Category: Blog

The Wired Review of the Sat-Fi, iSatHub and Iridium Go Satellite Voice and Data Solutions

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION HAS become much more accessible to recreationalists in recent years. One- and two-way text messaging devices from SPOT, DeLorme, and TextAnywhere have already made strong headway into the hands of amateur and professional adventurers. Now there’s a new generation of satellite communications options for amateur adventurers and professionals alike.

The three satellite devices I tested all work by creating a portable, satellite-based Wi-Fi network for your smartphone, tablet and/or laptop to connect to. Then they can make voice calls or transfer data (email, text messages, upload photos, etc.). I tested them in a variety of situations and environments, including remote areas like the deserts of Utah and Arizona, in the mountains of Colorado, and along the rivers and lakes of the Maine Woods. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able conduct tests in any far-flung international destinations.

Read Full Wired Review Here

Cellular just isn’t enough for remote Drag Racing Event

Imagine 10,000 people all competing for the same cellular network at a drag race in the middle of nowhere. Imagine thousands of people making phone calls, posting photos, updating facebook, vendors selling merchandise for point of sale transactions. A network doesn’t get any more congested than this scenario.

Check out this video from our partners at SatCom Direct and see how the day was saved with a custom built, robust, end-to-end satellite solution for racing legend Don Schumacher’s team.

Watch the Video Below

For more information about ViaSat Excede, contact [email protected] today

Inmarsat has reported the launch of Fleet Media, the entertainment service it announced last year which will see a wide variety of content delivered to commercial vessels at sea, and available to crew on demand. A combination of films and TV will be available on board, as well as news and sports. An initial library will be pre-loaded on to a hard drive, with fresh content and news updates delivered to vessels via satellite link.

Speaking to Digital Ship when Fleet Media was first announced in April 2014, Inmarsat said that it will be utilizing network management tools and techniques to control the download and refresh of data to ensure that normal network efficiency and conditions are not degraded.

Read Full Article Here…..

PORTSMOUTH — Two men were rescued about 60 miles east of Chincoteague by the Coast Guard early Tuesday morning after they reported their sailboat was damaged and they were in distress.

Read Full Story Here…..

When Cyclone Pam smashed into Vanuatu on 13 March 2015, it not only damaged homes, crops and water sources but also wiped out mobile communications connectivity. As the cyclone bore down on the islands, thousands of families were unable to connect with their loved ones across the country and internationally.

Mariano Griva, a Red Cross delegate for the Restoring Family Links program says people often fear the worst if they don’t have confirmation that their loved ones are safe and well.

Read full story here…..

Baja Off-Road Racing style

Few of us have ever traveled 120 mph anywhere in anything, save of course being sealed up in an aluminum tube at 35,000 feet, where you really have no sense of moving at the crazy speeds that airplanes travel today. Maybe you’ve driven on the Autobahn in Europe. If so you’re one of the very few that may have experienced moving over the ground at speeds in excess of 100 mph. Even if you have driven a car with as much torque as the P85D Model S Tesla for example, it was likely on a smooth road, maybe sipping your coffee with your free hand. It was not the bone jarring ride of the typical off-road racing vehicle.

Remember the mechanical bull in Urban Cowboy? Well strap yourself on that bull, turn it all the way up and then hang on while you move that bull down the road at 100 mph plus and you begin to get a sense of what it’s like driving an off-road racing machine…both hands on the wheel, helmet firmly in place, strapped in with an H seat belt system as you fight to see through the dust of the vehicle in front of you.

These off-road machines seldom are one offs, operating independently of each other. More often they are grouped by teams, usually 3 or 4 vehicles, sometimes more, along with multiple chase and support vehicles. Support vehicles that are challenged with the responsibility of knowing where each team member is at all times as well as the condition of the vehicles themselves and the personnel that man them.

It’s an awesome responsibility that demands constant communications over hundreds of miles of absolutelyG2-Land-Mobile-default desolate terrain. Terrain where there are no cell phones or landlines available. Terrain so expansive and so rugged that it often does not support VHF or UHF radios. Terrain where there is only one viable option, satellite communications. Enter the MSAT G2, the proven push-to-talk voice solution for off-road racing.

If you’re racing anywhere between Ecuador and Alaska, New Foundland and Hawaii, California and Florida, the MSAT G2 Satellite Radio will work for you when nothing else does. Neither you nor your competition will likely even notice the extra low profile antenna mounted on top of the cab. The service is structured so you have the ability to set up your own private talk group comprised only of your team drivers and support personnel, even owner’s if you like. You’ll be able to communicate with everyone in your talk group, under ANY conditions over ANY terrain in ANY weather at ANY time….with the push of a button. How cool is that?

Speakers and microphones are helmet mounted and can be interfaced with your present radios. Transmission clarity is comparable to your mobile phone or land line and last but not least, the whole system is extremely affordable. Doesn’t get much better than this.

Simply stated, there is no comparable satellite system to the MSAT G2 for off-road racing. No other satellite radio supports the configuration of flat rate (non-usage sensitive) Private Talk Group communications which makes the MSAT G2 the most cost effective satellite voice solution on the planet.

When Chabad of Nepal got word that 50 people were stuck in several remote villages with no food, electricity or water, they sprang into action, organizing an effort to try and reach them. But a rescue mission to deliver food and a satellite phone to them by motorcycle yesterday ended after a 10-hour journey that met with blocked roads and no way to get through to them.

Read Full Story Here……

The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) has deployed satellite phones and portable satellite data terminals in Nepal following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country on 25 April 2015.

“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people and the Government of Nepal following loss of life even as the toll continues to rise and widespread devastation across the country,” said ITU secretary general Houlin Zhao.

Read Full Story Here….

In 1860, the first international news service, Reuters, opened its doors in Australia and capitalised on the country’s lack of connectivity; charging the average weekly wage per word for a message from London. Today it’s free to Skype news to friends, family and colleagues anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection.

Although expensive, even in the 1860’s vital communication lines were available to ensure people were contactable. Today, due to advances in transportation and communications technology Australia is a much smaller place, making it easier to connect and stay in touch

Read Full Story Here….

Check out our website for more information on the iSatHub and other Portable Satellite Voice and Data Solutions for mining applications.