When the founders of Télécoms Sans Frontières, Monique Lanne-Petit and Jean-François Cazenave, visited Washington DC on October 14th, they had the privilege of being shown around the White House and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). They were invited by White House and FCC officials to share their experiences of humanitarian activities.

They first had a fruitful meeting with the Deputy Chief Technology Officers at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the President (EOP). They secondly met with FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief, Rear Admiral (Ret.) Jamie Barnett, and his Deputy Chiefs. Monique and Jean-François had the opportunity to speak about the origins of the organisation and to present Télécoms Sans Frontières’ activities worldwide.

These constructive meetings suggest that there will be a possibility of collaborative work in the future.

It was pointed out that the experience of TSF’s specialists in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and mobile communications, their technical expertise and know-how, as well as TSF’s network throughout the world in the field of emergency telecommunications could be useful for some of the EOP and FCC programs.

It was indeed emphasised that TSF often transfers its technical knowledge to other organisations and governmental bodies, helping them find the most adapted and cost-effective solutions to meet their needs. For a long time TSF has been using its experience and unique position as the first NGO specialising in emergency telecommunications to build the capacity of other emergency responders in telecommunications and information technology.