Asia-Pacific E-Resilience Toolkit Tool
ETC Emergency Telecommunications Cluster
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) is a global network of organizations that work together to provide shared communications services in humanitarian emergencies. The ETC is one of the 11 clusters designated by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). The ETC website provides Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) project documentations, including meeting minutes, SitReps, maps, contact lists and updates.
Timely, predictable, and effective information and communications technology (ICT) services provided by the ETC support improved:
- Response and coordination among humanitarian organizations;
- Operational security environment for staff and assets;
- Decision-making through timely access to critical information.
Within 48 hours of a disaster, the ETC provides vital security communications services and voice and Internet connectivity to assist the response community in their life-saving operations. Within four weeks, ETC services are expanded for continued emergency relief.
In the Asia-Pacific region, ETC has been activated in various disasters, including the aftermath of the 7.9 magntitude earthquake which struck Nepal in 2015 or a devastating typhoon in Indonesia in 2014.
Through its ETC2020 strategy, the cluster is evolving from being primarily a service provider, to broker, facilitator and convenor of technology in emergency response. ETC2020 is the ETC's new strategy, to be achieved by 2020, to create a communications environment for quick, effective and accountable humanitarian action. It seeks to enable an emergency response environment that provides humanitarians, citizens and governments with a seamless and resilient communications experience, grounded in humanitarian principles.
Photo: ETC
