SES Deploys Emergency Satellite Communications Service in South Sudan
By Jeffrey Hill | January 23, 2012
[Satellite TODAY 01-23-12] SES successfully deployed its Emergency.lu communication service in Bentiu and Maban, South Sudan and has launched full operations in the field, the company confirmed Jan. 20.
Emergency.lu is a rapid communications solution for global disaster relief and humanitarian missions, developed and implemented as a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg and a consortium of Luxembourg companies SES TechCom, Hitec and Luxembourg Air Rescue. The solution consists of satellite infrastructure and capacity, communication and coordination services, satellite ground terminals and transportation of equipment to disaster areas all over the world.
The Emergency.lu platform was installed by a cooperative effort between the Luxembourg Civil Protection, the U.N. World Food Program and the Ericsson Response Team. SES TechCom Managing Director Gerhard Bethscheider said the Emergency.lu communication terminal will be deployed in the town of Renk in the coming weeks.
“The Emergency.lu platform’s deployment in South Sudan provides instant broadband connectivity aimed at helping to coordinate the recovery and development aid efforts in one of the youngest nations of the earth, which continues to suffer from famine and ethnic clashes,” Bethscheider said in a statement.