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Friday, February 26, 2010
Project to strengthen First Responders in Haiti announced
A US software company is set to provide a reliable and secure communications system to emergency response teams assisting in the Haitian relief effort under an agreement with the United Nations, the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has announced. US-based Collabria LLC will install a platform to allow Haitian 'first responders' to collaborate quickly across wired, wireless and private networks, as well as the Internet amidst the devastation left by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.
The software combines text, voice, video, data and large file transfer capabilities into a single application for desktops, laptops, mobile phones and other IP-based devices, the ITU said in a news release. In addition to providing the ITU with the software to strengthen ongoing emergency telecommunications efforts in Haiti, Collabria will also dispatch engineers to help ITU restore the country's communications links.
"My sympathy is with the people of Haiti who are trying to re-build their lives after this terrible tragedy," said ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau Director Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid (pictured left) "Re-establishing communication links is an essential part of the relief effort and I am delighted that Collabria has come forward to join us in this effort."
Speaking from Haiti, where ITU has been overseeing network restoration efforts, Cosmas Zavazava, ITU Chief, Emergency Telecommunications said harmonization of communication systems for law enforcement and humanitarian agencies in major emergencies remains one of the most daunting challenges.
Since the disaster struck in January, ITU has contributed 100 satellite terminals to Haiti to help re-establish basic communications links in the country, as well as setting up 100 wireless hotspot locations across the Caribbean nation and allocating a budget of over $1 million to strengthen disaster response in Haiti.
Photo: Search & Rescue team from South Africa in Haiti in January, courtesy of ShellInfosight.com
More information about information systems projects in Haiti can be found at http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2010/07.html.
The software combines text, voice, video, data and large file transfer capabilities into a single application for desktops, laptops, mobile phones and other IP-based devices, the ITU said in a news release. In addition to providing the ITU with the software to strengthen ongoing emergency telecommunications efforts in Haiti, Collabria will also dispatch engineers to help ITU restore the country's communications links.
Speaking from Haiti, where ITU has been overseeing network restoration efforts, Cosmas Zavazava, ITU Chief, Emergency Telecommunications said harmonization of communication systems for law enforcement and humanitarian agencies in major emergencies remains one of the most daunting challenges.
Photo: Search & Rescue team from South Africa in Haiti in January, courtesy of ShellInfosight.com
More information about information systems projects in Haiti can be found at http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2010/07.html.