Indonesia enhances disaster preparedness with pre-emptive deployment of AnsuR ‘ASIGN’ and Inmarsat BGAN

The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) has chosen AnsuR, a world leader in mission-critical visual communications solutions, and Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, to pre-deploy an emergency communications infrastructure, which will support the country’s disaster response in the event of a natural catastrophe.

Twenty regions in Indonesia will pre-deploy equipment consisting of AnsuR’s high definition, interactive image communications system – ASIGN – and robust terminals which will be able to access Inmarsat’s BGAN mobile broadband satellite communications service.  In addition, the pre-emptive deployment will include two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) with advanced cameras on-board, running ASIGN, and additional BGAN satellite communications equipment on the ground.

In the event of a natural disaster, BNPB’s headquarters will have full situational awareness via this ability to receive images and videos from the site of the catastrophe even when the area’s terrestrial communications infrastructure has been either disabled or destroyed.  Additionally, Inmarsat’s BGAN service will ensure that first responders and those caught up in a disaster can stay in contact with the outside world via both voice and data.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous nation.  Its population of almost 250 million is situated across some 6,000 inhabited islands and the Indonesian archipelago, comprising some 17,500 islands, borders the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian tectonic plates, with 150 active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. It is considered one of the world’s most vulnerable countries in terms of natural disasters and has experienced some of the most devastating tectonic events in recorded history, including the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake.

The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (known as BNPB – Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana) is responsible for preparing for and managing the country’s disaster response.

After the recent earthquakes in Indonesia, the terrestrial and mobile networks stopped working and ‘Visual Situational Images’, required for the assessment of the damage and time-critical decision making, could not be shared.

Mani Wannan, President Director, PT Asia Inc Xplora, responsible for the project in Indonesia said: “The AnsuR software and Inmarsat equipment were part of a larger contract, all targeted to help Indonesia manage disasters better. The importance of this delivery was highlighted by the visit of the minister and the Head of BNPB, Dr. Syamsul Maarif during delivery.”

Dr. Harald Skinnemoen, CEO of AnsuR, said: “We are proud to have been able to implement our ASIGN system for mission critical interactive image communications, so that field teams can provide the Civil Protection with fast, relevant high-definition visual content via interactive photo and video communications. With the low bandwidth use it is optimised for use over the Inmarsat BGAN service.”

Andy Start, President of Global Government, Inmarsat, said: “Inmarsat was founded over 30 years ago to save lives, and humanitarian support remains at the heart of what we do.  Our award-winning mobile satellite broadband and voice services powerfully support relief and reconstruction efforts across the world, with BGAN deployed by first responders ranging from Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) to the United Nations.”