International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has assisted Malawi through MACRA with 25 satellite phones which will be distributed to strategic places to ease communication after cyclone Freddy hit the Southern part of Malawi.
The tropical Cyclone has left hundreds dead, various others still missing and property as well as infrastructure severely damaged rendering communication in other parts impossible .But announcing this in Blantyre, MACRA Director General Daud Suleman said the satellite phones will be handed over to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) once they arrive in the country on Sunday.
“Issues of telephoning to locate and coordinate during this time of such a disaster are very important. We need connectivity and communication in all the affected areas and these phones can work anywhere,” Suleman said.
Meanwhile, Starlink has offered to provide 50 units of links to Malawi to improve network connectivity especially in affected areas.