ICO, ITU, and CBC
Sign Memorandum of Understanding
(20 June 2007) ICO Global
Communications (Holdings) Limited (ICO) today announced that ICO, the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a specialised agency of the
United Nations, and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), an organisation
which serves to foster co-operation between business and governments, have
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The MOU's objectives
are to establish collaborative linkages between the Parties in the area of
Emergency Telecommunication Systems and Global Information Systems, and more
particularly, for ICO to provide state and non-state organisations free access
to ICO's F2 orbiting MEO satellite for non-commercial purposes.
ITU
Secretary General Hamadoun Toure commented, "The partnership that we have
established with ICO Global Communications and the Commonwealth Business
Council is an important milestone towards ITU's effort to save human life.
Satellite communication provides a platform to deliver a wide range of services
and applications even to remote areas. In the digital age, we are able to
provide an ICT lifeline to disaster victims and humanitarian personnel
entrusted with co-ordinating rescue and relief operations, especially when
terrestrial communications infrastructure is disrupted, overloaded or
destroyed. We thank ICO for being a reliable partner from the satellite
industry and for contributing innovative technologies."
"ICO strongly
supports the goals of the ITU and the CBC, and we are pleased to be able to
contribute ICO's satellite services to these efforts," added J. Timothy Bryan,
ICO's CEO. "ICO's development and implementation of S band technology globally,
including our announced vendor initiatives for ICO North America and the ICO P
MEO system, will serve our interests well as we continue to work with key
suppliers to create advanced user terminals to access F2 for humanitarian and
emergency uses."
"CBC is pleased to work with the ITU and ICO to
contribute towards development and disaster preparedness. What is required for
the future is increased economic empowerment of wider segments of society, to
lift people out of poverty and give them new opportunity. This can be achieved
by bringing technology and innovation to the service of many. We need to pursue
the 'democratisation of knowledge', by making technology more widely and freely
accessible. By means of tele-education and entrepreneurial development
programmes CBC will equip and prepare global citizens for economic empowerment
and disaster management," said Dr Mohan Kaul, Director General, Commonwealth
Business Council.
About ICO
ICO Global Communications (Holdings)
limited is a next-generation satellite communications company based in Reston,
Virginia. ICO is developing an advanced hybrid system, combining both satellite
and terrestrial communications capabilities, in order to offer wireless voice,
data, video, and Internet services on mobile and portable devices.
About
the ITU
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and
communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and
the private sector in developing networks and services. For more than 140
years, ITU has co-ordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum,
promoted international co-operation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to
improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and
established the world-wide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a
vast range of communications systems.
ITU also organises world-wide and
regional exhibitions and forums bringing together the most influential
representatives of government and the telecommunications industry to exchange
ideas, knowledge and technology for the benefit of the global community, and in
particular the developing world.
From broadband internet to
latest-generation wireless technologies, from aeronautical and maritime
navigation to radio astronomy and satellite-based meteorology, from phone and
fax services to TV broadcasting and next-generation networks, ITU continues to
play a central role in helping the world communicate.
About the
CBC
The CBC was formed by Commonwealth Heads of Government to act as a
bridge for co-operation between business and government, between developed and
emerging markets and between large and small businesses and has been working to
involve private sector engagement in facilitating the implementation of an
Information Communications Technologies for development programme, and enhances
collaborative partnerships between the various stakeholders including
governments, private sector, donor agencies and civil society.
(source:
ICO)