OODAlink Exhibiting at Inmarsat Government Conference in July

Mobile Satcom Trends on Agenda

Inmarsat, a pioneer in mobile satel­lite commu­ni­ca­tions for over 30 years, is hosting a govern­ment confer­ence in Virginia Beach, Va. this July. Topics slated for this two-day confer­ence include:

• Government satel­lite commu­ni­ca­tions trends
• Introduction to land mobile services
• Future in maritime services and terminals
• Naval case studies
• Using satcom for GIS and situa­tional aware­ness for remote teams
• Encryption over SwiftBroadband
• SwiftBroadband on helicopters (demo)
• Future Inmarsat developments
• Updates on aeronau­ti­cal services
• IsatPhone Pro intro­duc­tion (Inmarsat’s latest global satphone)

Full agenda (subject to change)

OODAkits to be Demonstrated

As an Inmarsat partner, OODAlink was invited to partic­i­pate and will have OODAkits (integrated with Inmarsat BGAN services) on exhibit during confer­ence breaks. Live product demon­stra­tions will also be conducted outside.

With no fee to attend, the confer­ence is open to end-users and procure­ment officers from govern­ment agencies and the military. For more infor­ma­tion, please visit the Inmarsat Government Services Customer Conference website.

Aid & International Development Forum | OODAlink to Exhibit

This summer, we will be showcas­ing our commu­ni­ca­tion survival kits — OODAkits — to human­i­tar­ian aid and devel­op­ment organi­za­tions at the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) in Washington, D.C.

OODAlink Invited to Speak on Satcom Technologies

Our Director of Technology, Jeff Jacobson, was invited to speak at one of the event’s workshops, Optimizing Technology: Transport & ICTs, facil­i­tated by Keith Robertory, Disaster Services Technology Manager for the American Red Cross. On Friday, July 23 (10:00 AM), Jeff will explore emerg­ing trends in satel­lite commu­ni­ca­tions solutions for voice and data connec­tiv­ity, to which types of scenar­ios they’re best suited, and factors to consider when evaluating.

“By its very nature, the inter­na­tional devel­op­ment commu­nity often works in remote areas with little or no access to mobile phone or broad­band services, ” Jeff explains. “And in disas­ter relief situa­tions, commu­ni­ca­tions infra­struc­ture is often the first to go. We decided to partic­i­pate in AIDF this year to raise aware­ness in these sectors about portable satcom solutions that keep people connected anywhere on the globe.”

About AIDF

AIDF, being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on July 22–23, is currently in its fifth year. However, this is the first event to encom­pass the devel­op­ment sector as well as human­i­tar­ian aid, relief and devel­op­ment. The event is a worth­while oppor­tu­nity for the aid, relief and devel­op­ment sector to network, build partner­ships and address global human­i­tar­ian and devel­op­ment challenges, as well as showcas­ing goods and services to those respon­si­ble for delivery.

As well as featur­ing suppli­ers of goods and services in the provi­sion of disas­ter relief, human­i­tar­ian aid and the devel­op­ment of health, educa­tion and basic utili­ties in devel­op­ing economies, the event will feature a number of workshop sessions address­ing key issues such as climate change, combat­ing infec­tious diseases, global partner­ships for devel­op­ment, and logis­tics and procurement.

For more infor­ma­tion, explore the AIDF Event Guide.

OODAkits on Display at NW Fire & Rescue Expo (May 14-15)

OODAlink will be exhibit­ing at the Northwest Fire & Rescue Exposition in Portland, Oregon on Friday and Saturday, May 14–15.

Held at the Portland Expo Center and sponsored by the Northwest Fire Equipment Dealers Association, this event will showcase hundreds of the latest products and services to support firefight­ers on the job.

Stop by our booth (#159) to learn how OODAkits’ data and voice capabil­i­ties can be used to support remote search and rescue efforts, wildfire manage­ment, and large-scale disas­ters. Live product demos will be conducted outside by request.

Show hours:
Fri., May 14: 9:00 AM — 4:30 PM
Sat., May 15: 9:00 AM — 3:00 PM

Directions

Haiti Relief News Conference with US Response Leaders

February 17, 2010 | USAID Joint Task Force News Conference on CSPAN

Ambassador Lewis Lucke and Army Lt. General P.K. Keen, leading the U.S. relief efforts in Haiti, say signif­i­cant progress has been made by cooper­at­ing with a number of inter­na­tional response partners, but much work remains.

Transitioning into the relief phase now, the focus will be on provid­ing shelter, sanita­tion, rubble removal, recon­struc­tion, medical services, and jobs.

Ambassador Lucke is the former US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland, served the US Agency for International Development for over 30 years and is the Haiti US Response Coordinator.

Army Lt. Gen. P.K. Keen is the Deputy Commander of US Southern Command in Miami and is currently serving as the Commander of Joint Task Force Unified Response in Haiti.

Preparedness Grants can Fund Maintenance and User Fees

Did You Know that FEMA Grant Funds Extend Beyond Equipment Purchases?

Last November, Timothy Manning, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) announced that prepared­ness grant funds can be used for fees associ­ated with equip­ment purchases.

An excerpt from the FEMA Grants Program Directorate’s bulletin released by his office:

“Effective [November 2o, 2009], the use of FEMA prepared­ness grant funds for mainte­nance contracts, warranties, repair or replace­ment costs, upgrades, and user fees are allow­able under all active and future grant awards, unless other­wise noted.”

How Does FEMA Define User Fees for Preparedness?

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Martin Luther King Had a Dream. What's Yours?

My first-grader’s homework assign­ment this weekend was to fill out an “I Have a Dream” worksheet. Maybe this week, we should each do the same as we honor Martin Luther King’s legacy.

Her assign­ment was to write about her dreams for each topic below. What would you write?

I have a dream …

for myself …
for my family …
for my country …
for the world …

Maybe watch­ing part of his speech will inspire you.

Read More

Special Rates on Satellite Phones for Haiti Response

Iridium 9555 satel­lite phones with discounted airtime rates for Haiti response teams.

For organi­za­tions respond­ing to the earth­quake in Haiti, we can off the follow­ing discounted rates. Order by 3:00 PM Eastern for same-day shipping.

Iridium 9555 to Buy  -  $1,995 with 500-minute bundle
Iridium 9555 to Rent  -  $295/week + airtime (2-week minimum)

Other airtime options are avail­able. Contact us to order or for more details.

More details on the phone: Iridium 9555.

No Portable Satcom in Haiti? How are They? What do They Need?

Watching CNN’s cover­age of the devas­tat­ing 7.0 earth­quake that hit Haiti early this evening, I found myself gasping at the thought that key relief agencies and media outlets still find themselves strug­gling to commu­ni­cate years after Katrina and 9/11.

The Miami Herald was not Connected

When asked in the early hours after the quake hit, on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” what The Miami Herald knew of the devel­op­ing situa­tion, their Carribean corre­spon­dent Jacquie Charles essen­tially said they didn’t know because they couldn’t connect with anyone there.

“Well, we’re still trying to get through because all the commu­ni­ca­tions is down … We have people en route to Haiti right now and we also have a ‘stringer’ on the ground, but because the commu­ni­ca­tions are all down, we cannot get through to anyone at this moment.”

Read More

Everybody Needs a Tap Code

This week, PBS aired a phenom­e­nal series on human emotion and social inter­ac­tion called “This Emotional Life.” I was partic­u­larly struck by a segment on human resilience in which a Vietnam veteran — Bob Shumaker, a POW for 8 years — shared his amazing story.

Read More

Going Green to Preserve our Precious Planet

Over the holiday break, I took my six-year-old to ZooLights — an amazing specta­cle of nearly 1.25 million lights hung through­out the Oregon Zoo. Thankfully, it was greener than ever this year because nearly 2/3 of the festival’s bulbs have been replaced with energy-efficient LEDs. Patrons were even enticed to make the switch by getting free fudge in exchange for their old power-sucking holiday lights. Sweet! Read More