ITU deploys Satellite Terminals in Bangladesh (September 2007) 
ITU
deployed 30 satellite terminals to help restore vital communication links in
remote and underserved areas of Bangladesh, which were recently ravaged by
floods.
Since the start of the monsoon season this year, nearly two-thirds of
Bangladesh — a delta nation of 140 million people — was inundated with
flood water, bringing death and devastation across the country. Response efforts
were hampered by damaged roads and airstrips, and lack of
telecommunications facilities.
Need for
Early warning system to protect lives and income
Residents of the largely impoverished districts in the
affected areas said that advance notice of floods could help them ward off
some of the worst impacts of rising waters. If they had sufficient warning, they
could harvest at least a portion of their ripening crops, move some livestock to
safety; encircle fish ponds with nets to prevent fish from escaping, and stock
food and other supplies. The best prevention flood-hit developing countries
can implement involves educating people and communicating impending floods on time. In
Bangladesh, many still have no access to flood information. Effective early
warning is a necessity.
ITU pays for all expenses which include the transportation of the equipment,
training, and usage. All terminals, which are from Thuraya Satellite
Telecommunications Company, are
dedicated mainly to voice communication. They are equipped with solar panels to
provide an independent source of energy.
Bangladeshi
telecommunications engineers testing the satellite telephones immediately after
their training in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Other recent response efforts by ITU:
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