Satcoms put to the test in military exercises

Inmarsat has partnered with US Pacific Command (USPACOM) and the Armed Forces of The Philippines (AFP) in a major exercise in the Philippines, providing representatives from 21 Pacific nations with hands-on training with mobile communication and satellite networks to use in humanitarian aid and disaster response situations.

When a disaster strikes, basic communication infrastructure is often destroyed, as cellular towers and internet network providers can go down. Having a plan to set up reliable communications after a disaster is key to saving lives.

Inmarsat said the Pacific Endeavor 2015 exercise, which took place in Manila between 31 August and 11 September, was an opportunity to demonstrate their “capability for real-time crisis as well as emergency response preparedness and training”.

Military representatives also took part in SatCom Endeavor to jointly train and learn about the latest satellite communications capabilities from the company, including Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) and Global Satellite Phone Service (GSPS).

Inmarsat said it also offers Global Xpress to deliver end-to-end, seamless, ‘SATCOM as a service’ capability, which is reportedly supported by the only commercial worldwide Ka-band constellation built for mobility, providing high-throughput communications solutions to government users.

“Our customers often have less than 72 hours of notice before moving into an unknown geographic location under very challenging conditions,” said Kai Tang, Inmarsat’s vice president of market development, US Government.

“BGAN is the established ‘capability of choice’ because of its portability and global mobility. As the HA/DR mission expands and connectivity needs increase, they now have Global Xpress to deliver the demanded high-throughput connectivity with the same benefits of smaller size, ease of use and worldwide mobility.”

Image courtesy of Inmarsat

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