Government Resilience Programme
In the event of a national crisis, whether natural or man made, an effective communications platform is paramount to ensuring public safety and allowing issues and decisions to be relayed and resolved instantly.
During an emergency, traditional communication methods, such as land and GSM networks, may have become damaged, and will certainly have become congested as everyone attempts to utilise them simultaneously. For the Government Emergency Responders, this is a situation that is untenable, compromising safety strategies and potentially endangering the public.
So what’s the solution, to provide a resilient platform for both voice and data during a crisis situation?
As mentioned, traditional terrestrial systems have their limitations, and we have to look at alternative methods to provide a solution that will remain unaffected by an emergency occurring on the land. Satellite communications provide the answers, remaining totally unaffected by land based events and providing reliable voice and data services during crisis periods.
The Government, recognising this, recently re-defined their strategy to incorporate satellite communications into their Resilient Telecommunications Programme, providing grant funding to every Council within England and Wales to ensure maximum take-up and support.
The overall aim of the strategy is to allow Emergency Responders, at all grades, access to a diverse range of communications equipment, removing reliance upon one network/system. Existing systems such as; PSTN, GSM, PMR, airwave handsets, HF and access to independent services from organisations such as Raynet provide a diverse portfolio, with satellite adding an additional, and final, layer of resilience.
With guidance and advice from satellite experts, Applied Satellite Technology Ltd (AST Ltd), and Government IT service provider SCC, a programme was put into place in June 2007 to educate, demonstrate, and provide ordering facilities for the new satellite equipment.
As satellite communication was a new concept to the majority of purchasing authorities, it was clear from the on-set that additional guidance would be needed to assist the decision makers in purchasing suitable equipment for their individual needs.
Ensuring all responders were made fully aware of the equipment, it’s benefits and capabilities came in the form of Training Roadshows provided by AST Ltd to each individual regions, over a period of some twelve weeks during the Summer of 2007. Thirty roadshows were identified, covering authorities within each of the nine regional government offices, ranging from Newcastle to the North, Exeter to the West and Kent in the South East.
The initial concept allowed for each authority to choose a fixed system/antenna which would allow central usage from one location within a building, such as a Communications Control Centre. However, feedback received as a result of the roadshows indicated that the majority of attendees had a more flexible requirement. Whilst Phase 1 of an emergency may mean congregation of relevant personnel in an identified ‘Emergency Control Room’, loss of power or other external events such as flooding, may lead to moving the Control Room to a secondary location, or indeed to the site of the emergency itself. A fixed unit would of course be no use for these scenarios and it was clear that an element of portability would therefore be required with any equipment supplied.
The roadshows complete, and valuable feedback taken into consideration, AST Ltd could now recommend to Government the equipment that should be included into the Programme. To follow the path of diversity, three different satellite networks were recommended: Inmarsat and Iridium. Equipment ranged from voice only handhelds to voice and data fixed/semi fixed equipment.
The BGAN Explorer 300 terminal, manufactured by Thrane & Thrane in Denmark would provide a voice and data solution in a small, lightweight, portable device. Designed for the Inmarsat satellite service, the device could be operational inside a building via a visual lock on a satellite through a suitable South East facing window, and then easily removed for use elsewhere. Alternatively, a permanent external antenna could be installed on the building in question for use from the central location only, and integrated into the buildings communication systems.
In addition to voice calls, the sole remit of the strategy document, Inmarsat BGAN, (Broadband Global Area Network), also offered a data element, allowing access to up to 492 kbps of IP data. This would allow authorities to continue to access their e-mail and internet and even transmit pictures back from the scene of an emergency. This facility was viewed as an exciting additional function, either for immediate implementation, or for later integration.
Harvey Hipperson, Sales Manager for AST quoted that ‘97% of the users approached to date have chosen the Inmarsat BGAN service as their preferred option, it’s a fitting testament to the BGAN’s flexibility and suitability to situations such as these that it has proved to be so popular.’
The next phase in the programme was to ensure that the equipment could be installed into the locations required, and receive an acceptable signal. Site Surveys were carried out at approximately 400 authorities over a five month period, with multiple AST Engineers out on the road.
For buildings where a view of the Inmarsat satellite was not achievable, or a fully handheld portable device was needed for ‘communications on the move’, the Iridium service was chosen. Some authorities selected products from each service to enable the utmost resilience in an emergency.
Where required, AST provided installation services, taking the opportunity whilst on-site to train potential users with the equipment ‘in-situ’.
In addition to hardware, the satellite systems provided required associated airtime, delivered via a traditional SIM card. AST Ltd, as airtime providers for all systems, supplied a bespoke bundled airtime package allowing use of terminals and handsets on an unlimited basis, but including bundled minutes for testing on a monthly basis.
The programme has gone to plan, delivered on budget and within timescales promised. With only a few installations remaining, the UK is prepared and well placed to react quickly and effectively should a major crisis hit.