Kerry on Telecom Industry Response Efforts in Haiti Wednesday was biggest day in the history of mobile phone generated charity

Press Release

Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, today commented on efforts by the telecommunications industry in providing communications expertise, equipment and manpower to earthquake ravaged Haiti, as well as on the industry's massive fundraising effort which made Wednesday the biggest day in history for mobile phone generated charity. Facebook and Twitter are also serving as a tool for giving. "Last night at a community meeting on this awful earthquake, I heard story after story of people who can't reach their loved ones back in Haiti. The devastation has made communications service largely inoperable, making it difficult to assess and respond to the damage efficiently, and it also caused additional anguish for families who can't get in touch with each other. We've got to move rapidly to get this problem addressed. Mobile telephone companies and their foundations, NGO's like Telecoms sans Frontieres, and satellite companies like Iridium and CapRock Government Services are stepping up to the plate, and there's much more we need to do. As Subcommittee Chairman, I'm in touch with industry leaders to try and mobilize more resources faster and greatly appreciate their efforts. We will need to help tomorrow, and the day after. Next month and the month after. And far into next year," said Senator Kerry. In the first few days, relief officials will work with satellite telephone service providers to provide as much immediate service as possible. Over the coming days and weeks, relief officials will work with non-governmental organizations to establish wireless networks and restore communications capacity broadly. Organizations are already on the ground establishing the infrastructure and distributing the devices. The industry's fundraising efforts have been extraordinary. The Verizon Foundation, for example, has opened the Disaster Relief Incentive Program (DRIP) for U.S. Verizon employee donations made to World Vision and Food for the Poor. Employee donations made to these agencies will be eligible for a 100% match, up to $1,000 per employee. The AT&T Foundation is also providing a $50,000 donation to Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) to support their relief work on disasters in Haiti and around the globe. TSF, the leading international humanitarian organization specializing in emergency telecommunications, is deploying two emergency telecom teams to Haiti. The teams will set up emergency telecom centers using satellite capacity for use by emergency responders. They will also work on humanitarian calling operations, setting up centers where people impacted by the earthquake get a free two-minute call anywhere in the world to let their family know that they are alive or to try to get the resources they need. And mobile telephone companies have set up simple mechanisms to make contributions to the Red Cross and Yele Haiti over text messaging. To contribute to those efforts you can text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10 to the Red Cross OR text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti, a Haiti specific non-profit organization. The nation's satellite industry is also stepping up to the plate. CapRock Government Services, a satellite services provider, is providing full end-to-end satellite communications support and connectivity to the U.S. Marines Corps for their support activities in Haiti. Iridium has pre-positioned its satellite handsets with the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), and TSF for their use in such emergencies. Iridium handsets are also being provided by service providers such as GMPCS to COFFETEL, the Dominican Republic's telecommunications carrier, for their relief efforts in Haiti, and to Spirit Airlines, which is resuming flights in and out of Haiti on Thursday, January 14. Inmarsat is also providing its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) terminals to TSF, and DBSD is making available to the U.S. government its S-band satellite capacity for two-way mobile communications or broadcast video services throughout Puerto Rico. DBSD is offering as many as 50 vehicle-based devices for the effort.

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