The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in response to the need for interoperation in international disaster response spurred largely by humanitarian relief, included ALE in its Telecommunications for Disaster Relief recommendations. The increasing need for instant connectivity for logistical and tactical disaster relief response communications, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake tsunami led to ITU actions of encouragement to countries around the world toward loosening restrictions on such communications and equipment border transit during catastrophic disasters. The IARU Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conferences (GAREC) and IARU Global Simulated Emergency Tests have included ALE.
