STUTTGART/GENEVA – Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the Bosch board of management, has been presented with the 2013 World Telecommunication and Information Society Award by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This specialized agency of the United Nations recognized Bosch for its efforts to improve road safety. 
“I accept this prestigious award on behalf of our more than 5,000 engineers whose innovations have made driving safer and more comfortable,” Denner said.
According to Dr. Hamadoun Touré, the secretary general of the Geneva-based ITU, Bosch has made exemplary use of modern information and communications technologies to improve road safety. In addition to Denner, Ueli Maurer, the president of the Swiss confederation, and Jean Todt, the president of the international automobile federation (FIA), also received awards. Since the mid-19th century, the ITU has been responsible for global issues relating to telecommunications, including the allocation and registration of radio frequencies. The organization supports the UN’s “decade of action for road safety” campaign, which aims to significantly improve road safety around the world by 2020.
“One way we are working toward this goal is with the development of assistance systems that identify potential dangers and warn drivers about them in advance,” Denner said. Radar sensors are a key component of these systems. However, they depend on common, secure frequencies around the world.
“Warnings or even emergency braking in critical situations are only possible when there are no disruptions to these systems. To ensure this, it is crucial that the frequency bands between 76 and 81 gigahertz be allocated to vehicle radar applications worldwide. In addition, the technical requirements must be harmonized and regulated globally,” Denner said. “This matter will therefore be a key topic at the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference, and is one of the areas in which Bosch and the ITU are collaborating.”
In his acceptance speech, the Bosch CEO also called attention to the tremendous progress that has already been made in improving road safety. Thanks to advancements in automotive technology, the number of road deaths in Europe has fallen by half over the past 15 years. These technological innovations include the ESP electronic stability program developed by Bosch. According to the company, this system can prevent up to 80 percent of all skids, which account for nearly half of all fatal accidents. Since 1995, Bosch has delivered almost 100 million ESP systems. The list of countries in which these systems are mandatory already includes Europe and the U.S., and is still growing.
