[SatNews] In the event of a natural disaster, reliable communication is vital to help assess damage, collect information, and deploy supplies to help victims and save lives.
Often terrestrial communications infrastructure becomes overloaded or damaged during a natural disaster and satellite communication is the only form of secure and reliable communication. At X24 Europe, SatCom Global demonstrated their latest Horizon platform to show how it can be used to help support disaster recovery. Enabled by SmartPacket™ technology, it offers VoIP from only 2kbps and a range of optimised data applications: compressed email, accelerated web browsing and instant messaging and is a complete end-to-end solution for emergency management. Deployable in satellite and terrestrial networks, Horizon’s multiple simultaneous calls and secure real time data capabilities enable critical and interoperable communications during times of emergency.
X24 Europe is a natural disaster training exercise with a focus on advanced online technologies to gather and communicate information in real time between military and civilian organizations. This year’s scenario simulated two seismic events and a tsunami in the Adriatic Sea that damaged key resources and critical shoreline infrastructure in several countries. SatCom Global teamed with Global Readiness Solutions, LLC in the exercise to gather information on all aspects of the disaster through social networking sites with the use of SatCom Global’s Horizon, a laptop, and a BGAN terminal. During the demonstration when other online technologies failed, Horizon provided a critical voice link between the field and the command center. “Horizon saved the day when we could not get through using our traditional Video Conferencing/VoIP solution. Horizon was there to provide that voice link when we needed it the most and it was a great demonstration of a just in time solution”, said Deanna Polk of Global Readiness Solutions, LLC. Ms. Polk is a Public Health Nurse with an in-depth background in disaster response. Her company provides assessment and networking solutions for entities involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster response focusing on connections for research, technology, healthcare and education.
“This demonstration is a great example of how adaptable and flexible the Horizon platform can be in disaster recovery situations. It gives me great pleasure to see how well received Horizon was at this event and the life saving abilities our technology provides” said Sandy Johnson, COO of SatCom Global.
