Intersputnik Becomes a Gold Sector Member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications joined the ITU’s Gold Sector Members club along with Amazon.com Services, Inc., Apple Inc., Eutelsat S.A., Intelsat US LLC and other leaders of the global telecommunications community. In October 2021, the Organization joined the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D). Thus, Intersputnik now participates in the work of two important ITU Sectors - ITU-D and ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) in the category of “Intergovernmental Organizations Operating Satellite Systems” (SATORG). ITU represents a mainstream of the global information and communication technologies, where widely recognized leaders from the backbone industry giants actively interact with newcomers of start-ups and emerging technologies in close cooperation with international and national regulatory bodies.

The Gold Sector Member status will increase the efficiency of Intersputnik in the implementation of ICT projects globally and humanitarian and research missions, will give an additional impetus to the cooperation between ITU and Intersputnik in space communications in the interests of the member states and the Organization’s Signatories. As a full-fledged member of the two ITU Sectors, Intersputnik can share best practices, participate in high-level international negotiations and regional debates with policymakers and experts from industry and academia.

In its activities, Intersputnik focuses on sustainable and cost-effective use of natural and human resources. According to Ksenia Drozdova, Director General of Intersputnik, “the emerging opportunities for representatives of the Organization to work in close cooperation with global and regional telecom operators, international regulatory bodies and humanitarian organizations create favourable conditions for the contribution of its Members and Signatories to the achievement of the UN sustainable development goals and, as a result, the eradication of poverty through access to distance education and medicine, the introduction of innovative solutions that facilitate inter-human and machine communications, the use of space technologies to successfully combat climate change and predict natural disasters”.

According to the latest Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme, 19 of Intersputnik’s 26 member states are developing countries. Given this fact, Intersputnik plans to contribute to the work of the ITU-D Sector aimed at bridging the digital divide and stimulating digital transformation, harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies for economic prosperity, job creation, digital skills development, gender equality, diversity, sustainable and closed economy, as well as combating the effects of emergencies.