Our ITU Telecom community's COVID-19 response

The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has dramatically highlighted the importance of the digital technology in our businesses, societies and individual lives. We've been talking to our global community of ITU Telecom participants from events past and present to find out more on their response to the pandemic - and we're more impressed than ever with their creativity and innovative use of technology.

You can find out more in the individual entries below - and read about the ITU's own COVID-19 response, including the Global Network Resiliency Platform of innovative policy and regulatory measures.

Swiss SME Spectroplast, exhibitors at ITU Telecom World 2019 in Budapest, are using their 3D printing expertise to produce silicone attachments for breathing masks urgently needed by the medical sector.

Read the full story

Philippe Vuilleumier, Head of Security at Swisscom, warns that cybersecurity breaches have increased dramatically since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis – and shares some simple steps we can take to protect ourselves online.

Read the full story

The Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, an ICT not-for-profit in Nepal, have joined up with other technology, medical and development professionals to develop the COVID-19 Surveillance System – a health monitoring app to counter the pandemic.

Read the full story

Ugandan approval and certificiation service SME Approval Solutions argues that the COVID-19 crisis highlights our critical dependence on ICTs – and the urgent need to close the digital divide.

Read the full story

The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency highlights the country’s innovative digital response to COVID-19 crisis –  including cashless payments, streamlined online learning, hospital robots to minimize human-to-human contact, and delivery of critical medicines and public health information by drones.

Read the full story

Working closely with other government departments, BSCL is fast-tracking its plans to tackle illiteracy in Bangladesh with dedicated educational TV channels available to all students amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

Read the full story

GVG provides digital tools to improve regulatory oversight and auditing –  and VP of Strategy Daryl Bhana outlines here just how critical this is for governments across Africa as they search for new financing mechanisms and revenue streams to address the current crisis.

Read the full story

Mayamiko Nkoloma of iMoSyS, finalists in the Global SME Awards 2018, introduces a new project to develop digital fabrication capabilities in Malawi to address the urgent need for protective equipment.

Read the full story

Francis Enejo Idachaba of Covenant University, Nigeria, debunks some of the COVID 19/5G conspiracy theories by examining the technical specifications of 5G communications technology.

Read the full story

Bangladeshi digital solutions provider Elegant IT Limited explain how the COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity to support women and differently-abled people through free online training courses, home office and freelancing opportunities –  putting talents to work and mobilizing marginalized communities.

Read the full story

South African health care portal and application WatIf focuses on protecting those with underlying health conditions who are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 – through digital tools, testing and management of home-based chronic diseases.

Read the full story

Leading satellite services provider Inmarsat outlines how they are making sure mobile satellite services remain accessible for essential workers and emergency responders without access to terrestrial networks in times of need.

Read the full story

Angolan telecom multinational Angola Cables is joining up with partners in Brazil to build an intelligent diagnosis system to detect COVID-19 from x-ray or tomography images – making the crucial testing process quick and easy.

Read the full story

The COVID-19 crisis is providing the global telecom outsourcing industry with an opportunity to learn from current experiences and plan future strategies – perhaps radically so, explains Sobhan Babu Chunduru of Tata Communications Transformation Services.

Read the full story

From reducing the cost of mobile money transactions to broadcasting educational content and offering additional spectrum resources, the Communications Authority of Kenya outlines how ICTs are at the forefront of the fight against the impact of COVID-19.

Read the full story

Three different projects from @iLabAfrica‘s research centre in ICT4D, part of Strathmore University in Kenya, focus on tackling the pandemic in different ways.

Read the full story on Digital learning strategies, Automated handwashing systems and Scaling rapid laboratory testing

World in Sign partners with businesses and communities around the world to empower deaf and hard-of-hearing populations through quality access to communicaton and technology –  more important than ever in the isolation of the COVID-19 crisis.

Read the full story

Serge Conesa, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Immersion4 and winner, ITU Telecom World 2019 Global SME Excellence Award introduces the Immersion4 DTM technology, which enables the design of Datacenters of all capacities without GHG & CO2 emission and water consumption.

Read the full story

Global Plan’s Dr. Haruo Okamura outlines how his Broadband Infrastructure for Remote-Area Digitalization solution can accelerate optical cable connectivity – and help close the urban-rural digital divide that the COVID-19 crisis has dramatically highlighted.

Read the full story

Argentinian non-profit Ada ITW focus on closing the gender gap in the IT industry – and came to ITU Telecom World 2019 as part of EQUALS. Here they tell us  about the free programming workshops and home office information they’re offering in response to the crisis.

Read the full story

Ten golden rules to protect employees forced to work from home from the increased danger of cyber attack – provided by leading IT security company and long-standing ITU Telecom partner Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity.

Read the full story

From multilingual information campaigns to new MNO resource sharing initiatives and measures to protect critical telecom infrastructure, the Nigerian Communications Commission is playing a major role in combatting the pandemic.

Read the full story

As the world battles against COVID 19, Purple Signs is working to secure the rights of the deaf in Africa to health, education, and information using low-cost, high-scale mobile phone technologies.

Read the full story