The global scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the launch of a global platform to help protect telecommunication networks.

The new Global Network Resiliency Platform, or #REG4COVID, platform will assist governments and the private sector in ensuring that networks are kept resilient and telecommunication services are available to all during the crisis.

“Never before have telecommunication networks been so vital to our health and safety, and to keep our economy and society working, as during the Covid-19 crisis we are living through today,” said International Telecommunication Union (ITU) secretary-general Houlin Zhao.

ITU is leveraging its existing regulatory and policymaker platform to help countries and industry cope with the increasing stress being put on global networks owing to increased demand as the world isolates itself.

“At stake is our ability, as one human family, to give health workers everywhere the tools they need to carry out their duties, to allow all those that can to work from home, to trade online, to ensure that hundreds of millions of children and young people keep up with their studies, and to keep in touch with loved ones, wherever they are,” he continued.

The platform will see that the best practices and initiatives put in place during the Covid-19 crisis are shared, as well as collect relevant and trustworthy information and expertise on actions that telecommunication policymakers, regulators and others in the regulatory community can use to ensure that their telecommunication networks and services serve the needs of their country.

“This new ITU platform will provide countries struggling to find appropriate solutions to ensure their networks' resiliency with relevant and trustworthy information and expertise on how to cope with the stresses faced by their infrastructure,” Zhao said.

Enabling countries that still have time to prepare an opportunity to learn from what is being done elsewhere – from emergency spectrum reassignments to guidelines for consumers on responsible use – the Global Network Resiliency Platform will soon be expanded to provide an interactive and engaging platform for continuous sharing throughout this crisis and beyond.