ITU and Kacific join forces to
boost emergency telecoms and ICT development in Vanuatu
May 21 2020
International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) and Kacific have joined forces to boost the
capacity of Vanuatu to provide a reliable communications
network when disasters strike – and to improve
connectivity to boost socio-economic development.
The collaboration aims to bring
connectivity, in particular to remote and outer islands,
including parts of Vanuatu where existing
telecommunications networks were recently destroyed in
the wake of the Category-5 Cyclone Harold, which cut a
deadly path through the north of the country in early
April.
“This initiative will strengthen
disaster resilience of Vanuatu,” says Doreen
Bogdan-Martin, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication
Development Bureau. “By building closer collaboration,
partnerships and integrating innovative digital
technologies in disaster risk reduction and management,
we can go much further in terms of mitigating against
disasters and saving lives.”
After Cyclone Harold: making a
difference in Vanuatu
The collaboration is already having
a significant impact across the region, not least in
hard-hit Vanuatu where Kacific and ITU provided
equipment, such as Very Small Aperture Terminals
(VSATs), to provide crucial connectivity to help relief
efforts after normal network coverage was wiped out.
A telecommunications tower
destroyed by Cyclone Harold.
On April 7, the morning after
Cyclone Harold passed through Vanuatu, one community
chief expressed his amazement and satisfaction that
people could still access the internet even after all
the big networks went offline. This was due to the
community WiFi service offered by the VSAT provided by
ITU and Kacific.
“Truly, this small network is
amazing, and I can see how important it is for our
communities in times like this,” he said. “Thank you so
much to ITU and Kacific for making communication easy
and still connected during such a difficult time.”
Vanuatu’s government also expressed
gratitude for the support offered by ITU and Kacific, in
particular, to help provide satellite bandwidth capacity
for their Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) in the
affected northern central part of Vanuatu.
The VSATs that were deployed assist
assessment teams on the ground who are helping with
detailed sectoral assessments that will form the basis
for the Post Disaster Needs Assessment for Vanuatu’s
recovery effort.
Setting up a VSAT at one of the
Emergency Operations Centers.
“Prior to Hurricane Harold, Kacific
had been working closely with Vanuatu’s government to
connect remote medical centres and schools,” says
Lakshminarasimhan Sundarrajan, Kacific’s Vice President
of Pre-Sales. “In the aftermath of Hurricane Harold,
Kacific continues to partner with the government and
international agencies, including ITU, to enable
broadband connectivity in unserved areas. Kacific will
continue to support Vanuatu with high-speed broadband
connectivity to reach essential services in the country
during these trying times.”
Beyond equipment: sharing knowledge
and expertise
As part of the Development of
Satellite Communications Capacity and Emergency
Communications Solutions for the Pacific Islands,
Kacific is in the process of donating some 40 1.2m
Ka-band terminals, which provide high-speed satellite
connectivity services that will address, among other
things, the need for better communications in the
aftermath of disasters.
Kacific will also share its
technical expertise by training local partners on using
and maintaining the satellite ground equipment.
Crucially, local partners will be trained to use this
service for emergency telecommunications to aid recovery
efforts following disasters.
One major lesson to be learned from
the disaster caused by cyclone Harold is the importance
of development and implementation of updated National
Emergency Telecommunication Plans (NETPs) by the
countries. When disaster strikes there is no time to
think about what to do and how to organize response. It
is crucial that all stakeholders are prepared beforehand
and ready to take action.
ITU with its Australian funding
partner Department of Infrastructure Transport, Regional
Development and Communications (DITRDC) had worked to
develop NETPs for Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa and
Solomon Islands in the Pacific. At global level, ITU
developed guidelines for NETPs which assist countries in
enhancing their resilience and capacity to provide the
most efficient response to disasters.
Beyond disaster recovery
To the communities of the Pacific –
farmers, fishermen, students and others – ICT
connectivity is critical to gain access to social and
economic services.
Yet, providing reliable
telecommunications infrastructure as a foundation for
economic development in a region as remote large as the
Pacific remains an uphill battle.
That is why ITU is developing
additional strategies to address these challenges as
well as to implement low-cost and reliable network
configurations to minimize the disruptions that can be
caused by both terrestrial and satellite failures
particularly when disasters strike.
To realize this objective, ITU
works with partners like Kacific to develop remote
satellite connectivity capacity.
The systems provided throughout the
region have focused heavily on connecting schools,
particularly in remote areas.
“Most of the installations of
satellite equipment have been in the schools, which
caters to the educational needs – and also serve as the
rural e-community center for other applications like
health services,” said Aamir Riaz from ITU’s Regional
Office Asia Pacific. “On the other hand, some equipment
is strategically kept by countries in repositories which
can be mobilized for any disaster response.”
Next up: Kacific1
Beyond disaster recovery, Kacific1,
which is now fully active, will help to transform Asia
Pacific nations by delivering its citizens with access
to affordable, high-speed satellite broadband.
Kacific1, which uses the
high-frequency Ka-band spectrum, is the most powerful
broadband satellite serving the region to date. Its
high-throughput technology reuses spectrum multiple
times, resulting in greater spectral efficiency and
therefore a lower cost per bandwidth.
“We are delighted to be partnering
with the ITU for this critical initiative,” says Kacific
Founder and CEO, Christian Patouraux. “This initiative
is possible because our Kacific1 satellite is now
delivering affordable satellite broadband to the islands
of the Pacific. This brand new, high-throughput
satellite provides an exceptional service at a fraction
of the cost of other technologies, making its services
practical for rural, remote and even semi-urban
communities. We will create more products and work with
our local partners in each country to increase their
technological expertise and ability to support disaster
preparedness and recovery efforts.”
Sites running the service are
located in rural and remote communities within seven
countries: Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tonga,
Kiribati and Vanuatu. The provisioned bandwidth will be
delivered by Kacific’s high-throughput satellite,
Kacific1, which provides affordable satellite broadband
to 25 nations in Asia Pacific.

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