A BBC journalist and cameraman used Inmarsat's BGAN mobile satellite service and the new Stratos Global HNS 9201 terminal to report from the Feb. 17 mudslide disaster in the Philippine village of Guinsaugon in southern Leyte Province.
Stratos Global, an Inmarsat distribution partner, helped the BBC to transmit store-and-forward broadcast news reports from the scene of the Philippines mudslide disaster.
The BBC TV coverage of the recovery effort was one of the first news reports to be transmitted using Inmarsat BGAN and the HNS 9201 terminal, according to Stratos Global. Stratos provides solutions to enable journalists to send live television and radio reports from anywhere in the world.
The HNS 9201 terminal for the Inmarsat BGAN service can deliver data speeds up to 492kb/s and is about the size of a small laptop PC. It can be set up and shut down in minutes without special technical expertise. A BBC journalist and cameraman began reporting from the affected area two days after the initial mudslide.
Because the village is so remote, reporters relied on satellite links to file their reports. Guinsaugon is located more than six hours from the nearest airport in Leyte's provincial capital of Tacloban, which is nearly 400 miles from Manila.
BGAN, or broadband global area network, service is scheduled to be available in North America later this year.
For more information, visit www.stratosglobal.com and www.bbc.co.uk.
