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.

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.”

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