In the race against time to help the people of Haiti, the restoration of telecommunications services is crucial for coordinating teams on the ground. In order to help to bring relief to this catastrophe, Eutelsat has set up a team to provide satellite-based telecommunication solutions for humanitarian organisations that are working in the field in Haiti.

A six-man team from TSF (Telecoms Sans Frontières) has already deployed a D-STAR terminal at the On Site Operations Coordination Center (OSOCC) of the United Nations Mission to Haiti near the airport in Port-au-Prince. It is at the disposal of OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and also the EC (ECHO). The satellite link is provided by ATLANTIC BIRD™ 1 and the Skypark teleport in Turin which is patching the terminal into the Internet backbone to provide DOIP and VOIP services. The link will soon be transferred to the Telstar 12 satellite where more capacity is to be made available.

Two other satellite links via  Telstar 12 have been opened at the request of the CNES (French Space Agency) for the French government and for the "Casques Rouges” Foundation. The first link is used by a Field Medical Services Unit (PSMA) that the CNES has shipped from its launch facility in Cayenne, French Guiana. The PSMA is a kit comprising back-up communications equipment and remote diagnostic software. The second satellite link is for an Emergesat container shipped by a military transport plane from the Istres air force base near Marseille in France.

Both containers (PSMA and the Emergesat) have been deployed in the grounds of the French embassy. The Emergesat container was developed jointly by the Casques Rouges Foundation, the French Space Agency (CNES) and Thales Alenia Space. It facilitates satellite communications links with the outside world in addition to providing local response teams with communication support over GSM, VHF and Wi-Fi links. The Emergesat container is also fitted with satellite-based mapping resources providing invaluable information about land configuration in addition to other indispensable applications for rescue teams such as water analysis equipment in addition to remote diagnostic resources. The interface between the Telsar 12 satellite link and the Internet backbone is provided by Eutelsat’s teleport in Rambouillet for broadband data, video and VOIP.

From longtime SSPI friend and current executive director of Global VSAT Forum (GVF), David Hartshorn:

Hi Tamara,

 

Thank you for your note.

 

We have communicated our ability to provide in small portable hard shell lockable rack formats, satellite handsets, small portable satellite connectivity devices, IP-PBX and fixed handsets that will work with the sat connectivity devices and an option to have a wireless PBX integrated which provides 3kms radius call (walkie talkie and connection as an extension of the IP-PBX).

 

Kind regards

Gavin Wehlburg

Director

DigitalSkys Limited

For the last few days, we have been watching, with shock, dismay and a deep sense of compassion, the crisis unfolding in Haiti. Of course, as the satellite industry is an often unsung part of the first response to crisis, we want to give you a chance to share with us what your companies are doing to help. If you’ve helped redirect capacity, or are providing necessary visibility to people affected by the earthquake, enabling them to find loved ones (for example), we’d like to know about it, and publish a few notable stories.

Even more important, if there’s a way we can support you in your efforts to meet the challenge, we’d like to publicize that as well. Simply let us know what you need, and provide us with contact details suitable for publication. We’ll make sure to get the word out.

In the meantime, we’d like to suggest the following charitable organizations who are working to help the relief effort:


Thank you for every contribution, large or small, to the wellbeing and recovery of the people of Haiti.

Sincerely,
Tamara Bond
SSPI Membership Director
212-809-5199 x103