Support from Businesses in the Wake of the Nepal Earthquake Requires Collaboration as Much as Generosity
XTAR, CopaSAT, Tampa Microwave, the Santander Teleport and MTN team up to provide communications support to relief operations
Herndon, Va., June 29, 2015 – XTAR, LLC is providing satellite communications bandwidth for humanitarian efforts in Nepal to assist in relief and sustainment operations after the recent earthquake. The company’s no cost space segment donation is part of a more elaborate partnership with CopaSAT, Tampa Microwave, MTN and the Santander Teleport to set up a communications base in Nepal to provide a wireless network to other remote locations by leveraging X-band SATCOM capabilities.
The team collaborated with the Nepalese Army, USAID and the Christian Relief Fund to jointly provide a total of 14.0 Mbps of throughput to sustain operations and communications needs for ongoing rescue and recovery efforts. The connectivity is achieved using the XTAR-EUR satellite and the Santander Teleport 12.0 meter X-band hub antenna in Spain. In Nepal, Tampa Microwave personnel installed a 95 cm X-band manpack terminal in a remote and isolated location where communications remain unavailable. CopaSat and MTN developed the network requirements, employed a network that met those requirements and provided support to the end user. To date, the satellite link has assisted efforts to rebuild multiple schools and homes that the earthquake reduced to rubble.
“This unfortunate natural disaster has caused tremendous destruction and heartache in Nepal,” said Andrew Ruszkowski, Chief Commercial Officer of XTAR. “We happened to be in a position to support the recovery efforts and we felt doing so was core to XTAR values. We’re delighted to be working alongside our partners to contribute to the ongoing effort to bring relief and aid to the people in Nepal. Our small part is made all the more potent by joining a team effort.”
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XTAR, LLC is a privately owned satellite operator delivering X-band services to U.S. and Allied government users. Its two satellite payloads, with high-powered global, fixed and steerable spot beams, readily support mobile applications. Today, XTAR enables mobile command posts, disaster response operations, special operations platforms on land and sea, and airborne sensor data operating in the harshest environments.
Interoperable with WGS, XTAR provides a range of services such as short term solutions for initiating or maintaining coverage, a layered approach to use the two systems in tandem, or as a long term alternative. XTAR users experience non-pre-emptible space segment, operational independence, and faster certification of new technology. Available coverage is from Denver east to Singapore. www.xtar.com.