by Marc Hausman and Susannah Scace

Related Article:   Weather Alert Systems

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When the American Red Cross responds in the aftermath of a disaster, often the only form of communications in the relief effort is via satellite phone. American Mobile Satellite

Satellite telecommunications are a relieable and readily-accessible form of comunication during disaster relief. Bill Cornett/Courtesy Stratos Mobile Networks

This article can be found on
page 24 of the Mar/Apr 1998
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.

For disaster relief organizations access to the hardest hit areas was extremely difficult. But, once on the scene, these emergency professionals faced a significant new challenge: establishing the vital communications link to the outside world.

According to Chris Thomas, a media relations associate with the American Red Cross, most phone lines, cellular towers and cable wires had been knocked down by the storm. Then, factor in the overload of calls from family and friends of those living in the disaster areas and it was apparent the American Red Cross could not rely on the existing telecommunications infrastructure for their communications.

"No one except the people who were actually there could even begin to understand the extent of the damages," Thomas says. "We knew communications with our support outside the area would be essential to the success of our relief operations."

Advantages of Satellite Communications

The situation created by Hurricane Andrew illustrates why disaster relief organizations have come to rely on satellites for their communications when operating in the field. First of all, communications via satellite is not dependent upon landlines or cellular towers in the disaster area. Rather, a signal is beamed directly from the phone to a satellite orbiting thousands of miles above the Earth. That signal is sent down to a Land Earth Station, operated by a mobile satellite service provider, where it is then run through landlines.

In addition, an emergency professional can reach a colleague who is also working in the field using their satellite phone. Called a mobile-to-mobile call, the signal from the user's phone is sent up to the satellite, down to the Land Earth Station and then back to the satellite (called a "double hop") before the call is directed to the recipient's satellite phone.

A second reason why disaster relief organizations have come to rely on satellites for their communications is the ability to access them from anywhere in the world. In many emerging areas, such as parts of South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, there is an underdeveloped and unreliable telecommunications system. For disaster relief professionals operating in these areas, satellite communications is often the only option.

"When refugees in remote areas of South America need food and supplies, we can't let a lack of communications deter our ability to provide the necessary assistance," explains Sylvia Daillot with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Steve Hailey, Communications Coordinator for Disaster Services with the American Red Cross, agrees it is this global access which makes satellites so valuable to his organization. "Natural disasters occur more frequently on an international level," he says.

Without reliable communications with the outside world, there is also a much greater chance for loss of life in remote areas following the occurrence of a natural disaster.

Bill Wright, a representative with North Carolina-based Samaritans' Purse, a not-for-profit organization which provides humanitarian support to hospitals in developing countries, describes a situation in Bangladesh after a cyclone had ripped through the area. "Because there was no communication to or from the hospital, it was weeks before we knew if they needed supplies or if they were still in existence after the disaster. Luckily, everyone was okay," he says.

Global communications coverage is a third advantage of satellite communications for disaster relief organizations. In addition to accessing satellites from anywhere in the world, emergency professionals can communicate with anyone in the world using satellite networks.

For more localized emergencies, Satellite telecommunciations have similarly become a dependably relied-upon means of communicating. After being bombarded with a host of natural disasters, the California Office of Emergency Services to developed OASIS, the Operational Area Satellite Information System. State relief operations in the aftermath of local disasters were hampered by the resulting lack of communications.

OASIS is the communications link for California's emergency management professionals via 70 VSAT equipped sites throughout the state. Each VSAT, a portable satellite phone, has six phone lines which provide communications via satellite during relief operations after a natural disaster. Available on request through the State Mutual Aid system, the OASIS satellites are trailered to an incident site and maintained by OES technicians.

Most recently, OASIS has helped California manage El Nino. "Within the last month, mudslides near and surrounding Santa Barbara turned the area into a virtual telecommunications island," said Don Root, Communications Coordinator for OES's coastal region. "The only way we could communicate with officials in the emergency management community there was through OASIS."

Satellite Services: New Technologies Meet Evolving Needs

The communications needs in today's society have dramatically changed from even a few years ago. To communicate effectively, disaster relief organizations, like any other operation, need access to more sophisticated data communications, including E-mail, Internet browsing and file transfers.

Advances in satellite technology have given emergency professionals access to these sophisticated data communications applications in the field. For instance, Chris Thomas of the American Red Cross reports during the Hurricane Andrew relief operation they were able to transfer images over satellite networks to the organization's headquarters.

"Our staff back at headquarters was able to use these images of the disaster area to help in the assessment of the total cost of damages," he says.

Even with more advanced data needs, voice communications still remain a critical component to the success of relief operations. As a result, many emergency professionals have come to rely on a mix of different satellite services while in the field.

Consider how Bell Canada handled operations in Ottawa, Quebec, Montreal and the surrounding areas following a crippling ice storm this past January. Millions of people were left without power or phone service as tree branches, covered in 2-1/2 inches of ice, broke and fell onto power and telephone lines. In addition, the power transmission towers crumbled under the weight of the ice.

The Canadian government declared a state of emergency and deployed 111,000 soldiers to maintain order and to assist Bell Canada in restoring service. Prior to the deployment, the relief team recognized they could not rely on cellular service for communications because of the lost electricity. Once the battery of the cell phone had burned out there would be no way to recharge it, explains Bob Goodman, an account executive with Bell Canada. In addition, some of the rural areas surrounding the cities affected by the ice storm were not covered by cellular. Stratos Mobile Networks, a mobile satellite service company, provided the satellite service and support to Bell Canada during the crisis.

"We used a mix of Inmarsat-B, Inmarsat mini-M and MSAT services as our communications solution," Goodman says. "With both our voice and data requirements covered, we focused on our jobs. In just two weeks, 90 percent of the people in Ottawa and 75 percent in Quebec were back on line."

Here's an overview of the benefits and drawbacks of satellite services popular with disaster relief organizations:

Inmarsat-B

One of the services used by Bell Canada and the Canadian military, Inmarsat-B provides global coverage for voice, fax and data utilizing digital technology. This service is provided through a network of satellites operated by the International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat), an internationally-owned cooperative of 81 countries.

The most significant benefit of the Inmarsat-B service is dedicated channels for fax and data transmissions. As a result, this service is ideal for organizations which need to send large data files over the satellites. It can be sent more quickly and a lower overall price because it takes less airtime for the transfer.

However, the satellite phone's lack of mobility limits the use of Inmarsat-B by emergency professionals. Weighing about 40 pounds, the phone is cumbersome and, as a result, difficult to move while in the field.

Inmarsat Mini-M

Inmarsat's drive to provide global communications using a lighter, more portable satellite phone resulted in the introduction of the new mini-M service. Provided from Inmarsat's spot beam satellites (launched in 1996), mini-M offers global coverage for voice, fax and data communications from a small, six pound satellite phone which is easy to set-up, and easy to use and carry.

These new spot-beam satellites orbit closer to the Earth than Inmarsat's other satellite network, providing stronger signals to users, which in turn, facilitate faster and more effective communications and allow users access to voice and data communications using the smaller satellite phone.

Emergency professionals have several satellite phone models to select from with the mini-M service. Most provide around 150 minutes of talk time before needing to be recharged.

Another feature of the new mini-M satellite service which has appealed to disaster relief organizations is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. Roughly the size of a credit card, users simply insert the card into the phone and all billing is secured to the owner of the card.

"With SIM cards, the mini-M service can be shared by numerous employees who are working in the field during a relief operation, but the account management procedure remains simple," says Nils Helle, Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Stratos Mobile Networks. "This is especially important for disaster relief operations because they do not have time for tedious office procedures, such as manual reporting of who used the phone and when. SIM cards can also function as a calling card. This is unique to our mini-M service. For instance, users can use their Stratos SIM/Calling card to call from a traditional, land-based phone to a mobile satellite phone without accruing high charges from the local service provider, and also having that call added to their invoice along with their other mobile satellite calls."

The biggest drawback with the mini-M service is its inefficiency in the transfer of large data files. Due to the low throughput capabilities of the satellite phone, these transfers can take a considerable amount of time resulting in more costly airtime charges.

MSAT

For disaster relief organizations with only regional (North American) communications requirements, MSAT is a satellite service to consider. Providing voice and fax capabilities, MSAT's coverage area includes all of North America as well as a few hundred miles of coastal waters.

The airtime charges for MSAT service are about 50 percent less than the Inmarsat services, but the regional coverage is limiting to relief organizations with operations throughout the world.

Future of Satcom for Disaster Relief

Satellite industry experts contend two trends will influence the type of satellite-based communications available to disaster relief organizations in the next few years. First, the drive by mobile satellite service companies to provide emergency professionals with hand-held satellite phones will utilize new Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEOs). These satellites will be even lower in the sky than the Inmarsats, allowing for transmission of a signal through a smaller antenna. Networks of LEOs are currently being developed by ICO Global Communications, GlobalStar, and Iridium, but they're not expected to be operational until the turn of the century.

A second trend is the increasing demand among emergency professionals to transmit data via satellite networks. "The amount of data communications we're handling for our customers has increased dramatically over the past few years," says Helle of Stratos Mobile Networks. "The Internet, Email and file transfers have all contributed to this increased traffic."

What is clear is that disaster relief organizations now have more choices than ever before for their communications needs. In selecting a mobile satellite service company, industry experts suggest you first determine what your needs are - voice, fax and data - and then speak with a different companies to determine which services are right for you.