telecom

A satellite dish, facing the East River, sits on the snow-covered grounds of UN Headquarters.

UN, Luxembourg partner to strengthen emergency telecoms

8 December 2011
The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Luxembourg today announced that they have agreed to cooperate on strengthening emergency telecommunications and rapid responses whenever natural disasters strike.

UN-backed meeting considers better use of geospatial technology

23 October 2011
Representatives from 90 countries and delegates from dozens of international organizations and civil society gathered in the capital of the Republic of Korea today for a series of United Nations-backed meetings on improving the management of geospatial information technologies and using them to tackle global socio-economic challenges.
Photo: ITU/V. Martin
ITU/V. Martin

UN invites budding creators to enter competition on technology innovation

11 August 2011
The United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) today invited young innovators in digital and other fields to enter a global competition in which 60 winners will be invited to Geneva in October to pitch their novel ideas at a leading forum.
ECOSOC in session.
UN Photo/Jenny Rockett

UN Economic and Social Council sets up committee on global geospatial information

27 July 2011
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) today voted to establish a committee of experts on global geospatial information management to coordinate international dialogue on spatial data infrastructures and enhance cooperation in that field.

UN chief highlights benefits of information technologies for rural people

17 May 2011
From connecting village schools to the Internet to using telemedicine in remote health clinics to providing accurate weather information to farmers, information and communication technology can bring enormous benefits to the lives of rural people worldwide, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
Photo: ITU/V. Martin
ITU/V. Martin

With cell phone network congestion set to worsen, UN urges rapid broadband growth

11 February 2011
With smartphones already consuming five times more data capacity than ordinary mobile phones and their number set to soar from 500 million today to nearly 2 billion by 2015, broadband growth is vital not just for developing countries but for the world’s most advanced nations too, a senior United Nations communication official warned today.