Experts ready to intervene 24/7 anywhere in the world
With its three operational bases in Nicaragua, France and Thailand, and its office in the United States, TSF has a worldwide coverage and maintains a 24-hour monitoring. For the last 14 years, TSF has built a roster of IT and telecoms specialists (18 staff and 40 volunteers all over the world) that are competent, trained and motivated individuals ready to be deployed anywhere in the world with only a few hours notice. Thanks to mobile teams, TSF is among the first to arrive after a catastrophe.
This vital role is recognised in TSF’s status with regard to UN and other official agencies. Since 2006, it is the First Responder for the UN Emergency Telecommunications Cluster. TSF has also been a partner of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) since 2002, is partnered with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is a member of the WGET, the UN Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications.
• Satellite-based Emergency Telecommunications Centres
Simultaneously, TSF specialists establish emergency telecom centres for emergency responders. The centres offer – at no charge – broadband Internet access, voice communications, fax lines and all the IT equipment needed for a field office. These centres enable emergency NGOs, the UN agencies, and local authorities to communicate right at the heart of a crisis. They also facilitate the coordination of aid efforts. First responders use TSF’s telecommunications services to communicate vital information, stay connected with headquarters and other emergency responders in the country who are often spread across a wide geographic area. Information management and sharing has become critical for an effective humanitarian response.
• ICT assessment
TSF rapid response teams also assist local governments and emergency response coordinators to perform ICT assessments of damaged areas. We use our ICT experience to assist these organisations in preparing to reestablish commercial networks or planning to build the ICT support infrastructure needed for the recovery stage following an emergency.
In these deployments to sudden onset emergencies related to natural disasters and conflicts, TSF also engages in other types of missions: UN support (IT support), UNDAC support (telecoms assessments and IT support), Satellite lines provision and assessments.
Since 1998, TSF has intervened in more than 60 countries on five continents, serving hundreds of thousands of victims and more than 800 humanitarian organisations. The average length of a deployment is 47 days, until the re-establishment of telecom infrastructures, until UN agencies and relief organisations set up their own communications or until the handover to other organisation for longer term management.