Until recently, low bandwidth and expensive satellite-based communication characterized services provided by the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) of the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON). Providing Internet and videoconferencing services for more than 5,000 staff in the UN complex had been particularly challenging.
Now, thanks to the undersea fibre optic cable which was opened to Eastern Africa in July 2009, the digital divide between duty stations in developed countries and that of UNON is history. Since November 2009, UNON-ICTS has commissioned and implemented a 155 megabits per second (Mbps) Internet Service Provider (ISP) gateway, providing a super highway for voice, video and data communication to all of its clients.
155Mbps, or STM-1, Synchronous Transport Module level-1, is the fibre optic network transmission standard. Other levels include STM-4, or 622Mbps, and UNON's gateway is scalable to that level.
At the recently concluded Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP-15), the idea of bridging the digital divide and extending the arm of technology through a Telepresence system had become apparent. In cooperation with CISCO, the communications technology company and the COP-15 global project lead group, UNON-ICTS took the opportunity to install and commission one CTS 1300 state of the art Telepresence system, the aim for which is to address and support the global plea / initiative on climate change.
During its first test session with the Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, the UNON-ICTS Chief Charles Emer briefed those present on the added values of this new technology at UNON. According to Mr. Emer, the main purpose of the Telepresence system will be to ensure the participation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Secretariat in the Global Climate Change Meeting Platform (GCCMP).
UNON Director-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner will now have a virtual face-to-face meeting with connected parties around the globe.
UNON is expecting this new breakthrough in technology in Nairobi to reduce travel time and save costs, lower its carbon footprint, and most importantly, contribute to the UN's goals on global climate change.
