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Inmarsat supports the Philippines’ National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED)

London: Inmarsat, the global mobile satellite communications company and Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), a humanitarian NGO specialised in telecoms and technology, are supporting the Philippines’ 3rd Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) on 27 September 2017.

Through Inmarsat’s involvement with the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme, TSF and Inmarsat will be working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DReAMB) to put new emergency communications and information management protocols to the test during the NSED.

The exercise will include the deployment of Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) service, the world’s first, globally available high-speed broadband network delivered by a single operator. The nationwide exercise will also see ‘out-of-the-box’ Wi-Fi hotspots created for use by the emergency response teams, using Inmarsat’s award-winning BGAN service.  BGAN, which is used across the world for mission critical and emergency communications, has L-band network availability exceeding 99.9%, meaning that connectivity is assured wherever operations are based and in any conditions.

The Philippines experiences at least 20 tropical cyclones annually. In addition, being inside the Pacific Ring of Fire places it at risk from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes (and consequently tsunamis). Despite the Philippine Government being highly experienced at responding to disasters, given the country’s geography, resource constraints, and current ICT infrastructure systems, the human and economic cost of disasters remains high.

Director Felino O. Castro V, Head of the Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DReAMB) of the DSWD said, “The department has been strengthening its efforts to improve its operational communications capability during disaster response.

The bedrock of prompt and effective response is the ability to communicate and access reliable, accurate, and timely information, before, during, and after a disaster, at all levels of response governance.”

During the drill, the Rapid Emergency Telecommunications Teams (RETT) will simulate their earthquake emergency telecommunications response protocols and use the equipment to communicate with the different Disaster Managers in the Bicol Region, which is the first DSWD – Inmarsat Project pilot area, and the DSWD Central Office in the National Capital Region (NCR) from the NSED Ceremonial Venue in Cavite, Region IV-A (CALABARZON).

“The new satellite communications solutions are valuable to the uninterrupted communication between the Rapid Emergency Telecommunications Team (RETT) reporting to the regional and provincial offices to ensure that affected local government units (LGUs) will receive prompt relief augmentation,” said Arnel Garcia, DSWD Field Office V Director.

“When disaster strikes and terrestrial networks go down, first responders and fieldworkers can rely on Inmarsat’s satellite equipment to communicate,” said Paul Gudonis, President, Enterprise, Inmarsat.

“With our voice and always-available broadband data services, we can restore essential connectivity independently of local networks, enabling humanitarian teams to co-ordinate a rapid and effective first response to disasters,” he continued.

Further information

About Inmarsat

Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat operates around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ISAT.L). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com. 

The Inmarsat press release newsfeed and corporate updates are on @InmarsatGlobal.

Inmarsat
Mary Whenman
+44 (0)20 7728 1935
[email protected]

About UK Space Agency

The UK Space Agency leads the UK efforts to explore and benefit from space. It works to ensure that our investments in science and technology bring about real benefit to the UK and to our everyday lives. The Agency is responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme. As part of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the UK Space Agency helps realise the government’s ambition to grow our industry’s share of the global space market to 10% by 2030.

The UK Space Agency:

  • supports the work of the UK space sector, raising the profile of space activities at home and abroad.
  • helps increase understanding of our place in the universe, through science and exploration and its practical benefits.
  • inspires the next generation of UK scientists and engineers.
  • regulates and licences the launch and operation of UK spacecraft, launch operators and spaceports.
  • promotes co-operation and participation in the European Space Agency and with our international partners.

The UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP) is a five-year, £152 million programme designed to partner UK space expertise with overseas governments and organisations. It is funded from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund which forms part of the UK Government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment and is overseen by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and delivered through 17 delivery partners including the Research Councils, the UK Academies, the UK Space Agency and funding bodies.  It harnesses the expertise of the UK’s world-leading researchers, focusing on: funding challenge-led disciplinary and interdisciplinary research; strengthening capability for research, innovation and knowledge exchange; and providing an agile response to emergencies where there is an urgent research or on-the-ground need.

UKSA
Matthew Goodman
01793 41 8085 / 07766 780 926
[email protected]

DSWD, Philippines
Director Felino O. Castro V
+6323554017
[email protected]

Télécoms Sans Frontières          
Alexander James Thomas
+ 33 5 59 84 43 60
[email protected]