A destroyed house on the outskirts of Tacloban on Leyte island. Photo: Trocaire

[Via Satellite 12-19-13] SES, SpeedCast and AsiaSat have donated satellite and service capacity to enable NetHope, a consortium of 41 non-governmental organizations around the globe, to re-establish communication links to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

By using the 36 MHz of capacity on SES’ NSS 11 satellite donated by SES, and the uplink services and ground infrastructure provided by SpeedCast and AsiaSat, NetHope will be able to provide Typhoon Haiyan survivors access to information directly. The services and infrastructure will also support a number of other relief agencies and NGO’s working in the country.

“Damage to critical telecommunications infrastructure has made disaster relief and rapid assessment of the situation difficult. Given that it may be weeks or months before terrestrial infrastructure is up and running, satellite connectivity is vital in providing immediate communication needs,” said Elias Zaccack, senior VP of commercial Americas, SES.

The GVF’s Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Response Programs helped to facilitate this combined industry response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.