International cooperation in emergencies
Disaster planners can ensure communications support first-responder agencies through compliance with ITU/UN standards.
One of the issues facing first-responder organisations in the event of major disasters is getting the IT and communications systems set up to support immediate needs.
Success requires the ability to get equipment into the country quickly, to interoperate with the communications systems remaining in the disaster area.
Interoperability depends upon the existence of, and adherence to, standards, and two organisations are leading the work on establishing standards and processes for telecommunications used in the event of a disaster: the ITU and the UN.
International Telecommunications Union
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has recognised the importance of communications to disaster response, and at the Caribbean Forum in 2006 discussed the use of ICT for effective disaster management.
A number of regional workshops were held over the following year, culminating in the December 2007 global forum on Effective Use of Telecommunications/ICT for Disaster Recovery.
This forum attracted representatives of 174 governments and 18 international bodies, as well as 27 private sector and 53 non-government organisations.
The purpose of the forum was to bring together those organisations involved in developing, deploying and using telecommunications and computer systems for managing disaster response, and to serve as a forum in which concrete strategies can be mapped out and practical measures for ensuring effective telecommunications adopted.
The forum focused not only on first responders, but also on the critical issues of preparation and early warning.
The forum covered the topics of policy, regulation, technology, finance and the deployment of last-mile communications systems.
In addition to its publication of standards and guidelines, the ITU has been active in coordinating the provision of satellite-based assistance to countries in the aftermath of a disaster.
This was first trialled as part of the response to the 2004 South East Asian tsunami and again in response to the Pakistan earthquake in 2005.
The services provided by the ITU included voice and high speed data to support telemedicine for remote mountainous areas.
At the 2007 forum, the ITU formalised its assistance work by launching the ITU Framework for Cooperation in Emergencies (IFCE).
IFCE is a worldwide initiative designed to make telecommunications quickly available in the event of a disaster by providing reliable, easily transportable and technology-neutral systems.
It is an initiative which positions the ITU as the leader in providing telecommunications and computer services in all phases of disaster management, i.e. prevention, preparedness, response/relief, and rehabilitation/ reconstruction.
IFCE has three major programs: technology, finance, and logistics.
The technology cluster includes Satellite and Land Earth Station Operators, Telecommunications Operators (with emphasis on mobile), and Geographical Information System Providers.
The Finance program is concerned with identifying potential donors for a stand-by fund.
The Logistics program is focused on getting material into the disaster region and includes Air Transport Operators and Couriers.
Associated with the IFCE is the ITU Network of Volunteers for Emergency Telecommunications (VET) which helps mobilise skilled personnel to assist with the deployment of computer and telecommunications systems in disaster areas.
As well as establishing the IFCE, a tangible result of the December forum was the issue of two publications: the Compendium of ITU’s Work in Emergency Telecommunications and the ITU Handbook on Best Practice on Emergency Telecommunications.
These publications are available from the ITU website.
The ITU has also released Recommendation E.106: International Emergency Preference Scheme (IEPS) for Disaster Relief Operations, and Recommendation E.107: Emergency Telecommunications Service and Interconnection Framework for National Implementations of ETS.
In a crisis situation there will be an increased demand for public telecommunications, and the IEPS scheme ensures priority is given to emergency traffic.
Conformance of national communications systems to E.106 will ensure that the communications established in a disaster situation will support an international response effort.
E.106 requires that calls from IEPS users be suitably marked, that these markings are recognised by national systems, and that priority is given in signalling, switching and traffic routing.
Arrangements to transfer the IEPS markings would also need to be agreed in advance with non-participating intermediate service providers of transit networks.
IEPS has four essential features: priority dial tone, priority call setup message, priority indicator in bearer networks, and exemption from restrictive network management controls.
E.107 provides guidance on how ETS National Implementations (ENIs) should provide end-to-end services in support of IEPS.
UN Activities
The UN has a Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET) as part of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
WGET is an open forum to facilitate the use of telecommunications in the service of humanitarian assistance.
It comprises of United Nations entities, major NGOs, the ICRC, the ITU and experts from the private sector and academia.
One of the more visible outputs of WGET is its Handbook on Disaster Communications, available through the ITU.
The UN’s Inter-Agency Emergency Telecommunications (IAET) service supports the co-ordination of humanitarian assistance for the initial period of a declared emergency to provide common basic telecommunications infrastructure and associated services.
Once an assessment has been carried out, a Telecommunications Coordinating Agency (TCA) is set and tasked with the procurement, installation, maintenance and running of a minimum secure communications infrastructure and a limited, best efforts service providing basic computing facilities and Internet connectivity.
This includes an Emergency Communications System (ECS) which allows for reliable communications between United Nations staff appointed with security and safety responsibilities, which operates 24x7 with uninterrupted and reliable communications, and allows security officials to communicate both within the country and to organisations such as UNSECOORD outside the country.
About the author: Dr Malcolm Shore is a Technology Strategist with Telecom New Zealand and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at Canterbury University. His background includes a career in the RNZAF followed by service in the Government Communications Security Bureau as Director of Information Systems Security.