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Satellite Prepared for Big Storms
Several satellite companies have stepped up their efforts to support government and relief agencies during this year's hurricane season, work that took on some urgency this past weekend due to the impact of Hurricane Ike on Texas.
During the weekend and with past storms, DIRECTV has offered a dedicated 24/7 emergency information network to provide Gulf Coast residents with storm-tracking maps, evacuation routes, shelter locations and contact information, as well as details on relief organizations. Also, the company is routing customer calls from affected areas to special customer care teams.
DIRECTV has in place extra technicians to accommodate customers hit by the storms with any technical help. The satellite TV company's call center partner, N.E.W., also is prepared for an influx of re-installation calls.
SES AMERICOM has provided satellite capacity and services to TV networks and public broadcasters, and worked to prepare reserve capacity should terrestrial telecom networks be impacted during this season's storms. The effort included pre-positioning SES REDiSats, a removable antenna and IP network developed for emergency and disaster situations.
A number of other satellite companies also have hurricane relief efforts in place.
Mobile Satellite Ventures has deployed its Gulf States Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup, a two-way radio service via satellite that is linked with federal, state and local agencies throughout a five-state region. And sat phone operator Iridium said it shipped 5,000 phones to service providers for new subscribers in the past two weeks, with the majority going to partners serving the Gulf Coast.
Several satellite companies have stepped up their efforts to support government and relief agencies during this year's hurricane season, work that took on some urgency this past weekend due to the impact of Hurricane Ike on Texas.
During the weekend and with past storms, DIRECTV has offered a dedicated 24/7 emergency information network to provide Gulf Coast residents with storm-tracking maps, evacuation routes, shelter locations and contact information, as well as details on relief organizations. Also, the company is routing customer calls from affected areas to special customer care teams.
DIRECTV has in place extra technicians to accommodate customers hit by the storms with any technical help. The satellite TV company's call center partner, N.E.W., also is prepared for an influx of re-installation calls.
SES AMERICOM has provided satellite capacity and services to TV networks and public broadcasters, and worked to prepare reserve capacity should terrestrial telecom networks be impacted during this season's storms. The effort included pre-positioning SES REDiSats, a removable antenna and IP network developed for emergency and disaster situations.
A number of other satellite companies also have hurricane relief efforts in place.
Mobile Satellite Ventures has deployed its Gulf States Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup, a two-way radio service via satellite that is linked with federal, state and local agencies throughout a five-state region. And sat phone operator Iridium said it shipped 5,000 phones to service providers for new subscribers in the past two weeks, with the majority going to partners serving the Gulf Coast.