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Aftermath of the Cyclone Nargis and the Sichuan Earthquake

The recent May 2008 disasters that hit Myanmar and China led to a great loss of lives. Aside from this devastation brought by the catastrophic events, the disasters also damaged billions worth of properties, including telecommunication infrastructures.

The Situation

Disruption of telecommunications impedes command and control operations, situation awareness, and disaster relief and recovery efforts of the first responders. In such occasion, using satellite technology, like Thaicom-4 (IPSTAR), is the best way to deliver fast and flexible disaster recovery and emergency communications.

Disaster Recovery and Emergency Communications via IPSTAR

IPSTAR, including its engineers and technical staff, played a major role during the aftermath of the May 2008 disasters. Aside from the technological help extended by IPSTAR, it was also involved in the humanitarian and charity efforts in the affected areas in Myanmar and China.

In many of the affected areas where fixed phone and cellular lines were down, IPSTAR provided the only source of communications between first responders. “We are trying to keep IPSTAR running for as long as possible because we are aiding relief efforts to affected areas with no phone lines”, said Phazey, a relief worker in the cyclone-devastated Myanmar.

In addition, IPSTAR helped reunite families and reconnect communities, enabling the rest of the world to witness the many acts of heroism. An online article by the China Internet Information Center stated, “To comfort people in the affected areas, free IPSTAR broadband video systems and 10 phone lines are put up for the earthquake victims to connect with their relatives outside the disaster area.”

Thaicom-4 (IPSTAR) is the only satellite designed for high-speed communications over an IP technology to facilitate seamless two-way broadband connectivity. The satellite solution provides interoperability between networks, broadcasting services, ‘last-mile' connectivity and Ku-band mobile communications whenever terrestrial infrastructures are damaged by natural or man-made disasters. IPSTAR offers affordable bandwidth and satellite end-user terminals for disaster recovery and emergency communications. It allows rapid deployment and flexible service locations anywhere, anytime under its extensive footprint.