One of the regions most hard-hit by the hurricane was Lee County, FL, with some local officials saying it could take upwards of five years to recover from the storm.

Not unlike other large storms and natural disasters, one of the casualties of Hurricane Ian in places like Lee County was the critical infrastructure. Electricity was knocked out for more than 2 million people, and critical communications infrastructure was compromised, as well, making it impossible for some residents to contact their loved ones or reach out for assistance.

Following the storm, a team from SES Space & Defense  joined together with individuals from AWS, SimbaCom, and Help.NGO to bring much-needed communications services and connectivity to those impacted. We recently sat down with G Ramos Carr of SES Space & Defense to discuss what conditions were like on the ground, why satellite communications were needed, and what the team was able to bring to the response and recovery efforts.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): When Hurricane Ian struck, what impact did it have on the terrestrial networks and communications infrastructure in the State of Florida?

G RamosCarr: Hurricane Ian was one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S. While it was technically a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Ian’s incredible strength and high windspeeds almost qualified as a Category 5. Overall, more than 140 miles of area across Florida were damaged.

In many of these damaged areas, there was a significant impact on critical infrastructure – including communications. In some of the counties impacted by the hurricane, we saw cell sites go down for several cellular providers. We also saw numerous aggregation points responsible for providing mobile backhaul for large regional areas impacted due to a lack of electricity or compromised fiber optic cables.

“Any time a disaster strikes or a major emergency occurs, those impacted want to communicate with loved ones. This need to communicate can’t be met when terrestrial networks are down.” -G RamosCarr

This meant that essential communications and connectivity services were not available for citizens. But it also meant that some smaller local and municipal government organizations had no connectivity or communications capabilities. Even with FirstNet available for disaster recovery and response personnel, there was a population of first responders that had no way to communicate with each other or coordinate operations.

GSR: When folks think about disaster response and recovery, they think about rescuing people from flood zones, and providing housing, food, and water. Why is restoring connectivity and communications also a priority in these situations? What capabilities are denied when comms are denied?

G RamosCarr: Any time a disaster strikes or a major emergency occurs, those impacted want to communicate with loved ones. This need to communicate can’t be met when terrestrial networks are down. Worse, this rush to reach out to family and loved ones only taxes and strains existing terrestrial networks. So, the networks that are still working become overloaded and incapable of meeting the demand placed on them.

Then, there are other things that need to be done for people to return to a sense of normalcy and “life as usual.” Insurance companies need to be contacted. Applications for government assistance and services need to be completed and submitted. These are all things that can only be done when there is connectivity.

And that’s just talking about the citizens impacted by the disaster. The first responders and disaster recovery personnel have their own connectivity needs. They need the ability to coordinate operations and activities. They’re often operating in difficult, dangerous environments and need the ability to keep in touch with each other or request help when needed.

Even with emergency cellular services like FirstNet available, there were some disaster and emergency response personnel without connectivity in remote locations following Hurricane Ian. There was one particular location in Lee County with no connectivity or communication services for search and rescue operations that were being conducted from a beachhead command center.

“Together, the team leveraged MEO terminal kits to deploy communications to those that were impacted by the storm.” -G RamosCarr

Operations and missions like these are dangerous enough and become more dangerous when there is no ability to communicate and call for help.

So, while food, shelter, and water are needed in disaster response scenarios, connectivity is imperative.

GSR: SES Space &Defense worked with SimbaCom, AWS, and Help.NGO to leverage MEO satellite connectivity to help in disaster response. What types of services did MEO deliver? What did it enable on the ground in Florida?

G RamosCarr: All three of those organizations played a key role in helping SES Space & Defense bring high-throughput, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) connectivity to those that needed it after Hurricane Ian.

SimbaCom’s field service representatives volunteered to help in the relief effort and played a critical role in getting our MEO satellite terminals on location to deliver connectivity.

The AWS Disaster Response Team deployed to the area and used our MEO satellite connectivity as a backbone to provide connectivity. They even provided Amazon Distribution Centers as muster points for the local community, and command centers for our operations. And Help.NGO handled the logistics for the team – ensuring our people had what they needed to operate.

Together, the team leveraged MEO terminal kits to deploy communications to those that were impacted by the storm. Amazon Distribution Centers were given high-throughput connectivity so that those gathered in tents there could have the connectivity they need. Several municipal government buildings, like firehouses, were connected via high-throughput MEO connectivity to enable communications and the coordination of response efforts. We even enabled insurance claims processing for the Florida Department of Financial Services.

But the most impactful utilization our MEO satellite provided was to the beachhead command center in Lee County, where an 85CM terminal was deployed to help fill the communications gap for first responders. In that location, there was no connectivity. We were able to deliver fiber-like connectivity for them that was faster and more capable than even traditional satellite service.

GSR: Why was a NGSO satellite solution important in this use case? What does an NGSO satellite solution – like the O3b MEO satellite constellation – bring to the table that GEO satellites don’t?

G RamosCarr: In some of the emergency shelters and muster points where people were impacted by the storm, there were insurance professionals and government representatives that had satellite connectivity. Often, these individuals were equipped with traditional very small aperture terminals (VSAT) connected to GEO satellite services that were shared via a traditional TDMA network.

“The MEO satellite capacity that we were able to provide has an experience much more similar to fiber connectivity.” -G RamosCarr

Many of them found that they had limited bandwidth. That limited bandwidth was further limited because it was shared by everyone else with a VSAT. The satellite capacity that they were using wasn’t dedicated capacity – so every person with a VSAT was effectively competing for bandwidth and throughput. As a result, communications were impacted and connectivity was slow, spotty, or unreliable.

The MEO satellite capacity that we were able to provide has an experience much more similar to fiber connectivity. When plugged into a local distribution service, users thought they were using the same traditional backhaul used in their homes. They had the ability to access real-time streamlining video, access government and insurance company websites, and even video calls with loved ones. Ultimately, the MEO connectivity provided a seamless experience in the middle of the catastrophe.

It wasn’t long before those insurance professionals and even FEMA personnel were switching to the connectivity provided by our MEO satellite service. It was faster, more reliable, and similar to their traditional home and cellular networks.

GSR: How long did it take to get SES satellite connectivity established in Lee County? Is there special equipment that is needed? Is it a difficult or time-intensive process to get satellite connectivity delivered to an area like this?

G RamosCarr: Obviously, since the equipment wasn’t present on site and ready to be deployed to the location, we had to transport it from where it was stored to the impacted areas in Florida. However, once we were on site, we were able to deliver high-throughput, low-latency connectivity to those that needed it within hours.

Candidly, the largest slowdown that kept us from making a larger impact more immediately was awareness. The local government agencies simply didn’t know that we were on the ground and able to deliver this capability to them. Once they learned that the service was available, we were able to deliver it to them very quickly and efficiently.

In the case of Lee County, we were able to get the 85 CM terminal loaded, brought out to where they were operating, and get service deployed all within a couple of hours.

The post How NGSO Satellite Delivered Needed Comms Following Hurricane Ian appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

During our discussion, we asked Ram about the challenges that an austere space domain creates for the DoD, the technological challenges that the military faces when trying to integrate satellite networks with coalition and industry partners, and what some industry leaders are doing to make the seamless management of unified global networks a possibility for our military.

One of the advancements and innovative solutions available to the United States Department of Defense (DoD) is the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Portal, a recently-released application that can enable military users to see their entire network – including both space and ground assets – on a single pane of glass. This new solution gives the military transparency into everything on their networks and allows for the easier management and operations of both terrestrial and space network assets and capabilities.

In the second part of our conversation with Ram, we asked specifically about the ICT Portal – what functionality it offers, how it can help the DoD, and what it will enable for the warfighter.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): In our last discussion, you talked about the sheer number of different space and ground networks that the DoD needs to see and manage as they work to integrate their own space assets with those of coalition and industry partners. How does the lack of a single, all-encompassing view of the network impact the military’s ability to manage its networks to overcome denied or disrupted capabilities or services? How does this impact the warfighter in the field?

Ram Rao: I have heard every high-ranking official in our military discuss the need to increase the speed of delivery and the speed of operations. But to accomplish this, they need end-to-end communications and data-centric global networks.

They are also looking to reduce the latency in satellite networks from the 600ms offered by satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) to the 150-50ms offered by satellites in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).

Timing is everything for warfighters. It’s no surprise that our adversaries are working towards pursuing efficient delivery capabilities. To continue to compete and win in the future, we need to remain faster and more effective despite their efforts.

“The ICT Portal is a web-based NetOps set of tools providing end-to-end situational awareness in a consumable “single pane of glass” user interface.” – Ram Rao

Global integration of our networks is crucial for seamless connectivity from one end of Earth to the other through various space and ground connections. The lack of a unified network will significantly and adversely impact the speed at which we deliver information and capabilities to warfighters, drastically reducing their effectiveness. However, with an integrated, resilient network – and agreed-upon access – there should not be any denials or disruptions.

GSR: What is the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Portal? What was the initial concept and intention for the portal? What tools or capabilities does the ICT Portal give to military and government users?

Ram Rao: The ICT Portal is a flagship capability we offer to our customers and mission partners as a part of our network solutions. The ICT Portal is a web-based NetOps set of tools providing end-to-end situational awareness in a consumable “single pane of glass” user interface. The consolidated network visibility provides our mission partners something they generally don’t have with COMSATCOM networks – a near real-time view into the network.

Even when COMSATCOM networks work in tandem with MILSATCOM networks, the ICT Portal gives users a view of their space segment, teleports, gateways, hubs, and terrestrial circuits – all the way to the individual user terminals.

The ICT Portal offers users five views into their network – each with multiple capabilities. These capabilities and functionality include an operational dashboard, terminal console, capacity management tool, and reporting tools. Within each capability view are a variety of sub-views, each with dozens or sometimes hundreds of data points to observe, filter, and use to improve the understanding of the SATCOM network.

“Our ICT Portal’s satellite coverage overlays allow users to see both EIRP and G/T maps of the satellite coverage in their network. The intent of this capability is to show users their satellite coverage within the deployment area.” – Ram Rao

SES Space & Defense’s intention has always been to support our mission partners with capabilities that deliver complete visibility and transparency into their networks and provide the situational awareness required to make timely, informed decisions.

GSR: Can you provide an example of how and why the ICT Portal could be useful to the military doing a mission or operation? What could it enable them to do?

Ram Rao: Our ICT Portal’s satellite coverage overlays allow users to see both EIRP and G/T maps of the satellite coverage in their network. The intent of this capability is to show users their satellite coverage within the deployment area.

This enables them to know – before they deploy – the minimum terminal specification required in that location. For example, if they are in the 50 dBW contour, they will need a minimum of a 1.2-meter antenna with a four-watt BUC. Users can also select multiple footprints to see where they have overlapping or redundant coverage. This capability immensely helps quick and efficient planning.

Another useful example is our VSAT Point Assist tool. While it is best practice to always do a site survey prior to deploying a VSAT terminal, we understand that it’s not always possible for DoD missions. The VSAT Point Assist tool provides field techs with a way to do site surveys virtually.

“We are continually working with our customers to improve and expand the capabilities of the ICT Portal.” – Ram Rao

The VSAT Point Assist tool allows users to input a location and choose a satellite. It then generates an estimated pointing angle and provides other necessary information, such as elevation and azimuth angles. Users can also drag the icon to different locations to ensure a clear path to the satellite.

The goal is to enable the military to conduct site surveys without a physical presence in theater and save significant time and costs while allowing them to better prepare for missions in advance.

Another useful example I’ll share is the ICT Portal Weather Overlay capability, which offers more than 150 different options of illustrating near real-time, historical, and forecasted weather information. This tool allows users to select as many of these events as they want and add them to the active list – such as active fire points, lightning strikes, tropical cyclones, and other live weather events. They can even see hurricanes and their paths.

These overlays are essential to improve situational awareness for our warfighters. It allows them to visualize how rain, snow, or ice may affect satellite connections and identify any alternatives they may have.

GSR: Is the ICT Portal available today? If not, when will it be available? Also, who will be able to utilize it?

Ram Rao: The ICT Portal is available today for SES Space & Defense network customers and is being utilized by some of our current government partners.

We are continually working with our customers to improve and expand the capabilities of the ICT Portal. We have an extensive road map to add new capabilities and features to the ICT Portal, including AI/ML capabilities, a complete cyber monitoring package, and fully customizable reporting packages. We also plan to enable select mission partners to control portions of the network as needed for critical mission success.

To learn more about the SES Space & Defense ICT Portal or request a demonstration, click HERE.

The post The SES Space & Defense ICT Portal – Meeting Military Transparency and Network Management Requirements for Multi-Domain Operations appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

These solutions included managed satellite services that deliver an end-to-end network that is faster and easier to deploy for military and government organizations. They also included a new generation of turnkey mobile satellite solutions that can be easily moved where needed and utilized to deliver a large area of high-throughput, low-latency connectivity to those that need it via 5G or WiFi.

And while these solutions sound exciting in their ability to make satellite more accessible and easy to use for government and military organizations, we wanted to learn more about how they could make a difference in specific government use cases. In particular, we wanted to learn how a common scenario where satellite is often necessary – emergency and disaster response and recovery operations – could benefit from these new technologies.

To get a window into the ways these new satellite services and solutions could transform emergency and disaster response efforts and operations, we sat down for an in-depth discussion with Rashid Neighbors, who is the Vice President of Mobility and Integrated Solutions at ‎SES Space and Defense. During our discussion, we asked Rashid about how each of these solutions could be used in emergency response, what makes them different, and how they could effectively work together to transform the way the government communicates and operates in emergencies.

Here is what he said:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): There’s a long-held belief that satellite isn’t user-friendly. That rolling out satellite communications in emergencies isn’t seamless or possible at the speed necessary for emergency response. How is the satellite industry working to change this? What’s already been done?

Rashid Neighbors: No one ever wants to be in a situation where they have to use satellite communications because a natural disaster has destroyed terrestrial communications infrastructure. However, SATCOM is best suited to quickly provide connectivity in these sorts of scenarios.

We know that these scenarios require communications that are reliable, easy to use, and quickly deployable. So, the satellite industry has worked aggressively to tailor our solutions, make them more user friendly and eliminate a lot of the expensive hardware necessary to utilize SATCOM. One of the ways we’re doing this is by introducing managed services and new solutions that deliver the full end-user experience. This ensures that satellite services are there to meet mission-critical communications requirements in all situations.

GSR: Some of your associates at SES Space and Defense have recently contributed articles to the Government Satellite Report about some exciting new technologies and solutions that appear to be making satellite service more scalable, flexible, user-friendly and affordable. Included in that were the SKALA Global Network and new “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile satellite solutions. Let’s start with SKALA. How can the SKALA Global Network be used in emergency and disaster response scenarios?

Rashid Neighbors: In emergency response situations, SKALA is an excellent solution for keeping individual first responders and tactical operators connected with cost-effective terminals and hardware to utilize it. These off-the-shelf commercial solutions can be deployed quickly and inexpensively to meet the basic communications requirements of responders in the field.

In fact, an inexpensive fixed antenna on a non-pen mount that people in the industry often refer to as a “leave behind antenna” because of its low price point and mobility is all that’s really necessary to access the SKALA Global Network. And those antennas are excellent in wildfires and other natural disaster scenarios. They can be deployed quickly and easily and communications can be established in very short fashion. The lower price point of these antennas also means that local and federal government organizations and emergency response organizations could even preposition some of the equipment across the country to help further accelerate response.

“Think about the tactical operators responding to a hurricane that knocked out cellular networks…SKALA is an affordable, quickly-deployed solution to get those individuals the basic connectivity and communications services they need to save lives and safely do their jobs.” – Rashid Neighbors

Using the SKALA Global Network and these “leave behind antennas,” government organizations could deliver moderate throughput communications capabilities such as email, voice, access to situational awareness and mapping applications, and other services enabled by basic connectivity. This makes the service very cost-effective, while still delivering everything the first responder needs in the field to stay connected.

GSR: What about these “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile satellite solutions? Why would they be an exciting solution for emergency and disaster relief initiatives? What kinds of capabilities could that enable?

Rashid Neighbors: Our new, turnkey mobile connectivity solution set is extremely exciting for a number of reasons. They’re entirely integrated, self-contained and weather-proof solutions that are designed to work with our O3b MEO satellite network. The O3b MEO satellite constellation orbits at 5,000 miles versus 22,000 miles for traditional GEO satellites, which enables it to not only offer incredibly high throughputs, but do so with very low latency.

Combining O3b MEO satellite service with these new “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity options means that high-throughput, low latency connectivity can be delivered to practically any scenario and environment. These solutions are easily airlifted – or moved by forklift or crane – to where they’re needed. Once power is supplied, they begin providing an area of connectivity via 5G or WiFi, whether they’re on a ship at sea or on land.

So, how does this translate to a natural disaster or emergency situation? When disaster strikes, emergency response organizations come onsite and work to establish a center of operations where they can manage the situation, monitor tactical operators, provide care and services to impacted residents and perform other operations. If we airlift or trailer this mobile connectivity solution to this center of operations, we can deliver high-throughput, low-latency, broadband-like connectivity for the entire area to help support those operations and provide communications for the individuals close by.

This solution delivers so much capacity and bandwidth that the capabilities are basically limitless.

Individuals responsible for managing and directing response and rescue efforts could use it to access and monitor real-time, HD video feeds from drones and other sensors. They can use it to download large reports with images and maps. They can use the connectivity to aggregate and analyze an incredible amount of data. Field hospitals could use it to access and transmit medical histories and imagery. They could even use it to deliver telemedicine services into the field for victims of disasters.

GSR: How are these two solutions different? If you were an organization responsible for emergency and disaster response, why would you choose one over the other? Are there cost considerations? Hardware considerations? Differences in capabilities?

Rashid Neighbors: The major difference between the two solutions is the amount of throughput that they deliver. The SKALA Mobile Network is a solution that can be accessed with hardware that has an incredibly small footprint and that can deliver connectivity to the very edge – the tactical operator out in the field conducting search and rescue operations and other disaster response operations.

These individuals – forward operators – don’t require the immense capacity of the “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity solution. Instead, they require mission-critical, basic communications services in locations and scenarios where they have no other option because other networks are not available.

“All of these organizations and agencies are embracing digital transformation initiatives, network-enabled platforms, and applications to improve their operations. Solutions like SKALA and the “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity solution are just extending access to those solutions out to the tactical edge…” – Rashid Neighbors

Think about the tactical operators responding to a hurricane that knocked out cellular networks. Or the crew responding to a fire in a national forest where cell towers were never constructed. SKALA is an affordable, quickly-deployed solution to get those individuals the basic connectivity and communications services they need to save lives and safely do their jobs.

The “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity solution is a larger footprint solution that delivers much higher throughputs and capacity. If SKALA is capable of connecting the forward operators, the “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity solution would be used to deliver mission-critical connectivity to the command center.

Together, they can ensure that every individual and organization responsible for a coordinated, effective emergency response operation has access to the communications services that they need, when and where they need them.

GSR: How would the use of these solutions be better than what emergency and first responders are working with today? What additional capabilities would it give them? What other benefits would it enable?

Rashid Neighbors: Imagine a hurricane hits a large, well-populated region – or even an island – within the United States. This hurricane knocks out all communications infrastructure and terrestrial networks, so there’s no existing communications for first responders and the emergency response and relief agencies and organizations – agencies like FEMA – to use to stay connected and coordinated when they get boots on the ground.

In the past, the tactical operators and forward operators going out into the disaster-impacted areas to look for survivors and deliver aid to local residents would be resigned to just line-of-sight radio communications. This would enable them to have voice communications with those close by, but they wouldn’t have the reach-back connectivity needed to interact with the people that support them.

The agencies establishing command centers and base camps would also lack communications, hindering their ability to gather intelligence on the situation and have complete situational awareness. Agencies like FEMA – which functions to file claims and deliver economic relief and assistance to victims of natural disasters – would often revert to paper forms. This would drastically slow down the claims process.

Now, think about the same disaster response situation with the SKALA Global Network and the “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity solution in place.

The command center where operations were planned and monitored could have high-throughput, low-latency connectivity to support all of its operations. Forward, tactical operators could have basic communications services that not only allow them to stay connected with other emergency responders in the field, but to report back and communicate with the people that are providing them with support and managing operations.

Finally, an agency like FEMA could be using connected tablets and other ruggedized mobile devices to gather claims information and file claims. This would eliminate errors and lost claims information, while also expediting the process.

All of these organizations and agencies are embracing digital transformation initiatives, network-enabled platforms, and applications to improve their operations. Solutions like SKALA and the “Roll-On, Roll-Off” mobile connectivity solution are just extending access to those solutions out to the tactical edge – to the places where terrestrial networks either never existed, or no longer are available.

To learn more about the role that satellite solutions can play in emergency preparedness and disaster response, click HERE to download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper, ‘Emergency Response From Space.”

The post Fostering a more collaborative and coordinated disaster response with satellite appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

When these massive storms strike, an immediate response is necessary to save lives and bring services back to impacted areas. But responding to these types of disasters – from hurricanes to earthquakes to wildfires – comes with its own set of challenges. When these disasters take down the critical infrastructure in an area, they compromise some of the same systems and networks necessary for powering the disaster response and rescue effort.

Take terrestrial and cellular networks as an example.

Today’s military and government agencies rely on network-enabled tools and platforms to operate. This emergence of network-centric operations means that having access to their full set of mission-critical capabilities requires network connectivity. But what happens when terrestrial networks – like cellular networks – are down? How can these mission-critical capabilities be made available when the networks that deliver them are compromised?

The answer could be found in the satellites orbiting around the Earth. But to take advantage of satellites in disaster response, the government and military will need to plan ahead. Let’s take a detailed look at what satellite networks can deliver to the disaster response effort and explore some of the ways that the government can plan ahead to ensure that they’re available when they’re needed.

The services that can be delivered via satellite
In disaster response situations, operational and situational awareness are essential. Responders need to know where the people are that need help, and they need to know how to reach them. Maps drawn and compiled before a disaster are untrustworthy and unreliable – roadways can be flooded or destroyed. Real-time, up-to-date intelligence is necessary to help responders find areas of need and reach the people in need of assistance.

Many of the same tools being utilized by the military for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) can be utilized to bring this real-time data to the response effort. But high definition (HD) video from drones, and accurate, real-time GIS data (i.e maps) are large files that need high bandwidth connectivity to reach responders in the field.

The same can be said for communications. Response efforts need to be coordinated and responders need to be connected to enable collaboration and planning. When cellular networks are down, the ability for responders to communicate becomes limited to line-of-sight voice/text communication. Providing a high bandwidth network connection expands the communication options to include streaming HD video, enabling responders to connect with people around the globe.

The same connectivity enabling situational awareness and communication can also deliver critical life-saving expertise. For example, real-time video communications can be used in telemedicine, bringing remote doctors and specialists together with local medics/doctors to collaboratively see, diagnose and advise on a survivor’s condition, particularly those in need of specialized medical care.

Telemedicine, and other key support efforts, to these decimated locations can only be enabled by high bandwidth, low latency satellite communications. Satellite connectivity is not dependent on the presence and availability of terrestrial networks, making it the perfect solution for connectivity in disaster response situations.

Finally, today’s newest satellite technologies, like that from Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), are capable of delivering fiber-like connectivity with extremely low latency. The satellite throughputs can deliver fiber-like speeds, meaning that practically any video, data file or voice/text can be delivered out to the edge…but response time is still dependent on preplanning and having deployment kits ready in advance. .

Making satellite possible in disaster situations
Obviously, satellites are not dependent on an existing terrestrial network/infrastructure but communication through the satellites requires some ground equipment, specifically terminals.  These terminals and antennas are necessary to take advantage of any satellite signal, and they may not be readily available in the event of a natural disaster.

That said, there is some precedent in the government to build and distribute transportable terminal “kits” (satellite ground infrastructure) that can be rapidly moved and set-up to establish connectivity in emergencies.

This kitted capability is already in use by the FAA for a program called FTI-SAT, which functions to reestablish communications for airports and radar data in emergency and disaster situations. In this implementation, the kits are deployed and set up rapidly to ensure that airports in disaster areas can be reopened as soon as possible.  This satellite-based communication serves to pass the radar, voice and data that the control tower and planes need to smoothly flow into and out of the airport.

These are kitted capabilities that could also be deployed to areas where natural disasters are predicted, then regional response teams can use them in emergency response situations. If combined with a transportable private LTE cellphone system, a satellite kit would provide the backbone for mobile communications for survivors of, and responders to, the natural disaster.  Much like terrestrial cellular networks, a MEO satellite essentially powers all mobile devices in an area with connectivity through space.

With severe weather incidents increasing in frequency and ferocity, it’s essential to think about the best way to outfit and enable our disaster response and first responders. Communications are key in these situations – but the infrastructure necessary to enable communications is often among the casualties. Using satellite in disaster response situations is a viable and effective solution, and the logistics of doing so are perfectly plausible if the government plans accordingly.

For additional information about the benefits that satellite can deliver in disaster response and recovery operations, click HERE. 

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These same SATCOM and COMSATCOM services are essential for military personnel in theater, where terrestrial networks and cellular infrastructure simply isn’t available.

However, there is a problem when it comes to utilizing mobile, portable COMSATCOM and SATCOM kits in these situations. The latency from satellite connections reduce the speed of communication and even lead to some IP capabilities being throttled back. This results in first responders and warfighters that are getting connectivity that is just a fraction of the throughput and capacity that the federal government is paying for.

Luckily, there’s an answer to this challenge, in the form of acceleration hardware and software solutions. To learn more about how these solutions work, we sat down to interview Jack Waters, the CEO of a company that makes some of the most advanced acceleration solutions on the market today – XipLink.

During our discussion, Jack discussed the reasons why the military and other federal agencies have embraced acceleration, and the advanced capabilities that accelerators are enabling out in the field. Here is what Jack had to say:

GovSat Report: Can you tell our readers about XipLink and its technologies? What do XipLink’s solutions do? How would you describe the difference between a satellite connection utilizing XipLink and one that doesn’t utilize XipLink?

Jack Waters: At our core, XipLink is a TCP acceleration company. Without utilizing TCP acceleration, COMSATCOM users would get about 30-35 percent throughput on a satellite link. So, if a government decision maker contracts for a satellite connection with a particular throughput and capacity, they may only receive 35 percent of that speed due to a number of different reasons.

Utilizing TCP acceleration solutions – such as those provided by XipLink – that 35 percent can be bumped up to 95 percent. This has become so important that most satellite modems today have accelerators built in.

XipLink’s solutions offer another important feature for the federal government user. Most government’s data is encrypted prior to transmission so even built-in acceleration in the modem can’t “see” the traffic. This means that the government user needs to accelerate data traffic at their facility prior to encryption and transmission. XipLink and others offer standalone or virtual accelerator solutions that can be utilized for this purpose.

In addition to acceleration, XipLink’s solutions can also add optimization – functions such as data compression, header compression and link balancing/bonding. All of these are value-adds on top of acceleration that can deliver more data throughput than the link capacity allows. The link balancing/bonding features allow more diversity, capacity and up-time by enabling two or more physical links to be logically combined into a single logical link.

Ultimately, optimization is the amalgamation of acceleration, compression, link balancing and other data reductions into one service. Stated another way, TCP acceleration fills the pipe efficiently and optimization allows you to exceed capacity of the pipe.

GovSat Report: What are the use cases for XipLink’s solutions in the federal government? How do XipLink’s technologies help the federal government get the most out of its COMSATCOM investment?

Jack Waters: One use of our solutions is in theater with special operations forces. They need communications kits in small, lightweight form factors – the smaller and more mobile their equipment, the better. We’ve been able to incorporate acceleration solutions into their terminals as software – eliminating the need to carry extra hardware.

Mobile communications for the warfighter is by far the number one use of our solutions. Communications have moved to IP (Internet Protocol), and it’s essential that IP communications solutions are portable, with high speed and capacity. Users don’t want to lose capacity just because they’re mobile. XipLink allows them to achieve the highest capacity they can on the mobile link.

Another application for the federal government is disaster recovery and backup. In these situations, they need another connection in case the primary link goes bad or isn’t available. In the military, they’ll have a three prong or four prong hierarchy of connectivity to ensure they’re always connected. XipLink and satellites serve to provide that backup and emergency connectivity.

GovSat Report: What role does SATCOM play in disaster response and recovery? How can XipLink’s solutions – in conjunction with COMSATCOM services – help keep first responders connected? What kind of capabilities does the combination of COMSATCOM services and XipLink’s solutions deliver to first responders?

Jack Waters: Our technologies are used widely across first response and disaster response organizations.

In the past, emergency organizations primarily utilized one or two analog radio channels for low quality voice communications only. With significantly more bandwidth available today and the intrinsic need to utilize Internet protocols for high-quality combined Voice/Video/Data the first responder community has adopted satellite connectivity for essential communications. In this case accelerators and optimizers provide additional bandwidth capacity, keeping operating costs reasonable as well as prioritizing critical communications over less essential traffic on the network.

In this situation, you can get a combination of today’s video and data at speeds close to what people are used to in the office, coupled with high quality voice.

The ability to create a Wi-Fi hotspot also expedites communications and makes set-up easier. It’s something people are used to. It doesn’t take a special effort to connect the devices anymore – which used to take hours. Things are easier to connect, which enables faster communication.

GovSat Report: How can the combination of COMSATCOM services and XipLink technologies benefit the military in theater? What kinds of data and what capabilities can a COMSATCOM connection with XipLink bring to the warfighter in theater?

Jack Waters: There’s obviously going to be many similarities for why and how first responders and military personnel use these technologies. However, the main difference between the first responder and military is physical size.

First responders have trucks and vehicles that have their equipment mounted inside them, much like they would be in a datacenter. For the military, there’s more of a need for mobile, lightweight, more easily transported solutions that are quickly deployable and capable of being carried by the warfighter. In many cases, they need accelerators as software that’s installed on a device.

Ultimately, the functionality is the same – delivering voice, data and video to the forward operating base at the highest possible capacity.

Throughput and capacity is especially important for the military. The GEOINT, mapping and logistics applications that they use – applications capable of tracking enemy combatants, or locating where friendly alliance troops are located – require significantly higher speeds and bandwidth. It’s essential to have a quality, high bandwidth connection if you want a more connected, informed warfighter in theater.

Additional Resources:
• To find learn more about bandwidth accelerators, click here.
• Stay tuned for our XipLink Video which will be released next month. Subscribe for the alert via the subscription box on the top right.

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As witnessed by Hurricane Sandy, Katrina and other natural disasters, responding to a disaster situation and working to rescue American citizens can be just as dangerous as being on the ground during a disaster, itself. To keep first responders connected and safe – whether they are local emergency personnel, FEMA or even the National Guard – they require communications back to headquarters or senior leaders that are coordinating rescue efforts.

Unfortunately, communication services aren’t always easy to come by in the aftermath of a disaster.

In the wake of 9/11, a massive wave of cellphone calls, text messages and other communications both into and out of New York City overwhelmed cellular networks and made it nearly impossible for people to use their cell phones. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, cellular and other communications infrastructures were so badly damaged or destroyed that they simply weren’t available for residents or first responders.

When responding to emergencies and disasters, it’s essential that personnel stay coordinated. Sending new orders to personnel in the field in a timely and effective manner can literally mean the difference between a civilian life that is saved and one that is lost. Keeping lines of communication open between first responders and their senior leaders is necessary should they be in distress. None of this is possible when communications infrastructure is overloaded or destroyed.

This is why satellites play such an important role in disaster response and recovery.

Utilizing today’s advanced COMSATCOM services, disaster response and recovery personnel can be connected almost immediately. Thanks to advancements in satellite technologies – more advanced, higher-bandwidth connectivity can be rolled out as the response activities are underway to provider advanced capabilities to responders.

When disaster first strikes and emergency responders are on the scene, they can utilize satellite phones and other devices that function on the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN). This allows for almost immediate voice calls and connectivity when cellular networks and other communications infrastructures are down.

Unfortunately, BGAN terminals and other equipment offer low bandwidth and high latency. They’re good for getting voice connectivity to first responders for basic voice and data connectivity, but they struggle to effectively provide more advanced functionality – such as video collaboration with senior leaders or the ability to download high-quality, high resolution maps and images without exorbitant cost. Ultimately, they’re fast, mobile, easily-deployable solutions that can enable voice connectivity into the field immediately when no other option is available.

Satellite acceleration products like the ones provided by XipLink build a VAT (Virtual Accelerated Tunnel) that emulates the properties of terrestrial networks so Internet (or private terrestrial network) resources think that they are dealing with another terrestrial node – rather than one connected via satellite. The end result is that data of any kind (including Voice Over IP) is sent more efficiently, increasing the throughput of the satellite link and reducing the amount of data needed to accomplish communications.

When a much more efficient and expedited response to a disaster is paramount, technologies with the ability to deliver higher throughputs and more advanced capabilities can be brought to the disaster response and recovery site to enable communications.

First, there’s the Cell on Wheels (COW), which provides robust, deployable communications infrastructure with a set-up time from a stowed configuration to operations within minutes and will support multiple and simultaneous voice, video, VTC, and other IP-based data streams. These devices are capable of delivering access to GEO satellite constellations that can deliver higher-bandwidth and higher quality communications to the first responder and senior leaders in the field.

However, these solutions still can’t offer fiber-like connectivity, and that’s where Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites play a role in disaster response.

In disaster situations, a beam from a MEO satellite – such as those utilized by satellite provider, O3b – could be directed to the disaster site. Smaller spot beams and the proximity of the MEO satellite to the Earth enables it to deliver throughput and latency that are significantly superior to any GEO satellite, enabling first responders, senior leaders, emergency operations centers and other facilities to have connectivity on-par with a fiber connection.

This means that emergency operations centers can stay connected and coordinated via VTC, senior leaders can receive HD video, high quality images and other visual intelligence from the impacted area to help them make informed decisions and the actual first-responder in the field can stay in touch and receive all necessary information that they need to keep themselves safe and find their way to those in need of assistance in the most effective and efficient manner. Local communications operators can even use the MEO connection to re-establish broadband internet and 3G or 4G services to the impacted population at large.

MEO satellites have proven capabilities, and should be included in any coordinated disaster response and emergency preparedness plans. The technology is groundbreaking, and transportable satellite dishes and infrastructure necessary to connect with these MEO constellations—such as the AvL 85 cm flyaway antenna which can be set up and online in under 90 minutes—are available today. As more emergency response organizations see the impressive connections speeds and almost imperceptible latency of MEO satellite constellations – such as those offered by O3b – they’ll quickly take steps to acquire the necessary terrestrial hardware to make these satellites a part of their disaster response and recovery plans moving forward.

For additional information on the role that satellites can play in disaster response, download the White Paper on the SES emergency.lu platform by clicking HERE. For more information on MEO satellites, download the O3b White Paper, “Fiber-Like Satellite Communications for U.S. Government Applications,” by clicking HERE.

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