“But when you have an operation like this, you have to be coordinated, you have to know where you’re going. And one of the big issues at the beginning was just communication. Think of it—the State Department couldn’t even talk to the officials in the Haitian government initially.”

Can We Communicate Better Today?

What if a Haiti-like event—or any disruption that knocks out communications and power—happened in your community today? Could your government officials call anyone outside the area to coordinate critical resources?  Could your county emergency managers reach the governor to identify needs and request support? Could the governor and his or her staff email or call FEMA? Would anyone be able to tweet or update the community on Facebook or other social networks? Would they be in the same boat as Haitian officials were a year ago today?

If Haiti’s leaders had portable satellite communications kits with solar power, Washington could have known what they needed within minutes—instead of hours, even days—of the 7.0 quake.

To honor the memory of those lost a year ago and to respect the lives of people everywhere, let’s resolve to be resilient. Let’ accept the fact that communications networks can and do fail—more often than we like to admit. Without adequate communications for sharing situational awareness, people unnecessarily suffer—even die. Let’s commit to having a Plan B so lack of communications is never a question for rapid response when lives are at stake.

Inmarsat has been at the forefront of mobile satellite services for over 31 years and is a recognized leader in mobile satellite communications. The first Inmarsat-4 was launched in November 2005. Three years later, all three Inmarsat-4s were in orbit, creating the full global network which supports mobile satellite broadband services on land, at sea, and in the air.

Today, there are almost 50,000 land mobile terminals activated, 13,000 FleetBroadband (maritime) and more than 1,100 SwiftBroadband (aeronautical).

Congratulations Inmarsat … and Happy Birthday BGAN!!

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.

That’s what OODA stands for. It’s a term coined by Colonel John R. Boyd (January 23, 1927 – March 9, 1997; pictured right), a United States Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist, whose theories have influenced both military and business strategies.

He used the term “OODA Loop” to describe the process that individuals and organizations use to react to events. The key to success is the creation of situations where one can make appropriate decisions more rapidly than others.

Whether your adversary is Mother Nature or the business down the block, with OODAlink you can access the information you need most —exactly when you need it —so you can prevail in even the most difficult situations.

OODAlink was founded to help people and organi­za­tions implement their own “OODA Loops” to quickly understand what is going on (Observe and Orient), know what to do (Decide), and be able to do it (Act) — all the while learning from the experience (Loop).

We do so by producing easy-to-use satellite-based solutions (OODAkits) for commu­ni­cat­ing when tradi­tional networks aren’t available.

The end result is greater peace of mind—from staying connected to those most impor­tant to you—whether they’re customers, colleagues, partners, suppli­ers, friends, or family.

We applaud the work of Télécoms Sans Frontières …

Their Origin: During missions responding to the crisis in the Balkans and in Kurdistan during the 1st Gulf War, Télécoms Sans Frontières’ (TSF) founders realized that, in addition to medical and food aid, there was a critical need for reliable emergency telecommunications services. Conflicts and emergencies often led to massive civilian displacement and separated families. And affected populations are often left with no communications infrastructure in place to find assistance and loved ones. To address this need, TSF bought its first satellite phone eleven years ago and the organization was born. For all missions today, TSF offers a 3-minute call to any affected family.

TSF soon found that the international response teams that deploy to emergencies also had a critical need for reliable telecommunications services in the first days after an emergency. TSF, therefore, expanded its operations, improved its technology, and began to establish rapidly deployable emergency telecommunications centers to serve UN, government, and NGO humanitarian workers, and developed a reputation for being among the first to arrive after disasters.

Mission Haiti 2010: Deployed in Haiti the day following the terrible earthquake that struck the country, TSF teams remain mobilized, day after day, supporting the humanitarian community and the affected population. Three calling centers have been established in Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and Jacmel that are open for the people of Haiti: Union School in Port-au-Prince, Adventistes in Carrefour and Rue Febrile in Jacmel.

Everyone should know more about the work of this organization!