Telecom Mobilizes to Help Haiti Quake Victims

The FCC is making a long-term commitment. That includes “conducting continuous outreach to Haitian communications providers to determine their operating status and to offer technical assistance in the relief efforts and longer-term communication restoration efforts,” the commission said.

U.S. wireless customers have donated more than $4 million to the Red Cross Relief for Haiti campaign, Verizon Wireless said. That exceeded the total collected through mobile communications for relief after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and for tsunami relief efforts in December 2004, it said. The company said its customers contributed more than $1 million.

The increase in mobile giving “is changing a whole philanthropy paradigm in an incredibly positive way,” Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said. “Social and digital media are up and running and people have become more accustomed to making financial transactions over the Internet and phone.” The Verizon Foundation gave $100,000 in grants to non-profit organizations aimed at helping poorer populations, spokesman Brian Malina said. Verizon has given employees a chance to expand their charitable giving, he said. “Normally through the Verizon Foundation disaster relief incentive program, employees can give up to $1,000 to two non-profits a year.” Verizon is allowing them to donate up to an additional $1,000 to Haiti relief and the telco will match it.

Telecom Without Borders said it’s sending two emergency response teams to set up emergency telecom centers. They will “provide broadband connectivity for emergency responders,” said Paul Margie, the group’s U.S. representative. The teams can expect problems in setting up the centers, he said. There is debris in the streets, the airport is shut down, and “Haiti had a lot of infrastructure problems before which makes everything a little more difficult,” he said. AT&T said it gave a $50,000 donation to Telecom Without Borders and “100 percent of all money donated through text message will be passed on to the Red Cross.”

GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons initiated a move to donate $500,000 to Hope for Haiti, an organization that provides help in education, nutrition and health care. Hope for Haiti said it will use the money to help rebuild the hospital and the orphanage in Port-au-Prince. “The moment we saw the news, we knew we had to help,” Parsons said. The company has given all its approximately 2,400 customers in Haiti an extension for one or two years on their domain names “until after the rebuild.”

The NAB said it’s “working closely with the American Red Cross and the Ad Council to distribute critical earthquake relief information.” Its website will provide downloads of public service announcements featuring First Lady Michelle Obama and the group is “asking stations to use on-air talent to produce localized public service announcements,” NAB said.

- Kamala Lane

Satellite Relief Effort Notebook

Several satellite companies are helping Haiti reestablish telecommunications abilities following Tuesday’s catastrophic earthquake. SES World Skies said it was donating capacity on five of its satellites and access to teleport facilities to support recovery efforts. Intelsat established a C-band and Ku-band network over its satellite and terrestrial infrastructure to provide communications for organizations involved in the recovery, it said. CapRock Government Services is providing end-to-end satellite communications support for the Marine Corps in Haiti, the Satellite Industry Association said. SIA also said Iridium handsets are being provided by service providers to the Dominican Republic, for its relief efforts, and Spirit Airlines, which resumed flights to and from Haiti Thursday. DBSD made available S-band satellite capacity for two-way mobile communications and has offered 50 vehicle-based devices for the effort, said SIA. The association said Stratos is also providing satellite equipment and services in the region to a variety of agencies. - TW