[12-13-07 – Satellite Today] Iridium Satellite will contribute equipment and airtime services to the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) worldwide disaster management program, Iridium announced Dec. 13.
    ITU has developed a disaster management program to deliver and deploy telecommunications resources to countries, humanitarian organizations and victims of disasters in a timely manner.
    "In the last several years, Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asia tsunami taught us that in emergency response missions the availability of rapid communications has the power to diminish loss of life in some of the most needy and desperate situations on earth," Matt Desch, chairman and CEO of Iridium, said in a statement. "Through this agreement, ITU will provide first responders with reliable Iridium voice and data services so that they can more effectively help a greater number of people in the early days of an emergency. As a critical lifeline and vital public utility, the Iridium network operates independently of terrestrial infrastructure. This puts us in an excellent position to aid first responders wherever disaster strikes."