The 'dish' that saves lives.

The impressive, three-story-tall white structure stands tilted towards the sky in an inner courtyard of the UN Secretariat building, facing the East River. For a decade, hundreds of UN employees have passed by it every day on their way to the cafeteria, without realizing its crucial daily functions.

The Star Trek-like contraption is the Un's major satellite earth station--the linchpin of the Organization's worldwide telecommunications system.

"The dish"--as it is called--is a way for us to "communicate with our overseas offices to support humanitarian, peace-keeping and all of the business needs of the UN", says Neil Haley, Officer-in-Charge of the Un's Electronic Services Division.

It is part of a worldwide global communications network in place since 1983, with leased circuits from INTELSAT (International Telecommunications Satellite Organization). Operating 24 hours a day and used primarily by peace-keeping operations, the dish transmits telephone messages, facsimiles and other documents overseas and around the globe. Communications can thus be sent to and received from the most remote areas in which the UN works, places normally not served by sophisticated electronic equipment.

"We have been much better able to support operations such as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia, Mozambique and South Africa", Mr. Haley keeping, humanitarian and emergency relief missions have made a great deal of use of the satellite network, he said. "And we would like to see that kind of capability expanded so that there is always an easy and ready telecommunication." The system facilitates speedy decision-making, providing a way to obtain immediate authorization for urgently needed action.

The UN leases circuits, using both satellite, land-based and undersea lines. This overall system provides almost all administrative telecommunications services between Headquarters and the five regional commissions, where receiving stations are either in place or proposed. The UN satellite earth stations have varying capacities, with diameters ranging from 1.8 to 11 metres.

UN Engineer Thomas Baxter explains that UN satellite communications, whether in the form of text, voice or data messages, are beamed through an INTELSAT satellite in space. UN equipment first processes the signal into radio form and then sends signals to the satellite. But because of the tremendous distances involved, the signal weakens along the way and must be amplified before it can be retransmitted earthward to a receiving station, where it is processed to be heard.

The system is both flexible and dynamic, Mr. Baxter suggests, capable of helping a single UN peace-keeper in a dangerous, isolated situation. For example, by using a small antenna mounted on a peace-keeping van and a portable telephone serviced by the system, he or she can signal back to headquarters for immediate support. The system also provides security for UN civilians who often live in compounds while on field missions.

In the field, a portable dish can be set up in a hotel, on the back of a pick-up truck or outside an office, providing direct communication to a war zone, with no worry of wires being cut or messages being intercepted. Mr. Baxter says the only way to disturb transmissions would be to sabotage a dish. Portable dishes are frequently moved from one place to another to avoid such possibilities.

When an additional station is proposed for a new location, permission is needed from that country's Government. The international Telecommunications Union (ITU) also requires that agreement from neighbouring nations be obtained, to ensure that the UN communications system will not interfere with other transmissions.

Juan Carlos Brandt, Associate Spokesman for the Secretary-General, sees the UN telecommunications network as "a necessity for the UN to fulfill its mandate". Much of the information for the daily briefings of UN correspondents is received through that network, which serves as a two-way communications system for that busy office.

"We receive hundreds and hundreds of faxes every day in this office", Mr. Brandt says. The Department of Public Information sends information daily to centres and offices around the globe on the activities of the Secretary-General, the Security Council, the General Assembly and specialized agencies, among others. "So when the UN addresses a forum or speaks, it does so in one voice and in coordination with the rest of the system", he says.

Around-the-World dossier

The dossier of information from around the world, prepared daily for the Secretary-General, Mr. Brandt says, comprises documents and other information, sometimes of a confidential nature, received by coded cables.

When the Secretary-General travels, a communications officer accompanying him is armed with a portable dish, which resembles a four-legged hobby horse with an up-side down umbrella on its head. When pointed in the direction of the INTELSAT satellite, it transmits and receives information wherever the Secretary-General goes.

"We are comparable to any large corporation in the world that needs to remain apprised of latest developments. Politics and diplomacy require that information be received rapidly and effectively, he says.

The UN is planning to significantly upgrade its satellite telecommunications network, with the goals of providing high-quality, 24-hour-a-day telecommunication services throughout the UN system, reducing overall telecommunication expenditures, and eliminating duplication.

The proposed network initially is to consist of eight fixed satellite earth stations and a number of smaller earth stations to be added into the system as needed. The fixed stations will be located at UN offices in Addis Ababa, Amman, Bangkok, Nairobi and Santiago. The existing New York station will be upgraded to serve as the primary hub and house the network control centre. Another hub will be established in Europe, consisting of two stations--one on the INTELSAT Atlantic Ocean region satellite, the other on the Indian Ocean region satellite. The European hub would also serve as a collection centre for all UN European traffic.

Engineer Baxter says the proposed satellite network will provide "major highways where you can build feeder roads to lead you anywhere you need to go".