworkcloselywiththeOperationalCoordinatorasprovidedforinResolution34(Doha,2006).

Grass-rootsexperienceduringtheIndianOcean tsunami in2004 indicated thaton-goingsupport forcountries thathave rati-fied the Convention might also be needed. “Problemsrelatingtotheimportandopera-tionof telecommunicationequipmentper-sist inanumberofcountries,despitetheirratification of the Convention,” said Chérif Ghaly,ChairoftheUnitedNationsWorkingGroup on Emergency Telecommunications(WGET).“WeclearlyneedtostepupeffortstoensurethatStatesarefullyawareoftheprovisionsoftheConventionandtheirroleand responsibilities.”

Nevertheless, significant advances have been made since the Convention was first signed. Emergency response partnershipsare firmly in place, well ahead of any dis-aster. “Wecannowrelyonclear stand-byarrangements,stockpilesofcriticaltelecom-munication equipment, and internationalrosters of available resources,” said Mr Ghaly. “SinceTampere,wehaveevenmoretoolsatourdisposaltominimizetheimpactofnatu-raldisasters.Weneedtotakeadvantageofthis by establishing early-warning systems,adopting shared information systems suchastheCommonAlertingProtocol,andim-plementing technologies best adapted todisaster response, suchasgeospatial tech-nologies,satelliteimagingandsatellitecom-munications.” /

Radio decisions

Bruce Emirali

ITU

Bruce Gracie

ITU

1�


/ Significant measures to speed up re-sponses tonatural disasterswere takenattheRadiocommunicationAssembly(RA-07)and the World Radiocommunication Con-ference(WRC-07),heldinGenevainOcto-berandNovember2007.Thetwomeetingsadoptedresolutionswhichpavethewayfortheimplementationofpracticalmeasurestofacilitatehumanitarianassistanceattheveryearlystagesofemergencyanddisasterreliefoperations.

World Radiocommunication Conference

In adopting Resolution COM6/2(WRC-07)submitted jointlybyCanadaandNew Zealand, the conference recognizedthatitiscrucialtomakeimmediatelyavail-able pre-identified and pre-coordinated frequencies, and/or operation-flexible tech-nologies,toallownear-instantaneousdeci-sionsontheuseofavailableradio-frequencyspectrum.

Intimesofdisaster,radiocommunicationfacilitiesmaybedestroyedorimpaired,andnational regulatory authorities might notbeable toprovide thenecessaryspectrummanagement services for the deploymentof radio systems for reliefoperations.Rec-ognizing this, WRC-07 specified that efforts

areneededtoassistITUMemberStateswiththeir emergency communicationprepared-ness.Suchefforts includepromoting inter-operability through the identification of indi-vidualadministrations’availablefrequencieswithinwhichequipmentcanoperate,ortheuse of spectrum-flexible equipment that al-lowsforoperationinvariablespectrum-ac-cessscenarios.Theconferencealsoagreedthatthedevelopmentofstandardoperatingprocedures for spectrum management intheeventofdisasterswould improvebothcommunication and coordination amonghumanitarianagenciesthatarepartof theinitialresponseteams.

ITU to establish a database of available frequencies for use in emergencies

A significant milestone was reached as the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau prom-isedtoprovidesuchassistancebyestablish-ingadatabaseofavailable frequencies foruseinemergencies.InaccordancewithRes-olution COM6/2, the Bureau was instructed tofacilitateonlineaccesstothedatabasebyadministrations,nationalregulatoryauthori-ties,anddisasterreliefagenciesandorgani-zations.Inturn,administrationswereurgedtoprovideup-to-dateinformationconcern-ingtheirnationalfrequencyallocationsand

Decisions from RA-07 and WRC-07 will speed up response to disastersBruce EmiraliRadio Frequency Manager, Directorate of CIS Strategy, New Zealand, and

Bruce GracieSenior Advisor, International Organizations, Industry Canada

Radio decisions

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

Get

ty Im

ages

spectrummanagementpractices foremer-gency and disaster relief radiocommunica-tions.Thesubmissionofinformationbyad-ministrationswill be strictlyona voluntarybasis,andcaninclude,butisnotlimitedto,thefrequenciesandfrequencyrangeslistedinResolution646(WRC-03)onpublicpro-tectionanddisasterrelief.

In addition, the conference agreed tomaintain Resolution 646 (WRC-03) and tomodify Resolution 644 on radiocommuni-cationresourcesforearlywarning,disastermitigationandreliefoperations.Onarelatedmatter,italsoadoptedResolutionCOM6/23(WRC-07), which underlines the essentialnatureofEarthobservationdataformoni-toringandpredictingclimatechangeindis-astersituations. ITU’sRadiocommunicationSector (ITU–R) is invited to study possiblemeansofraisingawarenessoftheessentialroleandglobal importanceofEarthobser-vationradiocommunicationapplications.

Radiocommunication AssemblyRA-07adopted twonew resolutions in

theareaofdisasterreliefoperations:Reso-lution ITU–R 55 and Resolution ITU–R 53.The former focuses on the development

of spectrum management guidelines andstandard operating procedures applicableinemergencyanddisasterreliefoperations,taking into account the breadth of ongo-ingstudiesandactivitiesintheITU–Rstudygroups. In both resolutions the need forclose cooperation and collaboration is ex-plicitlyrecognized,notonlywithinITU,butalsowithotherinternationalorganizations,suchas theWorkingGrouponEmergencyTelecommunications (WGET) of theUnitedNations Office for the Coordination of Hu-manitarianAffairs(OCHA).

More to be doneEven though the critical importance of

telecommunicationsinsupportofreliefop-erationsiswellrecognizedbytheUnitedNa-tionsanditsMemberStates,workstillneedstobedone toensure reliable communica-tionsinsupportofdisasterreliefoperations.Inparticular,methodstoachieveimprovedcommunications within the first 48 hours of amajordisasterneedurgentattention.Theadoption of Resolution COM6/2 (WRC-07)represents an important and significant step inaddressingthisissue. /

Plume from Jebel at Tair, a small volcanic island in the Red Sea, on November 8, 2007

August 2007 brought little rain to relieve a multi-year drought in southern Australia

Remote sensing

NA

SA

Thomas vonDeak

NA

SAN

ASA

21


The role of remote sensing in disaster managementThomas vonDeakNASA Headquarters Spectrum Management Office

/ Remote sensing involves the detectionof multiple physical characteristics of theenvironment through the use of sensorsthat are tuned to specific radio frequencies. Althoughwecommonlythinkofradiofre-quencies for use in communications, theyalso inherently contain information abouttheenvironmentwithwhichtheyhavebeenincontact.

Intheentirerangeofradiofrequenciesavailable to us, certain specific frequencies arebettersuited,foranumberofreasons,to extracting this environmental informa-tion. It is gathered through a variety ofplatformslocatedontheground,intheair(aircraftandballoons),andinspace.Alongwith other benefits, remote sensing pro-videssocietywithinvaluableinformationondisastersattheirvariousstages.It isinthiscontextthatamajorglobalefforthasbeenlaunched to better utilize the informationprovidedbyremotesensing.

TheWorldTelecommunicationDevelop-ment Conference (Doha, 2006) approvedQuestion22/2:Utilization of ICT for disaster management, resources, and active and passive space-based sensing systems as they apply to disaster and emergency relief situations. Since theadoptionofQuestion22/2, remote sensing experts representingthe world’s space agencies have collabo-ratedtoproduceareportdetailingtheuseofremotesensingsystemsastheyapplyto

specific modes of disaster. These are coastal hazards/tsunami, drought, earthquake, ex-tremeweather(suchastornados,blizzards,and extraordinary precipitation), tropicalcyclones, floods, landslides/subsidence/ava-lanches,oceanpollution, seaand lake ice,volcanoes and wildfires. Version 1 of this re-porthasbeensubmittedtoStudyGroup2of ITU’s Telecommunication DevelopmentSector (ITU–D), and will be published in2008.�

TheGrouponEarthObservations(GEO)isonenotableorganization (amongmany)thataddressestheusageofremotesensingfor a variety of societal benefits with disas-ter management as a primary goal. As ofNovember 2007, GEO’s members include72States and the European Commission.In addition, 46intergovernmental, interna-tional, and regional organizations with amandateinEarthobservationorrelatedis-sueshavebeenrecognizedasparticipatingorganizationsofGEO. (Further informationisavailableatwww.earthobservations.org)

A few recent examples where remotesensinganditsapplicationhavebeenusedin disaster management include volcaniceruptions, floods, severe storms, cyclones, fires and drought (see photographs on

� Advance copies of the report may be requested by contacting the author at [email protected]

Remote sensing

Tropical cyclone Sidr carries devastating floods to Bangladesh in mid-November 2007

NA

SA

Tropical cylone Sidr spins north over the Bay of Bengal in mid-November 2007. It was forecast to become a Category 4 storm

NA

SA

Fires and thick smoke over South America in September 2007

NA

SA

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

pages21–22).Theseexamplesrepresenttherangethatremotesensingapplicationsspan.ManymoreexamplesareavailablefromtheNASA website where these photographswereobtained(seehttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/).Thiswebsiteisdesignedtopro-videgeneralinformationtothepublic.

Another area where remote sensingplays a critical role is in regard to climatechange,whichhasmovedtothetopoftheglobalpoliticalagenda.However,manyas-pectsof theglobal climate systemare stillnot fully understood. Key uncertainties in-volveclouds,sea-levelrise,theclimate-car-bon cycle and the impact of sulfates andother human-caused aerosols. These areareasthatcanonlybeaddressedbyremotesensingtechnologyandapplications,whichare constantly developing and evolvingto address climate change issues. Solvingthese uncertainties will assist governmentstoadoptmoreeffectivepoliciesformitigat-ing,andadaptingto,climatechange.

Remotesensinginformationmustbeex-aminedinitslargercontext.TheWorldMe-teorological Organization (WMO) and theUnited Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) established the IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)toprovidedecision-makersandotherswithanobjectivesourceofinformationaboutclimatechange(seewww.ipcc.ch). IPCCdoesnotconductresearch,nordoesitmonitorclimaterelateddataorparameters.Itsroleistoassess,onacomprehensive,objective,openandtrans-parent basis, the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature producedworldwidethatisrelevanttounderstandingtheriskofhuman-inducedclimatechange,

itsobservedandprojectedimpactsandop-tionsforadaptationandmitigation.

IPCCreportsareintendedtobeneutralwithrespecttopolicy,althoughtheyneedtodeal objectively with policy-relevant scien-tific, technical and socio-economic factors. Furthermore,thereportsareintendedtobeof a high scientific and technical standard, and aim to reflect a range of views, expertise andwidegeographicalcoverage.Asapos-sible reflection of this, the IPCC and former United States Vice President Al Gore were awarded (on 12October 2007) the NobelPeacePrize“fortheireffortstobuildupanddisseminategreaterknowledgeaboutman-madeclimatechange,andtolaythefoun-dationsforthemeasuresthatareneededtocounteract such change”.

Thisarticlehasprovidedabriefsummaryofhowremotesensingisappliedtodisastermanagement. Version 1 of the draft ITU–D reportgivesanin-depthreviewofthespe-cific usages of remote sensing as they apply to specific disaster modes. Also, the role that remotesensingprovidesinclarifyingtheun-certaintiesofclimatechangehasbeenhigh-lighted.Thewebsitesmentionedinthisarti-cleprovideoverviewsofthecompleterangeofeffortsundertakenbytheglobalremotesensingcommunitytoaddresstheareasofdisastermanagement and climate change,as well as the full range of societal benefits thatremotesensingcanoffer. /

Mobile-satellite services

Working with Télécoms Sans FrontièresAn NGO specializing in emer-

gency communications,

Télécoms Sans Frontières

aims to deploy communica-

tion centres at disaster sites

within 24 hours of major inci-

dents. TSF uses Vizada’s satel-

lite solutions to enable people

to communicate with family

and friends, locate each other

more easily, and to raise mo-

rale in a crisis. In addition, the

centres facilitate coordination

between workers from differ-

ent agencies, enable teams

in the field to exchange infor-

mation rapidly and easily, and

determine resource require-

ments more effectively.

23


Télé

com

s Sa

ns F

ront

ière

s

/ Sending emergency telecom-munications to Uganda, Sri Lanka, SurinameandPakistan—thesearejust a few of the occasions whenITU and Vizada (formerly known as France Telecom Mobile SatelliteCommunications and Telenor Satel-lite Services) have worked togethertohelpsurvivorsofnaturaldisasters.

Vizada is a provider of mobile and fixed satellite communications, which are used around the worldby non-governmental organizations(NGO). Vizada’s solutions cater for NGOsoperatinginisolatedlocationswhere a conflict or natural disaster causesabreakdowninconventionalcommunications.

Satellite communications areeasy-to-use solutions that speedup rescue and relief operations indisaster-hit areas, independentlyof damaged or congested terres-trialnetworks.Theyhave fourmainadvantages:Instant connection—Firstrespond-ersareabletoinformtheirheadquar-tersimmediatelyaboutthesituationonthegroundandareabletodirectreliefworkersandgoodsimmediate-lytothemostaffectedareas.

Remote office—Thisimprovesco-ordination of emergency responseamong humanitarian organizationsin the field. In the past, relief op-erationsfocusedonareasthatweremost visible, sometimes resulting intoo many organizations working inthesamearea,whileothersreceivedlittle attention.During recent emer-gencies, satellite communicationshave proved to be key in directingaid efforts more efficiently.Security — Satellite communica-tions have become an integral partof emergency workers’ security ar-rangements,notjustindangerzones,butalsoindisaster-hitareas.Mobility — A key requirement inemergency response operations isease of set-up and portability ofequipment.Mobilesatellitecommu-nications equipment (from a largemobile phone to laptop-sized voiceanddataterminals)canallbecarriedinsmallcasesorbackpacks.

Staying in touch Different types of satellite sys-

temsandnetworksprovidesolutionsfor different emergency situations.With Broadband Global Area Net-work (BGAN) systems, rescue work-

How satellites support the emergency responseEric Jan BakkerSegment Manager Aid/NGO, Vizada

ers can setuptelecom-municationcentres inminutes, with simultaneous voiceand high-speed data transmissionsatupto492kilobitspersecond.Aidworkerscanstayintouchworldwideusing the Iridium or Thuraya satel-lite phones, even in the remotestlocations.

A new phenomenon that hasbeen developing with the introduc-tion of mobile broadband servicesis theuseofcommunicationequip-ment in the field to create awareness ofanorganizationanditswork,andto support fund-raising activities.Organizationsused tobe reliantonreportersjoiningtheirmissionsforashortperiodoftime,withalltheas-sociatedlogisticalandsecurityprob-lems,aswellasadditionalcosts.Witha broadband terminal and a digitalstill or video camera, humanitarianworkerscannowprovidetheirowninput from the field at any conven-ient moment, and independent ofthird parties. Vizada’s “SkyFile” suite ofservicesenablesuserstocompressand send video files, e-mail or photo-graphseasilyandatlowcosts. /

Vizada supports TSF in its mission in Bangladesh, November 2007

The SG-2520 satellite tri-

band phone provides GSM

connectivity across all fi ve

continents on three different

types of GSM networks: 900,

1 800 and 1 900 MHz. It is

a dual mode satellite phone

weighing 180 grammes. The

phone is enabled for the Geo

mobile Packet Radio Service,

which provides mobile satelli-

te Internet access at speeds of

up to 60 kbit/s downstream.

The SO-2510 is a compact

satellite mode only handset,

weighing just 150 grammes.

Mobile-satellite services

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Using advanced mobile-satellite services in disastersContributed by the Corporate Development and Innovation Unit, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company

/ The availability of reliable means ofcommunicationduringdisastersisessentialto cater for relief operations. Yet, duringdisasters, terrestrial telecommunication in-frastructure and power infrastructure areoften damaged. In order to support reliefactivities,itisimportanttoprovideaccesstoalternative communication means that arenotdependentonsuchinfrastructure.

Communication requirements duringdisasters are very ably supported by satel-lite-basedsolutions.Inmostcases,satellitenetworkinfrastructureremainsundamaged,andpowerrequirementsforsatellite-basedsolutionscanbemeteasilybysolarenergy.Furthermore,anysatellitenetworknormallyhasaverylargecoveragearea.

Additionally, there is aneed toprovidecommunication solutions that are easy touseandoperatewithminimalornotraining.Auserneedstobefamiliarwithusingsimi-lardevicesinhisorherdailylife.Anexampleofthisisthemobilehandheldsatellitetermi-nal.Theseterminalsaresupportedbyexist-inggeostationaryorbit(GSO)satellitesandnon-geostationaryorbit(NGSO)satellitesinthemobile-satellite service (MSS) category.Theterminalssupportnearlyalltheservicesandfeaturesavailableintheexistingterres-trial cellular terminals, includingvoice, fax,the short message service (SMS), low andhighdataconnectivity,andpositionlocation

—averyusefulapplication forsupportingaidandreliefactivities.

Thuraya Satellite TelecommunicationsCompany isaGSOMSSoperator support-ing and providing such types of mobilehandheld satellite services and terminals.Thecompanyrecentlyintroduceditssecondgeneration of handheld terminals, namelyThurayaSG-2520(dualmodesatellite/GSM)andThurayaSO-2510(satelliteonly).Theseareadvancedsmartphonesusingcutting–edge-satellite technology. This is refl ected in theintegrationofthreetechnologiesinonehandset:satellite,GlobalSystemforMobilecommunications (GSM), and global posi-tioningsystem(GPS).

Thurayaalsosupportsbroadbandservicerequirements through its digital subscriberline (DSL) terminal that offers a speed of up to144kbit/sonasharedchannel.Theter-minal,which isSIMcardoperated, is con-nectedviaEthernettoacomputertoprovideInternetservices,includingthetransmissionofdata.AllThurayaterminalsaresupportedbysolar-poweredchargers.

Under a partnership agreement withITU,Thurayaprovideshandheldsatelliteter-minals(alongwithsolar-poweredchargers)toassistcountriesindisastermitigationandrelief operations. Recent examples includethedeploymentofsatellitephonestoUgan-da and Bangladesh, following severe fl oods inthosecountries. /

Country focus

Tulus Rahardjo

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/ Thecommonconditioninmostdisasterareas,particularlyindevelopingcountries,isthelackofcommunicationfacilities.Whenadisasteroccurs,themajorobstacletoeffortsforreliefisthatpubliccommunicationchan-nelsareoutofservice,whilepoweroutagesadd serious problems. Damage occurs tofixed telephone lines, fixed wireless access, mobilecellularsystems,repeaters,radioandtelevisionbroadcastingandpowerdistribu-tioninfrastructure.

Fortunately, there are many radio serv-ices using direct communication channelswithoff-the-shelfequipment,suchasama-teur radio, citizenband radio, police radioand civil aviation. They all use terrestrialradio communication, but they work withdifferentfrequencyrangesthatmakeitim-possibleforthemtointeractwhenadisasterhappens.

Mostusersof radioservicesusehigherfrequencies, usually in the VHF and UHF bands, due to the relatively small antennasystems and equipment required, as wellas itsaffordableprice.Theproblem is thathigherfrequencypropagationusuallytravelsoverashortrange,andmosthandheldde-vicesrunonbatteries,whichmeansreduc-ingtransmissionpowerinordertoprolongtheoperationaltime.

Itiscrucialtoprovideacommunicationnetwork during emergencies. By evolving radio services intoa singledisastermitiga-tionplatform,a lotof livescouldbesavedand relief provided faster than before. InIndonesia,wehavedevelopedasystemtointegrate terrestrial radio communicationsinto a single disaster mitigation platformwithoutinterferingwithanyotherservices.It is called the Radio Emergency Support Communicationsystem,anditsaimistoco-ordinateallinstitutionsindisastermanage-ment, and establish synergy between thegovernment,survivorsandrescuers.

Lives changed in a secondNo one could have imagined the

damage that would be caused by the9.3Richterscaleearthquake—thesecondlargestearthquakeeverrecorded—whichoccurred off Sumatra in Indonesia on26December 2004, at 07:58 local time.Ithadthelongestdurationoffaultingeverobserved, between 8.3 and 10minutes,with an epicentre 40kilometres northof Simeulue Island within the West Acehregion. Just 20minutes after the earth-quake, as people had escaped from theirhomes, suddenly they were hit by an ex-tremelystrongwaveupto30metreshigh:

Community-based programmes for emergency communications in IndonesiaTulus RahardjoDeputy Director General For Radio Frequency Spectrum and Satellite Orbits, Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia

Country focus

Aerial view of Sumatra before devastation by the tsunami (left)

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the tsunami. More than 250000peoplediedinAceh,therewerehundredsofthou-sandofcasualties,andmillionsofsurvivorsarestilllivinginverypoorconditions.

The destruction and loss in Aceh andNorth Sumatra was the worst natural dis-aster in recenthistory. It caused theentireplanettovibrateandtriggeredotherearth-quakesas farawayasAlaska.Thedisasteralso affected India, Madagascar, Maldives,Malaysia, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka, TanzaniaandThailand.Atthisstage,therewasonlyonethingonourminds:wecan-notworkalone,weneedtocommunicatetosummonhelp.

Using the resilience of radioAlthough billions of people worldwide

now have mobile phones, usually there isno radiobase stationorhigh-rise antennarepeaterleftstandinginadisasterarea.Andbecauseof electricityoutages, cellular sys-temsareinoperable.Possiblytheonlycom-munication equipment that can be usedis a portable radio transmitter, such as awalkie-talkiethatusesbatteriesasitspowersource.

Sinceamateurradioandcitizenbandra-diohavebecomepopularinmostIndonesiancommunities,manypeople keep awalkie-talkie radio as part of their daily commu-nication equipment. When earthquakes orfloods hit, it is such equipment that can save lives.Ownersoftheequipmentarestillabletocommunicatewithotherradiooperators.And when volunteers arrive to help, theycancommunicatethroughradio.

Emergencyfrequencyandchannelallo-cations have already been made for ama-teurradio,citizenbandradio,civilaviation,andthepolice.Allofthesecontinuetousetheirownemergencyfrequenciesandchan-nels during a disaster, while their use canbe optimized through Indonesia’s Radio Emergency Support Communicationsystem.This receives data from all available dedi-catedemergencychannels(whichmayhavevarying frequency ranges) and links it intoanInternetaccesshubfordata,voice,andpossiblyvideocommunication.Fromthere,itcanbesenttocommunicationgatewaysinvariouslocations(seeFigure1).

The Internet as a hubThe Internet is an important means of

emergency communication. It can be ac-cessed in many different ways, rangingfrom traditional phone lines to two-waybroadbandsatellite.UsingtheInternetasahubforradioservicesondifferentbandsisvaluableindisasters,astheconnectioncanbemadeanywhere.Headquarterscanthenmanage all communication traffic from mul-tipleradioservicesfromasingleplace.

The basic step to creating this systemis establishing a communication gatewaybased on the Internet protocol (IP), whichcan handle incoming traffic and broadcast tootherconnectedclients.Thiswillenablehalf-duplex operation for every operatorwithinthegateway’scoveragearea.

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The bandwidth requirement for a sin-gleInternetaccesshubwillincreaselinearlywith the number of communication gate-ways. However, a high-speed and reliablenetworkisrequired.MultipleInternetaccesslinkscanbeestablishedsothateverycom-municationgatewaycancheckthemainIn-ternetaccesslinkforitsavailabilitybeforeitswitchestoaback-up.

Networksecurityisanimportantaspect,too.Eachcommunicationgatewaymustbeauthenticated before joining the Internetaccessnetwork.Toaddmoresecurity,avir-tual private network (VPN) can be built upon apublicInternetnetwork.

Proposal for the Global Forum on disaster management

Based on Indonesia’s various experi-ences in natural disasters, we believe theRadio Emergency Support Communicationsystem will become a new alternative formonitoringandmanagement at theonsetofemergenciesandduringdisasters.Itisim-possibleforanygovernmenttohandlehugedisasters without community involvement.With community-based programmes, thestakeholders in communication networkswill include everyone who is willing tospendhisorhertimeincollectingandsend-ing information through radio emergencysupport. /

Existing radiocommunications system:

– amateur radio – citizen band – police band

Communicationgateway

Communicationgateway

Internet access

Figure 1 — The Radio Emergency Support Communication system

The Internet works like a satellite transponder for the system; it receives data from one communicationgatewaynodeandrebroadcastsittoothergatewaynodes.Thecommu-nity-basedgatewaysplay an important role in this system. They act as a front end thatinterfaceswithworkersatthedisastersite.Eachradioserviceinalocationneedstohaveaccess to at least one communication gateway. By default, only gateways from the same radio services are linked; however, this may be further expanded to enable cross-radio serv-icesduringdisasters.

WRC-07 highlights

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François Rancy, Director-General of France’s Agence Nationale des Fréquences and Chairman of WRC-07

A plenary session of WRC-07

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/ TheWorldRadiocommunicationConfer-ence (WRC-07) that took place in Genevaon 22October–16November 2007 endedwith the signing by 155countries of re-vised and updated Radio Regulations, theinternational treaty governing the use ofthe radio-frequency spectrum and satelliteorbits. Over 2800delegates, representing164MemberStates,and104Observersat-tended the four-week conference, whichwasmarkedbyintensenegotiationsonthefutureofradiocommunications.

Rapid technological developments andgrowthintheinformationandcommunica-tion technologies (ICT) sector have fuelledthedemand for radio-frequency spectrum.WRC-07consideredsome30items,dealingwith almost all terrestrial and space radioservices and applications. These includedInternational Mobile Telecommunications(IMT) — the concept that embraces ad-vanced broadband mobile technology foruse on a global basis, systems in the fixed- and broadcasting-satellite services, aero-nautical telemetry and telecommand sys-tems,meteorologicalapplications,maritimedistressandsafetysignals,digitalbroadcast-ing,andtheuseofradiointhedetectionofnaturaldisasters.

UponhiselectiontothehelmofWRC-07,FrançoisRancy,Director-GeneralofFrance’sAgence Nationale des Fréquences,saidthatitwasanhonourforhim,forFranceandfor

Europe to serveas chairmanof theevent.Mr Rancy underlined that the conferencewould influence the future of international wirelesscommunications.Headdedthatitsobjectivewasto“alloweachcountrytousethespectrumforitsownneeds,aslongasitdoesnotaffectthecapacityofothercoun-tries to share the resource”.

Addressing his first World Radiocommu-nicationConferenceasSecretary-GeneralofITU, Dr Hamadoun I. Touré told delegatesthat tomeet theMillenniumDevelopmentGoals by 2015 “we will have to rely on ICT”. HestressedthatICThaveprofoundimplica-tionsforalleconomicsectors.“Theconver-genceofbroadcasting, telecommunicationandinformationtechnologiescreatesmorepotent and effective tools,” Dr Touré said. Hethenpointedtothecriticalneedtocon-nectremoteandunderservedregionsoftheworld,andtotheimportanceofradiocom-municationsinmitigatingnaturaldisasters.

Toprepareforatrulywirelessfuture,theconferencewasrequiredtodecidethemostrational and efficient ways to exploit the ra-dio-frequencyspectrumandtomanagesat-elliteorbits.Thesearecritical forachievingglobalconnectivitygoalsinthe21stcentury.As Valery Timofeev, Director of the ITU Ra-diocommunication Bureau put it, WRC-07 wasto“continuethedevelopmentthathastakenplacethroughrecentconferences toimproveregulatoryproceduresandtopro-

WRC-07 decisions secure wireless future

WRC-07 highlights

A delegate uses his phone during WRC-07

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Left to right: Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General; Fabio Leite, Deputy to the Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau; François Rancy, Chairman of WRC-07; and Valery Timofeev,

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videfrequencyandorbitresourcesfornewtechnologies,whichareessentialfortheop-eration of all wireless services”.

New spectrum identified for IMT OneofthemainissuesforWRC-07was

the consideration of new allocations andidentification of spectrum for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT). This isthe name of ITU’s vision of global mobileaccess,encompassingbothIMT-2000(alsoknown as 3G) and IMT-Advanced. Newspectrum was sought to expand coverageandcapacityforfutureIMTdevelopment.

“Mobileservicesarenowpartofevery-daylifeinallcountriesandthereisaneedtoensurethatthisservicecancontinuetogrowinthefuturetoadjusttonewrequirements:higher transmission rates and new mobileapplications.Inthenearfuture,peoplewillwantthesametypeofserviceonmobileasalready provided in their homes by ADSL, optical fibre or cable,” said Mr Rancy. “The importance of this agenda item is relatedtothefactthatthereisaneedtoearmarkspectrumatworldwideleveltofacilitatethisdevelopment. Currently, most mobile sys-temsarelocatedinthe1GHzbandbut,asspectrum requirements increase, there is aneed to tap into the higher frequencies.”

Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem(UMTS)ForumChairmanJean-PierreBienaimé emphasized the need for timely al-location of sufficient harmonized spectrum to support current and future demand formobile broadband services. “It’s vital thatcrucial spectrum decisions are made with-outdelayatWRC-07,givingoperatorsandmanufacturers a clear target to plan theirtechnicalandcommercialstrategiesforthe

years ahead”, said Mr Bienaimé. “Now is the righttimetoidentifynewspectrumforIMT.Typically,ithastakenaroundadecadefromspectrum being identified to its availability and licensing,” he noted.

Twofrequencybandscreatedthemostdifficulty for the conference. These were the ultra-high frequency (UHF) 470–862MHzband, used by broadcasters, and the3 400–4 200 MHz band for the fixed-satel-liteservice (FSS).Manycountriesareheav-ily dependent on fixed-satellite service links inthisband.Thisisparticularlythecasefortropical countrieswithhigh rainfall,wherehigherfrequencybandsmaynotofferavi-ablealternative.

Expanding coverageThe conference identified the band

450–470 MHzforIMT.Thisbandisexten-sivelyusedforprivatemobilenetworksandmaynotbeavailableforIMTinEuropeandtheAmericasuntilthesenetworkshavemi-gratedtootherfrequencybands.

A significant result of the conference is theadditionalallocationoftheband790–862 MHz to the mobile service in thoseparts of the world where such allocationwas not yet available. This made possiblethe identification of spectrum within the upperpartoftheUHFband(470–862MHz)spectrumformobilebroadbandservices,aswell as spectrum in the higher frequencybandsforthenextgenerationofadvancedmobileservices.

Astheworldgoesdigital,theswitchoverfrom analogue to digital television broad-castingmayresultinlessspectrumrequire-mentfortraditionaltelevisionbroadcastingandthereleaseofpartoftheUHFspectrum

WRC-07 highlights

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in the470MHzto806/862MHzband forotherapplications.Accordingtomobileop-erators, this band is particularly attractivebecauseradiowavescantravelfurtheranddeeperwithinbuildingsthan is thecase inexistingmobilespectrumbands.Thiswouldhelp the mobile industry achieve muchbroader and more cost-effective mobilebroadbandcoverage.

In the end, the conference identified anadditional72MHzoffrequenciesintherange from 790–862MHz for IMT use incountries in Region1 (Europe and Africa),andinRegion3(AsiaandAustralasia).The698–806 MHz band was identified for IMT useinRegion2(theAmericas)andforninecountriesinRegion3(AsiaandAustralasia).TheseincludeChina,India,Japan,RepublicofKorea,andSingapore—representingapotentialIMTmarketof2.8billionpeople.

ActualavailabilityoftheseUHFfrequen-ciesdependsonnationaltimescalesfortheswitchover from analogue to digital tel-evision broadcasting. This is due to occurbetween 2010 and 2015, although somecountrieshaveindicatedthattheywillcom-pletetheswitchoversooner.

Going into the negotiations, some Eu-ropean administrations had made it cleartheywantedtopostponedecisionsontheallocation of UHF frequencies for mobileuntil the next WRC in 2011. Mr Bienaimé commented:“The72MHzthathasbeenal-locatednowgivesanexcellentplatformforfurther harmonization of this band, plus astarttoactualdeploymentsasanaloguetel-evision is progressively switched off.”

Increasing capacityThe2 300–2 400 MHzbandwasiden-

tified globally for IMT, with the support of countries of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity, andAfricancountries, through theAfricanTelecommunicationsUnion.

C-band frequencies in the 3 400–3 600 MHz range were identified for IMT use inRegions1and3,with theendorse-ment of around 100supporting countries.Althoughlessthanexpected,this200MHztranche of frequencies was nonethelessseenbymuchof themobile industry as agoodstartforthedevelopmentofhigh-ca-pacity,next-generationmobilenetworksforIMT-Advancedservices.

The needs of broadcasting Thefrequencyband470–806/862 MHz

isallocatedtothebroadcastingserviceonaprimarybasisinallthreeITURegions,andisusedpredominantlybythisservice.Thecon-ferencesaidadministrationsmusttakeintoaccount the need to protect existing andfuturebroadcastingstations,bothanalogueanddigital,inthe470–806/862MHzband,aswellasotherprimaryterrestrialservices.Inaddition,administrationsplanningtoim-plement IMT in these bands must coordi-nate with all neighbouring administrationspriortoimplementation.

Studies by ITUThe conference invited the ITU Radio-

communicationSector(ITU–R)tostudythesharing situation between mobile and theotherservicesusingtheband790–862 MHz inRegion1andRegion3,andtoreportre-

WRC-07 highlights

“This conference has taken

an important opportunity

to shape the spectrum land-

scape for the next decade

of mobile telecommunica-

tion services, giving both op-

erators and their suppliers

a valuable road map for fu-

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Delegates during WRC-07

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sults for consideration by WRC-11. ITU–Rshouldalsodevelopharmonizedfrequencyarrangementsforthe450–470 MHz bandfor operation of the terrestrial componentof IMT, and develop appropriate Recom-mendations. For both bands, ITU–R willstudycompatibilitybetweenmobilesystemswithdifferenttechnicalcharacteristics,andprovide guidance on any impact on spec-trum arrangements. The results of thesecompatibility studies are to be included inaRecommendation (orRecommendations)by2010.

ITU–Risalsoinvitedtostudytheimplica-tionsof the2300–2400MHzbandbeingshared by IMT and other applications andservices.ITU–Rshoulddevelopharmonizedfrequency arrangements for the band foroperation of the terrestrial component ofIMT, taking intoaccount the resultsof thesharingstudies.

ITU–R should also continue its studiesonfurtherenhancementsofIMT,includingtheprovisionofInternetProtocol(IP)-basedapplications that may require unbalancedradio resources between mobile and basestations.Itshouldcontinueprovidingguid-ancetoensure that IMTcanmeet the tel-ecommunicationneedsofdevelopingcoun-triesandruralareasinthecontextofthesestudies.

An important step towards closing the digital divide

ITUandindustryleaderssawthealloca-tion changes and the identification of new IMT frequency bands as a major achieve-mentofWRC-07.“There isaconvergence

of the needs of developing countries anddeveloped countries to reduce the dig-ital divide, and this is the main success ofthis conference,” said Mr Rancy. He added that“theregionalgroupsfullycollaboratedto produce the spectrum identification for IMT”.

TheGSMAssociation (GSMA)also em-phasized the achievement. (The GSMA isthe global trade association representing700GSM mobile phone operators acrosstheworld.)“ThisdecisionbyWRCisanim-portantsteptowardsenablinghundredsofmillionsofpeople in thedevelopingworldand rural parts of the developed world togain affordable access to broadband serv-ices,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer of GSMA. “RadiosignalsintheUHFspectrumwilltrav-elfurtherthansignals inthehigherbands,enablingfuturemobilebroadbandnetworksto reach as far as 2G networks do today,” headded.

The CDMA Development Group (CDG)praised the conference too. “The CDG ispleasedthat ITUapprovedthe inclusionofthe 450MHz and 700MHz bands in thefrequency allocations identified for IMT services,” said Perry LaForge, CDG’s Execu-tive Director. “Because of their excellent propagationcharacteristics,thesebandsareabletodeliver3Gservicesmostaffordablyto urban and rural communities alike. TheITU’sendorsementofbothofthesevaluablespectral resources will accelerate universalaccess to state-of-the-art 3G telecommu-nications in those regions thatneed it themost.”

WRC-07 highlights

“The results from the confer-

ence were very positive for

the satellite industry,” Phil

Spector, General Counsel of

Intelsat, commented. “The

satellite industry and our cus-

tomers worked together in

an unprecedented manner to

raise the awareness of regula-

tors to how critical satellites

are to the global telecommu-

nications infrastructure.”

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Satellite industry safeguards the C‑band

The global satellite industry emergedfrom the four-week negotiations with thedecision to protect users of the C-bandspectrum (3 400–4 200 MHz and 4 500–4 800 MHz)fromterrestrialinterference.Ineffect,theTableofFrequencyAllocationsintheRadioRegulationsremainsunchanged.However,countriesinRegions1and3canopttousetheband3400–3600MHzforIMT (through “opt-in” footnotes in the Table ofAllocations),whilecountriesinRegion2did not choose this possibility. Stringentpowerlimitsandcoordinationrequirementshavealsobeenimposed,toprotectexistingandfuturesatelliteservicesintheC-band.

Mainproponentsofa“nochangecam-paign” were regional and international sat-elliteoperators,spearheadedbySESGlobal,Inmarsat and Intelsat, as well as regionaloperators such as Arabsat and RASCOM.A number of administrations from Asia,Africa, and Latin America also made clear their broad support for keeping the statusquo for satellite services and called for nochange to the current use of the C-band.Someemphasizedtheroleofsatellitecom-munications in disaster and emergencies,andthegrowingdemandforthoseservices.It was mainly European governments andJapan that sought identification for IMT in theC-band.

WRC-07concludedthatthereisaneedforcontinuedinterference-freeoperationofC-band satellite services, which are essen-tialfortheprovisionofnationalover-the-airandcabletelevisionservices,emergencyanddisaster recoverycommunications, Internet

services,andmobileandwirelinetelephonytrunkingservices.

“This outcome represents a strong en-dorsement by a large number of adminis-trations of the critical nature and value ofC-band satellite services as they exist today,” said Rob Bednarek, CEO of the Dutch op-erator of communications spacecraft SESNEWSKIES,a companyownedbySociété Européenne des Satellites (SES). “The cer-tainty and stability provided by today’soutcomeallowsustocontinueourfurtherdevelopmentofnewmarketsandservices,including mobile broadband, by an indus-try well acquainted with customers’ realneeds.”

Andrew Sukawaty, Chairman and CEOof Inmarsat, stated: “We would like tothankallWRC-07delegatesforrecognizingthe importanceof theC-band for the sat-ellite industry.TheirdecisiontoprotecttheC-bandwillenableus tocontinueofferingessential communications to mobile userswhere terrestrial networks cannot reach,including aeronautical andmaritime safetyservices.”

The conference’s decision recognizes“thecentral role thatbroadcasting—andinparticularpay-televisionservices—playswithin the Asian communications market,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of theCable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA). “The interference-free operationofC-bandsatelliteservices ises-sential for mainstream satellite televisionandcabletelevisionplatforms,mobilecom-munications, Internet delivery and disasterrecovery communications.”

WRC-07 highlights

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Civil aviationRadio waves are also fundamental for

ensuringaircraftsafety.Theconferenceap-proved new spectrum allocations for theaeronautical mobile service in the bands960–1 164 MHzand5 091–5 150 MHz.

The allocation of the 960–1164MHzbandtotheaeronauticmobile(route)serv-ice(AMRS)isintendedtosupporttheintro-ductionofapplicationsandconcepts inairtraffic management which are data-inten-sive and could support links carrying datathatiscriticalforsafety.

The allocation of the band 5091–5150MHztotheaeronauticmobileservice(AMS) is intended to support several ap-plications, such as aeronautical telemetry(AMT) — used for flight testing — aero-nautical security transmissions and surfaceapplications at airports. In addition to theglobal allocation in the 5091–5150MHzband for AMT, the conference identi-fied other bands for AMT on a regional basis: several countries in Region2 (theAmericas) can use mobile service spec-trum in the4400–4940MHzand5925–6700MHz bands, while countries inRegion1 (Europe and Africa) opted for aregionalallocationinthe5150–5250MHzband.

IncommentingontheresultsofWRC-07regarding aviation issues, the Head of theUnited States’ delegation, Richard Russell,noted that “these services are very impor-tantforsafetyof lifeandthefuturedevel-opmentofaviationtechnologies.Additionalaeronauticalspectrumisneededtomeetthedemandforaircrafttestingandcommunica-

tions.Thisactionwillhelplowerthecostofairplane development and assist govern-mentsandtheaviationindustryinmeetingtheir air traffic management needs.”

Science services (Earth‑exploration satellite, meteorological‑satellite, space research, and radio astronomy)

Several agenda items were related tofurther development of science services.The conference extended existing primaryfrequency allocations for Earth-explorationsatelliteservices(EESS).Thisshouldfacilitateresearch and exploration of the environ-mentandEarth’s resources.Althoughonlya few countries operate scientific and mete-orologicalsatellites,EESSarekeyglobalas-setsthatservetheworldasawhole.Aswellasbeingusedtomonitorresources,theyareinvaluableinthepredictionandmonitoringofnaturaldisasters,formeteorologyandinthe monitoring and prediction of climatechange.

Improving the worldwide fixed-satellite service plan

Another difficult agenda item related to reviewingtheregulatoryproceduresandas-sociatedtechnicalcriteriaoftheworldwideallotment plan for the fixed-satellite service (FSS). The plan was first established in 1988 and is contained in Appendix 30B of the Radio Regulations. It guarantees access totheorbitandspectrumresourcesassociatedwiththefrequencybandsgovernedbytheseprovisionsintheRadioRegulations,soastosatisfyFSSrequirementsinallcountries.

WRC-07 highlights

Maritime proceduresInternational regulations for

the maritime mobile service

were successfully reviewed by

the conference and brought

into line with current mari-

time communications tech-

nology, including distress and

safety transmissions within

the Global Maritime Distress

and Safety System (GMDSS).

Cec

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ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré

presents the ITU silver medal to François Rancy,

Chairman of WRC-07, in acknowledgement of his work

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After almost 20years of application,these regulatory procedures needed to beimproved and technical parameters mod-ernized.Atthesametime,manydevelopingcountries,andthosewithalowpopulationdensityorsituatedonislands,saidthatrevis-ingtheFSSPlanofferedauniquechancetoprovidetheircitizenswithwidebandaccessto such resources as digital broadcasting,the Internet,andhigh-ratedataexchange.FrequencybandsregulatedbytheFSSPlanareveryattractiveforcountriesinallclimat-iczones.TheC-bandportionprovidesverygood propagation conditions for tropicalandnortherncountries,andtheKu-bandisveryattractiveforcountrieswithatemper-ateclimate.

WRC-07 again reached a compromiseacceptable to all. Appendix 30B has been updatedtotakeintoaccountnewtechno-logical developments (digital modulation,improved antenna patterns, adjusted pro-tection criteria, and so on), as well as therequirements of many countries that havejoinedITUsince1988andarestillnotpartof the FSS Plan. In particular, the confer-ence revised the technical and regulatoryprovisionsinthe4/6and10–11/13GHzfre-quencybands,whichprovidesallcountrieswith800MHzbandwidththatcanbeusedinvariousclimaticconditionsforsuchappli-cations as radiocommunications, direct-to-home(DTH)andaccesstotheInternet.

The conference approved the “non-se-quential regulatory approach” for treatment of submissions related to modification of the FSS Plan and its List of Assignments. This will improve the flexibility of Appendix 30B and eliminate delays. The plan’s effectivenesswillbeenhancedandaccessmadeeasiertotheassociatedorbitandspectrumresourcesforFSSsystems.

Calls for further workThe conference called for studies be-

tweennowand2011aimedat improvingthe international regulatory framework toaccommodate the increasing demand andmultiplicity of existing and future applica-tionsforradiocommunications.

Italsocalled for studies toaddress thefeasibility of achieving worldwide and re-gionalharmonizationofspectrumforelec-tronicnewsgathering(ENG).Inaddition,aneedwasseenforfurtherstudyofhowtoprotect radiocommunication services fromemissions from short-range radio devices,including those using ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and other similar applications thatgenerateanduseradiofrequencies.

WRC-07approvedproposalsconcerningthe use and further development of highaltitudeplatforms,sharingcriteriaforsatel-litesystemsusinghighlyinclinedorbits,andcompatibility and sharing between variousspaceand terrestrial services. It alsocalledfor further harmonization of the RadioRegulations. /

Left to right: Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade Joan Clos; His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain; ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré; and Secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society Francisco Ros

CTN

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Palace of the Senate in Madrid where the Final Acts of the 1932 Plenipotentiary Conference were signed

ITU milestone

J.M. F

erná

ndez

3�


ITU milestone commemorated in Madrid

/ TheoriginsofITUdatebackto1865,butitwas75yearsagothatitreceiveditscurrentname,withthesigningofaconventionon9December1932inMadrid,Spain.Tomarkthe75thanniversary,aceremonywasheldinMadridon10October2007,organizedbyITU,the Spanish Government, and the Official College of Telecommunication Engineers (Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros de Telecomunicaciones).

TheceremonywasledbyHisMajestyKingJuanCarlosIofSpain,andattendedbytheMinister of Industry, Tourism and Trade Joan Clos; the Secretary of State for Telecommunica-tions and the Information Society Francisco Ros; the Minister of Public Administrations Elena Salgado; the Dean and President of the Official College of Telecommunication Engineers Enrique Gutiérrez Bueno; Deputy Dean of the college Francisco Mellado; ITU Secretary-GeneralHamadounI.Touré,andthePermanentRepresentativeofSpaintotheUnitedNa-tions Office at Geneva and the Geneva-based International Organizations, Ambassador Juan AntonioMarchPujol.

ITU milestone

Siem

ens

Plaza España, Madrid

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

J.M. F

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From left to right: ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré; H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and Joan Clos, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce of Spain

From telegraph to telecommunication

On 3 September 1932, the fifth Pleni-potentiary Conference of what was thenknownastheInternationalTelegraphUnionwas opened in Madrid by then PresidentofSpain,ManuelAzaña. ItwaschairedbySpain’s Interior Minister Santiago CasaresQuiroga.Theeventwasacomplexaffair,asitranintandemwiththefourthInternationalRadiotelegraphConference.Jointly(throughacommittee),theyweretodecide,amongothermatters, how to create andnameanew,mergedinternationalorganization.

The outcome was the amalgamationoftheInternationalTelegraphandInterna-tionalRadiotelegraphConventions to formthesingle InternationalTelecommunicationConvention.ItcreatedwhathassincebeenknownastheInternationalTelecommunica-tionUnion.

After arduous deliberations, the newconvention was signed on 9December1932.TheMadridConferencenotonlycre-atedasingletreatyandorganizationfortel-ecommunications,but italsomarked ITU’sattainment of true international status byvirtue of the number of signatory States.

Thenewnameof theUnion,which cameintoeffecton1January1934,waschosento reflect the full scope of ITU’s responsibili-ties,whichbythistimecoveredallformsofwirelineandwirelesscommunications.

Host country, Spain, regarded theground-breakingconferenceasagreatsuc-cess.Withthe75thanniversary,itwishedtomarkaneventofsuchimportanceforSpainand for world telecommunications. HisMajestytheKingaddressedthecommemo-rative event, noting the significance of the celebration and affirming that Spain would doitsutmosttocontributetothefosteringof information technologies (seearticleonpages37–38).

Dr Touré commented that “theMadridTelecommunicationConventionlaidastrongfoundationfortoday’sITU.Wewillcontin-uetobuildonthisfoundation,whethertobridgethedigitaldivideorensurepeaceincyberspace.WewillremaingratefultoSpainfor its historic contribution.” /

The King’s message

H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain

© C

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/ Thiseventtoday[thejointcelebrationinMadrid on 10October 2007] helps to un-derscoretheimportanceoftheInternationalTelecommunication Union, without ques-tiononeoftheoldestandmostrenownedof the international organizations. Indeed,therootsofinternationalcooperationinthefield of communications trace back to 1865, when 20European countries convened inParistoestablishwhatwasthenknownastheInternationalTelegraphUnion.

From that time forward, the need tostrengthen and expand international co-operation, in response to the demand fora regulatory framework to guide ongoingtechnological development in this field, gave rise to new international agreements andinstitutions,whichwereeventually restruc-turedandbroughttogetheraroundITU.

Aspartofthatlonghistoricalrecord,theITUPlenipotentiaryConferenceheldinSpain75years ago is of particular importance.Wepaytributetodaytothetelecommuni-cationpioneersfrom90countriesthatmetin Madrid to restructure the InternationalTelegraph Union, giving it the name andmissionthatithastoday.

During the75years since, ITUhas car-ried on an important effort to fulfil its mis-sionandachieve itsobjectives. It is amis-sionthatconsistsofexpandinginternationalcooperation to make the best use of all

communicationmediaandpromoteassist-ancetodevelopingcountriessothatalltheworld’scitizenscanhaveaccesstoinforma-tionandcommunications.

Inthiswork,ITUhasshownitselftobehighly responsiveandable tomovequick-ly to keeppacewith society’s demands inthisrapidlyevolvingsectorwhichissocriti-calforeconomicandsocialgrowth.Atthesametime,itisimportanttohighlightITU’scurrent efforts in support of achieving theMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsattheinter-nationallevel,and,inparticular,pursuingtheobjectivesoftheMillenniumDeclaration.

The development of the informationsociety has been shown to be one of thekey instrumentsof cooperationanddevel-opment assistance in support of the leastadvantagedcountries.Moderninformation,education,healthandmanagementsystemsare becoming more efficient day by day in promoting the benefits of progress, knowl-edge,andresearchandinnovation.

In this regard, mention has alreadybeen made of initiatives being mountedwithin regional frameworks such as theEuropeanUnion,andtheWorldSummitonthe Information SocietyheldunderUnitedNationsauspicesandorganizedbyITU.Thatsummithelpedgivemomentumtodevelop-ingcountries’useofinformationandcom-municationtechnologytools.

Remarks by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spainon the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the holding in Madrid of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference

ITU milestone

El Palacio de Comunicaciones de Madrid

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Jorg

e E.

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In the context of the MillenniumDevelopmentGoals,oneofthekeyeffortsaimedatnarrowingthedigitaldivideisITU’s“Connect Africa” initiative, which represents a first step within the even more ambitious “Connect the World” initiative. Spain will doitsutmosttopromotetheuseof infor-mationtechnologyinAfricaasameansoffurthering the continent’s development,payingparticularattentiontotheneedsandproblemsofmanyAfricancountries.

Initiativessuchasthesemakeitpossible,withinacommonframework,toharnessef-forts by the public and private sectors, bytelecommunicationadministrationsanden-terprisesalike,tocreateaworldthatiscon-tinually better connected and more highlydeveloped.

Today, ITU’s membership consists of191MemberStatesandmorethan700Sec-tor Members, all focused on achievingprogress that will benefit everyone equally inthissectorwhichisworldwideinscope.AllITUmembersarecommittedtopromot-ingdevelopment,servingoursocietiesandstrengtheningtheinternationalwebofcon-nectionsthatmakeuptheglobaltelecom-municationnetwork.

It is a network that binds us togetherand has the mission of promoting growthand fostering mutual respect and under-standinghoweverthenetworkmaybeac-cessed, whether from fixed, radio or satellite connectionsorviamobiletelephonyortheInternet.

AsIsaidattheopeningofTelecom2003,organizedinGenevafouryearsagobyITU,the proper use of information and com-munication technologies must increasinglybe toserveasa toolof integration,peaceandharmony. It is suchanenormous taskthatIreiteratetoITUmygreatestwishesforsuccess.

It is an endeavour in which yourSecretary-General can count on the fullandenthusiastic supportof a Spainwhichismodern,dynamicandcollaborative,andwhich today is distinguished by the highlyadvancedlevel,inbothEuropeanandinter-nationalterms,ofitsprofessionals,compa-nies,andservicesintheareaofinformationandcommunicationtechnologies. /

HDTV in Europe

Phili

ps

BR Director Valery Timofeev

holds the plaque presented

by BBC, CBS, NHK, EBU, IAB,

DTV, Rede-Globo and Sony,

“to the Radiocommunication

Sector of the International

Telecommunication Union,

ITU–R, (formerly CCIR), on

the occasion of the 25th an-

niversary of the introduction

of high-definition television

in Europe, in grateful reco-

gnition of the work of ITU–R

in securing the unique world-

wide Recommendation ITU–R

BT.709 for high-definition

television production and

international programme

exchange. This recommenda-

tion enabled the growth and

the success of high-definition

television technology throu-

ghout the world.”

ITU

/J.M

. Fer

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Thisyearmarksaquarter-centurysincehigh-definition television (HDTV) was first demonstrated in Europe, in 1982 at theGeneral Assembly of the European Broad-casting Union (EBU) in Killarney, Ireland. The anniversary was celebrated in Genevaon16October2007attheheadquartersofITU—wherethecrucialstandardsthatun-derpin HDTV were developed.

Oneof themost strikingeffectsof thedigitization of broadcasting has been theappearance of HDTV. Because enormous amountsofdatacanbesenttothetelevi-sion set, thepicture it shows can reveal alevelofclarityanddetailneverbeforeexpe-riencedinthehome.

The idea of HDTV originated in funda-mentalworkattheresearchlaboratoriesofJapan’s national broadcaster Nippon HosoKyokai (NHK). Senior research engineer atNHK,YukihiroNishida,explainedtheback-ground.In1964,“NHKScienceandTechni-cal Research Laboratories began conducting researchintofuturetelevisionsystems.Thisled to the concept of high-definition televi-sion,” he said. “It involved a new generation ofelectronicvideomediathatwouldinspireviewerswithitsrealisticimagesandsound.This ideaof creating amaximum senseofreality for viewers was our goal.”

ITU’s essential roleNHK also appreciated the importance

of international cooperation on develop-ing HDTV. “We aimed to establish a unified worldwide HDTV standard right from the start of our project. This is why, in 1972,Japan proposed a new study programmeon high definition television to CCIR (Inter-nationalRadioConsultativeCommittee,theforerunner of ITU’s RadiocommunicationSector, ITU–R). With the adoption of thenewstudyprogrammein1974,CCIRbeganthe HDTV study,” explained Mr Nishida.

Only after the introduction of digitaltechniques and over 20years of study, in1998 it was possible to unanimously ap-prove Recommendation ITU–R BT.709 in its currentversion.Itisrecognizedtodayasanoutstanding achievement of ITU: a singleworldwide standard for HDTV production andprogrammeexchange,basedonanim-agesamplingstructureof1920x1080pixelsinwhathasbecomeknownastheCommonImageFormat(CIF).

Professor Mark Krivocheev, HonoraryChairmanof ITU–RStudyGroup6 (broad-casting services) and Former Chairman ofStudy Group 11 (television) outlined thework that led to this success.Hesaid thatITU–R’s work in HDTV represented “a truly globalapproach,withthenecessaryharmo-nization,whichprovidedthecreationoftheworldwide foundation for HDTV’s introduc-tion and development”.

HDTV — 25 years since its introduction to Europe

HDTV in Europe

ITU

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Yukihiro Nishida

ITU

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Mark Krivocheev

ITU

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Andy Quested

ITU

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Lieven Vermaele

ITU

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Joseph A. Flaherty

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

For today and tomorrowValery Timofeev, Director of ITU’s Ra-

diocommunication Bureau, highlighted “the greatachievementthatITU–Rhasbeenableto accomplish”. He added that although BT.709 is the key ITU–R Recommendation underpinning HDTV, “we should note that many supporting recommendations andreports were developed.” He mentioned in particular Recommendation ITU–R BT.601, whichbecamethebuildingblockofdigitaltelevision systems. It too is celebrating its25th anniversary this year, “and is still rel-evant today,” Mr Timofeev said (see article inITU NewsofApril2007).

Lieven Vermaele, the Technical Direc-tor of EBU, told the meeting that “Recom-mendation 709 (and its successors) is oneof the most important achievements ofITU,” in which the EBU Technical Commit-tee was proud to have been involved. Heexplainedhowhiscolleague,DavidWood,wasentrustedwiththechairmanshipoftheITUWorkingParty(11A)thattookon“thethorny issue” of HDTV. “You may know that the breakthrough came when David wasable to lead his Working Group to agree-ment on a meaningful HDTV recommenda-tion at long last, called Recommendation709-3,” with much help from Junji Kumada, his old friend at NHK, said Mr Vermaele.

HDTV, he added, “is the shape of televi-sion to come”. He said that the fi rst HDTV broadcast service in Switzerland begins inDecember 2007, “joining over 30 HDTV channels now available from the satellitespointing at Europe.”

Andy Quested, from the British Broad-casting Corporation (BBC), agreed that high-defi nition broadcasting is growing very quickly. “By the middle of next year there shouldbeover20Europeancountrieswithsome sort of HDTV service, and by 2010 it is predictedthatEuropewillhaveover120HDchannels,” he said.

Mr Quested outlined issues concern-ing the delivery of HDTV to the consumer. The BBC fi rmly believes that “HDTV should beavailabletoallandpublicservicebroad-casters should have some free-to-air high-defi nition, without the need to be part of a subscription service,” he said. That is the model for the future. “Free HDTV is vital acrossEurope,andtherestoftheworldforthat matter.”

Laying solid foundations for the future requires vision, said Joseph A. Flaherty,Senior Vice President, Technology, at CBS Broadcasting Inc. in the United States, who waspresentatthedemonstrationinIreland25 years ago. HDTV has elevated broadcast-ing to an unprecedented level, and “theinexorable march of television technologycontinues to benefi t the people of the world infurthernarrowingthedigitaldividewithhigher quality international programmeexchange.”

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I.Touréalsonotedthepotentialofthe“digitaldividend” arising from the switchover from analoguesystems.“Progresstowardsdigitalbroadcastingisakeyfactorinbridgingthedigital divide,” he said, since the technology providestheopportunitytodelivermanyin-formationandcommunicationservices./

Jacques de Vaucanson (1709–1782)

The automated digesting duck had as its “intestines” the fi rst-

ever tubing made of rubber

41


Precursors of programmingBells, automata and silk

Pioneers’Page

/ Inputting information into machines inbinary form (on or off) is not new. In thelate 14th century, in what is now Belgium and the Netherlands, the fi rst mechanisms weremade for churchbells toplay simpletunes automatically. Large, spring-loaded cylinders were studded with pegs. Whenreleased, the cylinder turned and as eachpegmetalever,itcausedaparticularbelltobestruck.Thepegscouldbemovedtodif-ferentpositionsonthecylindertoproducedifferent tunes; in other words, the system was “programmable”.

Ultimately, this pegged-cylinder systemled to musical boxes, and a similar mech-anism was used in sophisticated devicesthatcouldcontrolnotjustsoundsbutalsocomplexmovements.Oneof theforemostdesigners of these “automata” was French-man Jacques de Vaucanson (1709–1782). His machines were meant to faithfully re-produce — and thus scientifi cally illustrate — aspects of living creatures. Some weredolls that “breathed” to play musical instru-ments.Another, constructed in1739,wasamodel of a duck thatwent through themotionsofdrinkingandeating,thenevacu-ating its apparently “digested” meal.

In answer to the question in lastmonth’s Pioneers’ page, it was Vaucanson’s “Digesting Duck” that formed part of the historyofmoderncomputers.

The “Digesting Duck”Thebird’ssequenceofmovementswas

controlledwithapin-studdedcylinder.Theprocesswas completely automated, basedon coding each movement according tothe position of the pins. People fl ocked to see the amazingly lifelike, though artifi cial, creature.

Vaucanson achieved great skill in creat-ingintricatemachineryandtools,andinus-ingnewmaterials. Theduck, forexample,had as its “intestines” the fi rst ever tubing made of rubber. Because of his talents, in 1741, Vaucanson was appointed to over-haul France’s manufacturing of silk. Hetookonthechallengeofraisingproductionthrough mechanizing silk weaving, at thecentre of the industry in Lyon.

The pegged cylinder system was usedby Vaucanson in his design for a loom that couldbeprogrammedtomakethecomplexmovements necessary to create intricatepatternsinsilkcloth.Itwouldalsoremovetheneedforaweaver’sassistantandcouldbe powered by a water mill, for instance.However,itwasahighlycomplexmachineandwasnotadoptedbytheindustry.Never-theless, Vaucanson’s idea was rediscovered and refi ned by the next notable person in the history of programming: Joseph-MarieJacquard(1752–1834).

Question for next time

How is the “cowcatcher,” used to clear track in front of locomotives, connected with computing?

Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752–1834)

Punched cards pass through a Jacquard loom

ITU News 10 | 2007

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December 2007

Weaving informationSon of a silk weaver in Lyon, as a boy

Jacquardissaidtohaveworkedastheassist-antwhohadtodrawupthewarpthreadsonaloomasawovenpatternwascreated— the job that Vaucanson’s system had attempted to make obsolete. This tedioustask inspired Jacquard to also investigateways to automate the process. ExaminingVaucanson’s design, he produced a practi-cal version that was demonstrated at theParis Industrial Exhibition in 1801. Then,in1804, Jacquard inventedanattachmentthatconvertedthemachineintowhat,everafterwards,becameknownasthe“JacquardLoom”.

Jacquard’sinnovationwasadevicethatautomaticallyconnectedtheloomtoacon-tinuousrollofpunchedcards.Thesepassedoverabankof rods,eachofwhichpulleda warp thread. A rod would move (andraisethethread)onlywhenaholeinacardpassedoveritsend.Theweavingofanele-mentofapatternwasprogrammedbyonecard,andanyseriesofcardscouldbecom-binedonarolltomakeaparticularoveralldesign.Thecardscouldthenbere-arrangedtomakeanewdesign.

Crucialstepshadalreadybeentakeninthis direction by Basile Bouchon, a textile worker in Lyon who, in 1725, used a per-foratedpapertapetocontroltheraisingofwarpthreadsinaloom.Hisassistant,Jean-

Baptiste Falcon, adapted this to a perforated card system in 1726. The Bouchon-Falcon loom was programmable; however, the instructionson cards still had tobe fed inmanually.

WithJacquard’smoresophisticatedandautomated device, extremely intricate bro-cades,andevenpictures,couldbeproducedfar more quickly than by the traditionaltechnology. Manufacturers soon adoptedthe machine, and the idea of punched-card instructionswaswidely disseminated.Thesystemwaslaterusedinearlyformsofprogrammablecalculatingmachines—andultimately,computers.

A lasting revolution Jacquard’sstoryalsoprovidesanexam-

pleof thepossible social effectsof anewtechnology.Whenheintroducedhislabour-savingloom,hewasattackedbysilkwork-ers in Lyon. For them, it simply represented a loss of jobs and skills. But because of the national economic importance of the silkindustry, Jacquard himself received a statepensionfromEmperorNapoleon,aswellasanumberofawards.

Perhaps the ultimate honour was thathis name became synonymous with thekindoffabricproducedonaninventionthatcontinuesinusetothisday. /

Paul

Do

wne

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Offi cial announcements

From offi cial sources

Instruments amending the Constitution and the Convention of ITU (Marrakesh, 2002)TheGovernmentoftheArgentine Republic has ratifi ed the above instruments.Theinstrumentofratifi cation was deposited with the Secretary-Generalon6August2007.TheGovernmentoftheArgentineRepublic confi rmed Declarations and Reservationsmadeatthetimeofsignature.

TheGovernmentoftheState of Kuwait has ratifi ed the above instruments.Theinstrumentofratifi cation was deposited with the Secretary-Generalon10September2007.

TheGovernmentoftheRepublic of Slovenia has ratifi ed the above instruments.Theinstrumentofratifi cation was deposited with the Secretary-Generalon13September2007.

Instruments amending the Constitution and the Convention of ITU (Antalya, 2006)TheGovernmentoftheSocialist Republic of Viet Nam has ratifi ed the aboveinstruments.Theinstrumentof ratifi cation was deposited with the Secretary-Generalon16August2007.

Final Acts of the Regional Radiocommunication Conference for planning of the digital terrestrial broadcasting service in parts of Regions 1 and 3, in the frequency bands 174–230 MHz and 470–�62 MHz (RRC‑06) (Geneva, 2006)TheGovernmentoftheRepublic of BelarushasacceptedtheaboveFinalActs.TheinstrumentofacceptancewasdepositedwiththeSecretary-Generalon20September2007.TheGovernment of the Republic Belarus confi rmed Reservations made at the timeofsignature.

TheGovernmentofSpainhasacceptedtheaboveFinalActs.TheinstrumentofacceptancewasdepositedwiththeSecretary-Generalon31July2007.

Protocol revising certain parts of the Regional Agreement for the European Broadcasting Area (Stockholm, 1�61) (RRC‑06‑Rev.ST61) (Geneva, 2006)TheGovernmentoftheRepublic of BelarushasacceptedtheaboveProtocol.TheinstrumentofacceptancewasdepositedwiththeSecretary-Generalon20September2007.TheGovernmentoftheRepublicBelarus confi rmed Reservations made atthetimeofsignature.

Change of nameTheMinistryofCulture,ArtsandCommunicationoftheRepublic of NigerhaschangeditsnametoMinistry of Communications.

TheMinistryofCommunicationsoftheFederal Republic of NigeriahaschangeditsnametoFederal Ministry of Information and Communications.

AlcatelItaliaS.p.A.,aSectorMemberofITU–T,haschangeditsnametoAlcatel-Lucent Italia S.p.A. (Vimercate, Italy).

AlcatelS.A.,aSectorMemberofITU–R,ITU–TandITU–D,haschangeditsnametoAlcatel-Lucent France (Paris, France).

AtosOriginIntégration,aSectorMemberofITU–T,haschangeditsnametoMarben Products (Paris, France).

Lucent Technologies UK Ltd, a Sector MemberofITU–T,haschangeditsnametoAlcatel-Lucent Telecom Ltd (Swindon, United Kingdom).

SpirentCommunications,aSectorMemberofITU–T,haschangeditsnametoSwissQual AG (Zuchwil, Switzerland).

ITU News 10 | 2007

44

December 2007

Official announcements

Telecel Burundi, a Sector Member ofITU–D,haschangeditsnametoU-COM Burundi (Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi).

New Sector Members

Telecommunication Standardization SectorCoding Technologies AB (Stockholm, Sweden)andConversational Computing Corporation (Redmond, Washington, United States)havebeenadmittedtotakepartintheworkofthisSector.

Radiocommunication SectoreMobile Ltd (Tokyo, Japan)andNigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT) (Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria)havebeenadmittedtotakepartintheworkofthisSector.

Telecommunication Development SectorDUONS (Paris, France), Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales S.A. (Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic) andInternational Foundation for the Children of the World (Geneva, Switzerland)havebeenadmittedtotakepartintheworkofthisSector.

New Associates

Telecommunication Standardization SectorNTNU-Q2S (Trondheim, Norway)hasbeenadmittedtotakepartintheworkofStudyGroup12.

Optical Technology Training Ltd (Skipton, United Kingdom)hasbeenadmittedtotakepartintheworkofStudyGroup15.

Research in Motion (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)hasbeenadmittedtotakepartintheworkofStudyGroup16.

Structural changesPeople’s Republic of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will represent Bangladesh in meetings ofinternationalandregionaltelecommunicationorganizations.

Republic of Panama TheAutoridadNacionaldelosServiciosPúblicoshasbeencreatedfollowingtherestructuringoftheEnteReguladordelosServiciosPúblicosbyDecreeNo.10of22February2006.TheAuthoritywillrepresenttheRepublicofPanamawithinITU.

Republic of Suriname ThenewTelecommunicationActcameintoforceinApril2007andthenewregulator,TelecommunicationAuthoritySuriname(TAS),hasbeenappointed as the official representative oftheRepublicofSuriname.

Viet Nam TheMinistryofInformationandCommunications(MIC)hasbeenestablishedandshallbetherepresentativeoftheSocialistRepublicof Viet Nam within ITU.

Up‑to‑date details of forthcoming ITU meetings and conferences can be viewed on the ITU website at

Diary of ITU events

www.itu.int/events/index.asp

From official sources

AN EVENT EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES IN THE CONVERGING ICT AND AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES

WORKSHOP ON ICT*IN MOTOR VEHICLES

Geneva Motor Show 2008:Workshop 5-7 March

PalexpoGeneva, Switzerland

More info: itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/ict-auto/200803/

Organized by:Supported by:

*Information and communication technologies

TOPICS INCLUDE:

ICT AND CLIMATE CHANGECOMMUNICATIONS, SPECTRUM AND STANDARDSNOMADIC DEVICESSAFETYNETWORKING APPLICATIONS AND ARCHITECTUREVOICE AND AUDIOVISUAL SERVICESSECURITY AND PRIVACY

MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS

Creating ideas, spreading knowledge and making the right connections are what

ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008 is all about. It ’s the crucial ICT networking platform for the

African region. Join leaders of industry, governments, regulators, innovators and

visionaries to explore, discuss and shape the future of Africa’s ICT sector. Organized by

the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Visit www.itu.int/africa2008

ITU_Africa_Ad_E_F_S.indd 1 05.07.2007 11:45:36

ITUNews No.10 – December 2007

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