But building, operating, and maintaining a network in the incredibly harsh and extreme conditions in remote Alaska is harder than it may seem. While the climate and large size of the state would clearly cause problems, there are other challenges that are less obvious. These include the local fauna, and even the disparate cultures of the native peoples that the network providers are looking to serve.

In the second part of our discussion with Vickie, we take a deep dive into these challenges and explore the way they impact what local organizations should be looking for in their industry partners.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): Why are microwave networks utilized for connectivity in these more remote locations?

Vickie Kelly: In some areas, satellite services are the only solution for delivering coverage and connectivity. For example, the Aleutian Islands, a chain of islands that separates the north Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea, are so remote that satellite connectivity is the only option for the people there. There are also remote locations in the interior of Alaska that are only accessible via small plane that can only get connectivity with satellite.

Building a microwave network is a terrestrial solution that enables you to provide high throughput connectivity to these remote locations at a fraction of the cost of satellite. However, satellite services are still needed to provide backhaul services and connect those microwave networks back to the Internet. to get to some of these remote sites, but you still need to get back to the Internet.

However, while microwave is a lower-cost solution to satellite, it does have a high maintenance cost. Continuing to operate and repair the microwave infrastructure that comprises the network can be incredibly expensive and difficult.

For example, in one instance, a bull moose would not allow maintenance crews to get to damaged microwave equipment to fix the connection. This resulted in the maintenance crew hiring a helicopter to get to the equipment.

GSR: What unique challenges do industry partners face when building, operating, and maintaining networks in these regions? Is it the same as operating anywhere else in the globe, or do the remote location and harsh climate impact operations?

Vickie Kelly: The climate and environment certainly impact operating and maintaining a network like ours. As we discussed, the climate can make it difficult or impossible to get to the hardware for maintenance purposes. The incredible distance dictates traveling by helicopter or small plane, and those can’t fly when the weather is bad.

Also, as we discussed, the fauna of the area has been known to create its own challenges. We’ve even had foxes chew through the wires of our microwave network infrastructure. Despite having fences and other security solutions in place, the foxes found a way to get to the equipment. Apparently, they learned how to climb fences.

But there are challenges that don’t result from the weather, environment, and animals. There are also challenges that result from the different cultures and people that you serve and work with.

“…the climate can make it difficult or impossible to get to the hardware for maintenance purposes. The incredible distance dictates traveling by helicopter or small plane, and those can’t fly when the weather is bad.” – Vickie Kelly

When you’re working in remote areas of Alaska, you’re also working with the different tribes of those regions. Each of these tribes has its own culture and traditions. Culturally, you have to be very astute. You have to understand what their beliefs and traditions are, and understand if what you’re asking for may offend or betray those traditions and beliefs.

To help ensure that the people within our organization understand and respect these different cultures, we actively work to provide employment opportunities to locals. We employ and train them to help operate and maintain the equipment that’s near their town. We’ll hire them as guides and for transportation for our staff.

But we also provide them with employment opportunities because they bring additional cultural awareness to our organization, as a whole.

GSR: In addition to building, operating, and maintaining these networks, there must be other challenges and requirements that the local government faces. What other services are provided by industry partners?

Vickie Kelly: That’s an excellent question. In many cases, these organizations lack trained IT staff and support to help deliver many of the services that they need as technology becomes more essential in their daily operations. In those instances, we also provide the services that they need to make online capabilities possible.

For example, we provide bandwidth monitoring to ensure that the bandwidth is being used efficiently. We provide quality of service and bandwidth prioritization to ensure that the most mission-critical applications and workloads get priority. We deliver content filtering for schools to help keep children safe. We also provide services to help keep healthcare organizations in compliance with HIPAA requirements.

“The emergence of next-generation NGSO satellite solutions at MEO and LEO promises to offer extremely low latency, extremely high throughput satellite solutions that could provide fiber-like connectivity to practically anywhere on the globe.” – Vickie Kelly

We also enable content caching for school districts that allows them to download content so that it lives on a server locally. This means they don’t have to rely on broadband connectivity to utilize those assets.

GSR: Considering the importance of the network and the service that it delivers – as well as the unique challenges of the region – what should organizations in places like Alaska be looking for in an industry partner? What attributes, expertise and experience are necessary to operate in these environments?

Vickie Kelly: One of the most important things these organizations in Alaska need to be looking at is the contention ratios of the providers. If the bandwidth is contended, there is a good chance that it will not be available for them when they really need it – or that it won’t offer the high throughputs that they need for particular use cases or applications.

This can be difficult for end users because many network and service providers have become very good at hiding the language about the fact that their bandwidth is contended. They need to read between the lines and ask difficult questions to ensure that they’re going to get the service that they need when they need it.

“In some areas, satellite services are the only solution for delivering coverage and connectivity. For example, the Aleutian Islands, a chain of islands that separates the north Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea, are so remote that satellite connectivity is the only option for the people there.” – Vickie Kelly

I also think they should be looking for providers that not only offer a solution for today but are also innovating for the future. Just because microwave networks are the best solution for meeting the bandwidth requirements of these remote communities in Alaska now doesn’t mean they always will be.

We’re at a very exciting time in satellite and broadband connectivity. The emergence of next-generation NGSO satellite solutions at MEO and LEO promises to offer extremely low latency, extremely high throughput satellite solutions that could provide fiber-like connectivity to practically anywhere on the globe.

These organizations need to be looking for industry partners that not only recognize how this industry is evolving but are also investing in the future of these technologies. They need to be looking for organizations that have the resources, knowledge, and capabilities to bring these new technologies to bear to help meet their mission requirements.

To learn more about the next generation of NGSO satellite solutions that can deliver high throughput, low latency connectivity to remote locations, click HERE.

The post Bears, foxes, and bull moose – the unique challenges of maintaining networks in Alaska appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

When people could no longer go to a government building or office to file paperwork, submit an application, or pick up an important document, it became essential that government organizations give them digital and virtual alternatives. Information had to be made more readily available on government Websites, people needed to be able to download and submit applications for citizen services online, and AI solutions were needed to answer basic questions about government services and policies since many public servants were out of the office.

But what happens in that environment when government organizations want to go digital, but lack basic connectivity? What happens when the constituents they serve don’t have access to high-speed Internet access? And what impact does it have when modern applications and solutions that are hosted in the cloud simply can’t be accessed or utilized by an organization?

This is exactly the problem facing many of America’s rural and remote locations, such as the remote, sparsely-populated areas of the country’s largest state, Alaska.

We recently sat down with Vickie Kelly, a business development manager at SES Space and Defense that calls Anchorage, Alaska home, to discuss how the company is leveraging satellite and microwave networks to bring basic connectivity to school districts and government organizations in Alaska’s wildest regions.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): When it comes to connectivity for public schools and government organizations in remote parts of Alaska, what options do they have? Are typical, terrestrial broadband networks available to them? Why or why not?

Vickie Kelly: In Alaska, connectivity is a case of the “haves” and the “have-nots.” In an urban area, you do have connectivity by fiber that – while a bit more expensive than in the lower 48 – still offers quality connectivity. But the broader portion of Alaska is not urban. It’s defined as remote.

Connectivity for our remote school districts and government organizations is not typical. And there are a number of reasons for that.

Alaska is two-thirds the size of the lower 48 states combined. It’s huge and stretches over a large area containing numerous different topographic and geologic features. It’s almost impossible to run fiber in that environment due to the sheer scope and the terrain. The state’s high risk of natural disasters also plays a role, with frequent earthquakes that can disrupt fiber installation or damage existing fiber lines.

Also, it may sound humorous to those in the lower 48, but fiber and other infrastructure and hardware can be impacted by the local fauna. We’ve seen numerous instances of fiber being chewed and hardware being damaged by bears, foxes, and local animals.

Combined, these factors have resulted in many of the more remote, rural areas of the state having no connectivity via typical, terrestrial networks – like fiber.

GSR: Why is this a problem in these regions, specifically? What could high throughput connectivity enable these districts to do that isn’t possible without it?

Vickie Kelly: We just had an excellent example of how impactful a lack of connectivity can be due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools had to shut down, the majority of students had no home Internet. Schools found themselves assembling paper packets of assignments for kids that their parents would pick up.

That seems unreal in this time of connectivity – especially in the lower 48 – but it’s the reality in many of these small, remote towns and villages.

“We’ve traditionally leveraged a proprietary microwave network…to deliver connectivity to more remote places in Alaska. We supplement that microwave network with satellite services…and we’re increasingly looking at NGSO satellite offerings to deliver higher throughput, low latency connectivity to these regions.” – Vicky Kelly

Many teachers in urban areas take Internet-enabled tools for granted. Educational videos on YouTube. Cloud-based learning applications. Video teleconferencing for distance learning. These applications require broadband Internet to access, and low latency to use effectively, or else they’ll time out.

That’s particularly problematic in this region because they need these capabilities – potentially even more than urban school districts and districts in the lower 48.

For example, remote schools are very small. Teachers are generalists and teach multiple classes and subjects. In this environment, distance learning via video teleconferencing could be used to bring in faculty that teach more niche classes – such as foreign languages, music, or even advanced placement classes. This could enable schools and districts to deliver a more diverse, well-rounded educational experience to students.

I used to work in a school district that offered band and orchestra through distance learning via video. That’s a valuable resource for students, but it’s not possible without broadband connectivity.

But that’s only one example of a capability or application that these students can’t access because of their remote location. There are many more, and the number is increasing as technology advances and becomes a more fundamental part of education and curriculum.

“In Alaska, connectivity is a case of the “haves” and the “have-nots.” In an urban area, you do have connectivity by fiber that…still offers quality connectivity. But the broader portion of Alaska is not urban. It’s defined as remote.” – Vicky Kelly

For example, gaming is widely becoming a recognized part of school athletics, with many schools and school districts launching competitive gaming teams. That’s not possible for many of these remote school districts without fiber connectivity. In fact, it may not even be possible with traditional GEO satellite connectivity.

GSR: How have industry partners helped deliver connectivity to these regions in the past? What types of networks are utilized to deliver these services and capabilities to these regions?

Vickie Kelly: To the more remote locations in Alaska, industry partners have had to rely on either microwave networks or satellite services to deliver connectivity. However, there have been some plans proposed to lay additional subsea fiber to connect some more rural, remote areas. And for the urban areas, there are terrestrial fiber and copper networks that are providing connectivity.

We’ve traditionally leveraged a proprietary microwave network that we own, operate, and manage independently to deliver connectivity to more remote places in Alaska. We supplement that microwave network with satellite services where necessary, and we’re increasingly looking at non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite offerings to deliver higher throughput, low latency connectivity to these regions.

GSR: Are these networks only for public schools, or are they also used for other public sector use cases?

Vickie Kelly: Our microwave network is used to support a lot more organizations than just schools and school districts. In fact, one of our first customers was the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), an Alaskan Native non-profit corporation that provides health and social services to tribal members across much of the rural, remote parts of Alaska.

“Many teachers in urban areas take Internet-enabled tools for granted. Educational videos on YouTube. Cloud-based learning applications. Video teleconferencing for distance learning. These applications require broadband Internet to access…” – Vicky Kelly

For the TCC, we support healthcare clinics with the connectivity necessary to access essential online medical applications and services. We also enable telemedicine solutions that provide access to healthcare for people that need to stay in their homes, or when the weather makes it impossible to fly out to see a doctor or specialist.

In addition to our contributions to the local healthcare community, we also use our network to provide connectivity to tribal administrative offices and government entities. We provide connectivity to village police departments, fire departments, and emergency medical services. We also enable Radio over IP (RoIP) services for first responders.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve also begun to explore providing access to high-bandwidth connectivity for students and homes.

In our next article on the Government Satellite Report, we’ll feature the second part of our two-part conversation with Vickie, when we discuss the challenges that companies face when building, operating, and maintaining a network in these remote parts of Alaska.

The post Shortening the gap between the connectivity “haves” and “have nots” in Alaska appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

It’s safe to say that every single American has – in some way – been impacted by the pandemic. And – with so many people having their lives at least inconvenienced by COVID-19 – it’s not surprising that the impact of this virus on America’s military has failed to garner much press or discussion – with very few, tragic exceptions.

The fact is, America’s military personnel are dealing with this global pandemic, too. And most of them are doing so while quarantined away from family, deployed away from home and in other locations that many of us would not want to be in when confronting an incredibly infectious and often fatal disease.

With the military operating under a restrictive “stop movement” order, and with personnel becoming infected with the disease in some very isolated places – including aircraft carriers and other ships at sea– there are a number of ways that satellite communications (SATCOM) can play a role in the military’s COVID-19 response. Let’s explore a few SATCOM use cases that could help the military keep soldiers safe, happy and sane during the ongoing pandemic.

Telemedicine delivery
The most important thing in a pandemic is access to healthcare services. Unfortunately for many deployed soldiers, access to healthcare services or specialized care could be limited. And that’s not just the case overseas. Some soldiers and veterans in rural and geographically-isolated locations within the U.S. could also find themselves without access to specialized, quality healthcare services.

Telemedicine has already exploded as a result of COVID-19, with many doctors and specialists embracing telemedicine to treat patients while social distancing orders are in effect. That same technology could be deployed by the military to deliver quality care and specialized healthcare services to deployed soldiers, personnel on ships at sea, and veterans at home.

Unfortunately, in many of these geographically-isolated places, the high bandwidth connectivity and terrestrial networks needed to carry the real-time, HD video necessary for effective telemedicine implementations are either unavailable or untrusted. In those places, SATCOM can help to fill the connectivity vacuum and deliver essential telemedicine services.

With today’s advanced high-throughput satellites operating at orbits closer to Earth, the military can effectively deliver fiber-like connectivity to virtually anywhere on the planet. This connectivity could be used to deliver the real-time, high definition video teleconferencing that is needed for delivery of telemedicine services.

With satellite delivering healthcare personnel and specialists to virtually anywhere on the planet, soldiers and veterans cannot only access healthcare services that may have been previously unavailable, but they can even see medical professionals while still socially distancing.

Enabling Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)
Everyone that’s currently quarantined or otherwise socially isolating themselves in an effort to “flatten the curve” is probably filling the time with a combination of on-demand movies, streaming music, downloadable books and online video games. They’re also getting support and peace of mind by calling and video chatting with their friends and families.

Those are things that we take for granted in much of America’s more populated areas. But they’re things that may not necessarily be available for deployed troops.

Imagine being unable to video chat with an elderly loved one that was diagnosed with COVID-19 because connectivity wasn’t available. Imagine not being able to have a face-to-face discussion with a spouse while quarantined with COVID-19. Imagine being quarantined with COVID-19 and not having anything to do while isolated for fear that you could infect everyone around you. This is the reality that some deployed troops face.

Satellite is the answer to delivering those communications services and capabilities to deployed soldiers. Much like how high-throughput, low-latency satellite communications can empower telemedicine implementations, they can also be used to deliver voice, video and data to practically anywhere on the planet. That means that satellite can deliver the same communications services and capabilities to deployed troops that they may have access to and enjoy in their own homes.

MWR are essential for keeping troops happy and connected during this unprecedented time. Being away from family, friends and loved ones is always difficult. Being separated and isolated during a troubling time – like during a global pandemic – is understandably mentally, physically and spiritually draining.

MWR services can help to connect troops with their support systems, provide them with entertainment while socially isolated or quarantined and ensure that morale stays high – even as America struggles with one of its most challenging crises in modern times.

This truly is an unprecedented, and candidly, quite frightening time for many Americans. It’s essential that our deployed soldiers have access to healthcare during this global pandemic. It’s essential that they be kept connected and their spirits lifted. Satellite connectivity  can often serve as the best, and possibly only, way to deliver these essential services to the men and women of our armed forces wherever they’re stationed.

For additional information on the role that next generation commercial satellites can play in delivering essential government applications and communications, click HERE.

The post Fighting COVID-19 from space – how satellite can help in coronavirus response appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Although the content at AFCEA West is applicable to all of the military, the event is heavily attended and focused on those in the “sea service” branches of the military – including the Navy, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command and Coast Guard. In fact, I would call AFCEA West the premier sea service conference on the west coast – and possibly in the country.

Although not specifically satellite communications (SATCOM) focused, I’m always excited to attend AFCEA West because SATCOM is so essential to the missions of these sea service military organizations. SATCOM is their life-line, connecting them back to decision makers at home. Based on discussions at this year’s event, its role is only becoming more essential as the nature of warfare changes.

Why satellite for the sea services?
The Navy and the other sea services have a unique challenge that the other branches of the military don’t face. At sea, they have limitations which prevent them from communicating in the same manner as their counterparts in other services.

It’s for this reason that satellite has become so essential for the sea services. Communicating mission essential data and information to and from at sea platforms means sending it via satellite.

This is especially true in regions where sea services are providing support for critically important, national level missions – in the littoral regions in Southwest Asia, Africa and the western Pacific. Some of these regions are literally on the opposite side of the globe, making satellite connectivity all the more essential.

More connected means more bandwidth
Today’s warfighter is more connected and more reliant on information technology (IT) services and capabilities than ever before. The same can be said for ships at sea. The same IT services and capabilities that are available to U.S. service personnel on land are expected at sea, and those IT services, and capabilities are increasingly hosted in the cloud and require high bandwidth connections to run effectively.

At the same time, the nature and format of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) data has changed and evolved. Today’s advanced sensors, Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) platforms and other sources of intelligence are generating higher resolution, high definition (HD), and sometimes streaming video. They’re also generating more data than the military can effectively and efficiently process, exploit and disseminate.

All told, the military is generating countless terabytes of data each day. With large files and an embarrassment of data riches being shared across the military, the need for high bandwidth connections to platforms becomes increasingly essential.

There is always the need to increase efficiency and operate more effectively. One of the ways that the sea services have identified to accomplish this is to share resources across multiple ships.

Take medical personnel as an example. Having a team of doctors aboard each ship means having one team for each ship at sea. Instead, if video teleconferencing (VTC) was utilized in telemedicine installations aboard each ship, a single team of specialists and other medical personnel could be shared – cutting costs and helping increase efficiency.

To accomplish IT implementations such as this, however, high bandwidth and low latency connections are required. Luckily, these connections are available and starting to see adoption across the military.

MEO HTS steals the show
The isolated nature of the sea services and their increasing reliance on IT capabilities and applications make satellite essential. But, traditional GEO satellite constellations could struggle to affordably deliver the throughputs necessary to run these advanced applications.

That’s why advanced Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) High Throughput Satellites (HTS) was the topic of so many of my discussions at AFCEA West this year.

The decision makers and senior leaders of the sea services understand they need higher throughputs and lower latencies to meet warfighting applications with demanding bandwidth requirements, including delivering large-file transfers, streaming HD videos, video teleconferencing, and many others. MEO HTS managed services are satellite solutions that can deliver it for them.

The conversations that I had at this year’s AFCEA West are indicative of a larger trend we’re seeing across the military – a reliance on higher throughputs, lower latency solutions provided in a cost-effective managed service.  Although we’ve not – yet – delivered this type of service to any of the U.S. sea services, their demand for greater capacity will eventually lead them to a MEO solution.  SES Space and Defense is ready to support and deliver!

To learn more about how MEO constellations can be used to enable a more connected, modern Navy and Marine Corps, download the whitepaper, “High Throughput on the High Seas,” by clicking HERE.

The post Sea services demand more bandwidth at AFCEA West appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Video: How commercial SATCOM provides telemedicine in Bangladesh

But what if the patient is a soldier in theater, far removed from a military hospital? And what if they’re sick or injured and require specialized care?

In these instances, the healthcare services that a warfighter needs can be a Humvee and helicopter ride away – or further. This means a lot of time can pass between the points when a life-threatening injury is sustained and when life-saving care is administered.

What’s the answer to remote specialized care in contested environments? One of the solutions lies in telemedicine.

A look at telemedicine and its benefits on the battlefield
Telemedicine is one of many technologies and capabilities that fall under the umbrella of e-health – the universal term given to the innovative use of technology to provide medical care or services. Telemedicine – as we see it in healthcare practices and organizations today – involves the use of advanced video teleconferencing (VTC) devices to deliver medical attention to a patient that is geographically separated from the healthcare provider.

Utilizing VTC for telemedicine implementations could get proper care to a wounded soldier much more quickly.  VTC capability is not limited to tablet or smart phones. Nor is it limited to a geographical location, given that the satellite provider linking the VTC has global coverage.

The challenge of delivering care via video in theater
Telemedicine is still considered a relatively new technology and is still just catching on across America’s healthcare community for a very good reason.  The HD VTC technology capable of delivering the necessary quality and experience is relatively new and far more advanced than the early video conferencing technologies that first entered the marketplace.

Even with advanced technologies that reduce bandwidth requirements of HD VTC – a high bandwidth connection and larger amounts of throughput are necessary for HD audio and video. This can be a problem in remote operations/theaters, where terrestrial fiber and other high-speed, high-bandwidth networks may not be available to the warfighter.

However, there is another solution that is being implemented right now for use in the delivery of care to civilians that could make telemedicine and other e-health capabilities a possibility for the warfighter, regardless of where they’re stationed.

Meet SatMed
In late July, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and the NGO, German Doctors, partnered with commercial satellite provider SES to launch a satellite-based e-health platform called SATMED at the German Doctors’ hospital in Davao City in the Philippines.

Davao City is the largest city on southern-most Philippine island of Mindanao.  Davao City is quite far from the nation’s capital, and largest city, Manila, which is on the northern-most island of the Philippine archipelago. This geographic divide can make it difficult for citizens in the remote areas around Davao City to access the same resources available to those in the big cities and other islands.

However, SatMed is enabling German Doctors to provide better quality healthcare services when they visit remote villages through mobile devices that can:

• Enable collection of – and access to – patient data
• Allow doctors to keep tabs on large groups of patients living in remote villages through text messaging
• Enable German Doctors to communicate with doctors and medical experts around the world via video conferencing
• Provide training for local medical professionals via e-learning solutions

Utilizing today’s high-bandwidth and low-latency satellites, SatMed is capable of delivering VTC, telemedicine and other e-health capabilities into remote areas of the Philippines that don’t have the traditional, terrestrial networks necessary to power them. These regions face many of the same technology and connectivity challenges facing warfighters in theater, which makes SatMed a great case study for how satellite can be utilized by the United States military to deliver similar capabilities to the tip of the spear.

Telemedicine offers incredible opportunities to deliver healthcare services, remotely and quickly, to soldiers without having to wait to be transported to where medical professionals and care waits for them. By utilizing satellite for telemedicine and delivering care more quickly, we can ensure better outcomes not only to those in need of humanitarian assistance, but to our soldiers as well.

Additional Resources:

• Milsat Magazine: What Fiber in the Sky Means to the Warfighter Today
• RFI Response: Operational Trial Of A Satellite Communication System For New Jersey’s First Responders
• White Paper: Saving Livelihoods by Satellite

The post Can satellites save soldiers’ lives with telemedicine? appeared first on SES Space and Defense.