(ITU) ITU members to discuss utilizing ICT for disasters

By Kang Yoon-seung

BUSAN, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- Members of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) gathered in Busan for their quadrennial meeting will discuss utilizing the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to prevent disasters next week, policy watchers said Saturday, including the spectrum allocation for real-time flight data monitoring.

"What happened to MH 370 had already strengthened our resolve to stand with the ITU, to make sure, that we extract the most benefit from ICT towards saving lives," the Malaysian delegation earlier said this week.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared from radar in March, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing, with 239 people from at least a dozen countries, including China, the U.S. and Indonesia, on board.

In light of the tragedy, the necessity to track aircraft in real time has emerged as a key issue at the ITU gathering.

"With two air tragedies, Malaysia is determined to do our part to intensify efforts for ICT to play an even bigger role in the aviation industry. I believe that locating and searching for the black box should be a thing of the past, because it is technology from the '60s," he added.

"Even more so, I am certain that today's technology should be transmitting data from aircraft, including from the black box, in real-time," he also said, calling for finding ways to establish international standards for real-time monitoring of flight data.

The member countries will also talk about using ICT during emergencies such as natural disasters.

"In light of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Japan again recognized the importance of measures against disasters. Once again, we appreciate your support in the wake of the earthquake," a Japanese delegate said.

"We can contribute to establishing a disaster-resilient network infrastructure for each country and a global scale disaster-prevention network through sharing our experiences and know-how of the earthquake with countries all over the world," he added.

Other discussions will also continue such as those on drawing a more clear line between the role of the secretary-general and deputy secretary as suggested by North American and Latin American countries, narrowing the digital divide and providing children with a safe online environment.

The two-day 2014 Global ICT Premier Forum will also kick off Monday, with top officials from companies both at home and abroad, including KT Corp., Daum Kakao, Samsung Electronics Co., IBM, Google and Microsoft giving speeches on the ICT industry.

Other events will also continue at the venue, including the Cloud Expo Korea 2014, where 60 cloud-computing related firms from home and abroad will participate, and the Health IT Show 2014 that will showcase the latest health care technologies.

The 19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, referred to as the PP-14, continues until Nov. 7. The event is held every four years, and it is the second time for the event to be held in Asia.

The ITU is an information and communications arm of the U.N. that sets technological standards, allocates radio frequencies and satellite orbits, and works to improve the quality of communication services.

colin@yna.co.kr
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