“When we learned about Hurricanes Irma and Maria that were barreling over the islands, we knew we had to react quickly. VT iDirect joined forces with Hispasat, Digicel, Cisco, and Red52, to ensure satellite connectivity could be quickly deployed for those affected by these catastrophic events. During a natural disaster, it’s imperative to act quickly to restore communications on the ground; the satellite system is an aid to connect families, first responders, medical personnel and others via internet, phone and video to ensure everyone’s safety and provide relief,” said Dave Harrower, Sr. VP Global Sales.
From HISPASAT
- Satellite connectivity will aid local relief efforts in Saint Martin, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands.
- Hurricanes Irma and Maria knocked out communications infrastructure and power lines across the Caribbean region.
- Hispasat has donated Amazonas 3 capacity to this collaborative effort.
MADRID, 05 October 2017.- Spanish satellite operator HISPASAT has teamed with industry leaders to provide critical communications in the Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, that have knocked out communications infrastructure and power lines; damaged homes, schools and hospitals; and left an overwhelming majority of residents without shelter and running water.
To respond to the situation, HISPASAT has joined the humanitarian efforts of leaders across the telecom industry to deploy a high-speed satellite network to aid local relief efforts in Saint Martin, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The satellite network is based on ground infrastructure from iDirect, space segment from Hispasat Amazonas 3, Cisco VoIP networking, and Red52’s satellite teleport services to collaborate in solidarity to restore connectivity.
The network will be leveraged by mobile operator Digicel to provide immediate restoration of cellular services and community support services, providing families, first responders and relief workers with Internet access, as well as voice and video services.
Satellite technology provides solutions that are unaffected by natural disasters and are completely independent from terrestrial infrastructures. In some humanitarian crises, satellite connectivity is the only viable option to restore communications.
“At HISPASAT we are concerned about our commitment to society and we are always ready to collaborate in emergency situations”, stated Carlos Espinós, CEO of the operator. “In these cases, telecommunications are essential and satellites can make them available to first responders and communities affected by disasters. In this way, we help those affected to communicate with their families and facilitating the coordination of rescue teams so that the region can begin to recover from the catastrophe.”
The effort received funding from NetHope, an organization that connects nonprofits with technology innovators across the globe. Cisco donated telephone lines, VoIP, networking gear, and VPN access between the Red52 teleport and Cisco tactical operations centers in San Jose. And the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) is offering free training courses on satellite networking to technicians deploying and managing the network. Original release>