United Nations agency the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is to use satellite communications to improve the global response to natural disasters.

Satellite-operator ICO Global Communications will provide the agency with airtime on their F2 satellite for effective response in the aftermath of natural disasters through both voice communications and other telecommunication applications.

While ITU will manage and co-ordinate emergency telecommunications, the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) will provide content and pre-emptive training for those in disaster prone areas.

An hour's airtime will be provided every day for ITU use to help countries maintain preparedness, provide early-warning information and elicit quick response.

'The partnership that we have established with ICO Global Communications and the Commonwealth Business Council is an important milestone towards ITU's effort to save human life,' said ITU secretary general Dr Hamadoun Toure.

'Satellite communication provides a platform to deliver a wide range of services and applications even to remote areas.

'In the digital age, we are able to provide an IT lifeline to disaster victims and humanitarian personnel entrusted with co-ordinating rescue and relief operations, especially when terrestrial communications infrastructure is disrupted, overloaded or destroyed,' he said.