[SatNews] Offshore and onshore VSAT services are now back in full operation in Libya...

Hermes Datacomms has announced that it is now fully operational in Libya. Hermes Datacomms has an established presence within the Libyan capital, Tripoli, trading continuously and operating in Libya since 2005; supplying VSAT communication needs both onshore and offshore, in city and remote locations.

The Company's Shaun Young explains, “During the unrest, Hermes continued to provide full service and maintenance support. Hermes Datacomms uses technology that has proven to be reliable in Libya and our network designs are built with redundancy and no single point of failure. This design ensured our customers were able to continue to transmit data and retain voice connectivity”. Glynn Wagg, Country Manager for Libya, said, “We have continued to support our clients throughout the disturbances, from our support teams, out of the U.K. and Tripoli. Recently, we have been assisting our current and new customers to rebuild their communication systems. Our ex-patriot staffs have started to return to Tripoli with the task of inspecting our infrastructure and meeting with the new government and ministers to ensure that we comply with the NTC vision”. Saleh ben Saleh, Administrative Director in Tripoli, who has remained in Libya during the civil uprising, said, “We have been able to provide service to customers in Libya including BP and Petro-Canada. New business has been seriously affected as foreigners are still overcoming the hurdles of coming back to the country. The main immigration office was bombarded and Libya is in the process of re-building the infrastructure. Companies are keen to get back into the country due to the importance of the Libyan market with respect of the oil and gas industry. There is a positive atmosphere in respect of foreign companies looking forward to coming back but they are encountering difficulties in obtaining visas and although Tripoli is becoming safer and safer by the day, people are still wary of safety issues”.

Glynn Wagg continued, “The majority of oil and gas company offices were interfered with during the past few months and equipment and links will have to be reconnected. We have several customers in Libya who continued to use our service.. the Libyan situation affected their business dramatically. Hermes office in Tripoli has not been damaged, stock and systems are ready for business and our satellite links are ready immediately. We are pleased to be fully operational in Libya. There is still a lot of uncertainty within the country and our most difficult challenge is the safety of our engineering team and the risk of equipment being confiscated. The local infrastructure will take some time to re-build but Hermes is positive about its future in Libya as we are in a position where we are providing full service with an established office, 24/7 local engineering support and in country stock".