Joanna Crews
On Thursday, Inmarsat announced it signed a contribution agreement supporting the United Nations’ Crisis Connectivity Charter, which directs participants to dedicate satellite equipment and network volume for humanitarian and emergency response.
The agreement with the World Food Programme , on behalf of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, is meant to improve the humanitarian response community’s access to critical satellite-based communications when local networks have been rendered unusable by a disaster.
“Today, I am pleased to welcome the next operational phase of the Crisis Connectivity Charter, which will see the satellite industry commit dedicated equipment and pre-allocated bandwidth capacity for humanitarian purposes that can be activated within 24 hours of an ensuing crisis and cover all regions of the globe,” said Paul Gudonis, president of Inmarsat Enterprise.
The Crisis Connectivity Charter was signed in 2015 by the Europe, Middle East and Africa Satellite Operators Association; the Global Very Small Aperture Terminal Forum; and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Aid. Finalizing contribution agreements with private companies is a crucial step to operationalizing the charter.
Inmarsat became the first official partner of Telecoms Without Borders in 2000 and collaborates with the global non-government organization Team Rubicon.
