Individuals on Lipayran Island testing the satellite communications equipment. Photo: NETRelief

[Via Satellite 06-23-2014] Non-profit organization Network, Engineering and Telecoms Relief for Disaster Recovery (NETRelief) is donating Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) terminals and IsatPhone Pro satellite phones to several isolated Philippine islands affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The super typhoon struck in November of 2013, and marks the deadliest storm to hit the Philippines, killing an estimated 6,268 people.

The charity donated a BGAN Explorer 500 terminal and a 100-unit SIM card to the island of Lipayran, a tiny island off of the coast of another remote island called Bantayan.

“We chose this islet because after the super typhoon, it was left with virtually no communication with its parent island of Bantayan and barely any communication with the outside world for over a week,” said Eric Wetterauer, a NETRelief volunteer. “In the event of another catastrophe, they will now be able to communicate with the world and coordinate relief.”