Press Releases
SES advances next-generation MEO strategy following successful completion of IRIS² Rendez-vous 1
IRIS² expands SES's differentiated MEO architecture while supporting Europe's secure, sovereign multi-orbit connectivity ambitions
Digicel Pacific Bolsters Coverage across Papua New Guinea with Additional O3b Capacity from SES
40% increase in MEO capacity will enable Digicel to rapidly restore high-performance communications networks in times of outages
Luxembourg, 2 November 2022 – Digicel Pacific, the leading telecommunications provider in the Pacific region, is bolstering its coverage in Papua New Guinea, leveraging SES’s O3b medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite system to provide its customers with seamless connectivity following damage to the international Pipe Pacific Cable (PPC) which typically connects Papua New Guinea to Australia and rest of the world.
The additional O3b services will continue to help Digicel Pacific maintain connectivity during outages caused by such cable breaks while also expanding coverage across the remote parts of the country, a crucial enhancement for the 80% of Papua New Guineans residing in rural areas.
The support from SES comes at a critical time for the South Pacific island after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in September caused damage to multiple cable systems, resulting in large disruption to data services across most of the country. During the disruption, SES assisted Digicel Pacific with emergency bandwidth, providing an increase of 40% in high-performance, low-latency O3b services deployed across 12 sites throughout the country to keep communities connected. SES also stepped in with an incremental 3 Gbps of capacity and additional ground equipment to enable Digicel Pacific to restore its network connectivity and critical communications services for both consumers and telecommunication customers.
With this move, SES confirms its position in the region as the only satellite provider who has the capability to commit to high-throughput, low-latency services to mobile network operators, enabling them to quickly restore communications networks in times of outages. Likewise, for the past decade, governments and businesses around the Pacific – including other islands prone to natural disasters like the Kingdom of Tonga – have similarly leveraged the O3b system to provide resiliency to their networks in times of need. The availability of high-speed bandwidth and low-latency connectivity has played a key role in narrowing the digital divide in Papua New Guinea, particularly in parts of the nation not reachable by fibre.
“Unfortunately, we have seen more frequent and intense natural disasters occurring in the Pacific Islands over the last decade, which is why safeguarding networks and providing network resilience is more critical than ever,” said John Turnbull, Director for Fixed Data, Pacific at SES. “SES and Digicel Pacific are committing to connect residents in Papua New Guinea with the high-performance and most reliable connectivity needed to accelerate restoration efforts. With O3b mPOWER, we can further leverage the system’s future-proof scalability and guaranteed performance to achieve an even higher level of network resilience and safety.”
“We are grateful for SES’s swift response in provisioning additional capacity to enable us to plug urgent and unprecedented connectivity gaps. Our partnership with SES has been critical to not just disaster relief efforts in Papua New Guinea, but in connecting remote populations across the Pacific region. We have had a long relationship with SES, who understands the region and steps up to support Pacific nations in times of need, connecting the otherwise unconnected people in the region. We look forward to exploring the enhanced capabilities of SES’s O3b mPOWER satellite system to fortify network connections thus minimising network disruptions in the event of future disasters,” said Colin Stone, Chief Executive Officer at Digicel PNG Ltd.
For further information please contact:
Suzanne Ong
External Communications
Tel. +352 710 725 500
[email protected]
SES Government Solutions Rapidly Deploys O3b Service in Response to Hurricane Ian
A dedicated medium earth orbit satellite communications network has been established by SES Government Solutions to support disaster response relief in Southwest Florida
Reston, Va., November 1, 2022 – SES Government Solutions (SES GS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, rapidly deployed high-throughput low-latency medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite service and ground terminals to restore broadband connectivity for local communities and first responders in Lee County, Florida, who were impacted by Hurricane Ian.
SES GS, alongside SES and SimbaCom, responded with the deployment of the high-performance connectivity service in support of the AWS Disaster Response program and their standby partner, Help.NGO. The interim service was provided over the affected very large territories in the hours immediately following the major devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in September.
In the wake of Hurricane Ian's landfall in Southwest Florida, SES GS and SimbaCom field teams initiated on-the-ground efforts at the request of AWS Disaster Response, deploying communications infrastructure that leverages SES's global O3b MEO satellite constellation. In the absence of reliable ground connectivity systems due to the severe impact of the hurricane, the MEO satellite-enabled solution allowed the delivery of fiber-like communications service to state agencies and distribution centers for Lee County residents and first responders.
SES GS and partners supported the AWS Disaster Response program by installing interim broadband connectivity to the following Florida community resource sites:
- Florida Department of Financial Services - Insurance claim processing centers in Fort Myers and Port Charlotte
- Distribution Centers - Family Initiative in Cape Coral; Community Cooperative in Lee County; and Abuse Counseling & Treatment (ACT) Center in Fort Myers
- Fuel Relief Fund - Fuel distribution site providing emergency fuel for first responders and evacuees across Lee County
“The category 4 Hurricane Ian crashed into Southwest Florida with 150-mph winds, leveling communication infrastructure and terrestrial networks on its path,” said SES Government Solutions President and CEO David Fields. “When natural disasters strike, MEO-enabled satellite communications service remains some of the most reliable and rapidly deployable high-performance connectivity to restore broadband links communities need, to get life back to normal. We are immensely humbled to play our part in supporting AWS Disaster Response and providing enhanced fiber-like connectivity for their recovery efforts, with dedicated SLAs for critical life-saving missions.”
For further information please contact:
Jon Bennett
VP for Government Affairs, Marketing & Communications Manager
Tel. +1 703 610 0998
[email protected]
