November 20, 2018
HISPASAT, the Spanish satellite telecommunications operator, together with Syntelix, a satellite communication services provider specialising in the maritime sector, are collaborating in order to provide satellite communications free of charge to the boats of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Proactiva Open Arms.
The satellite operator will assign managed space capacity so that the boats of the NGO, the Open Arms and the Astral, can have satellite Internet access during the rescue work carried out in the Mediterranean Sea in aid of those people who try to reach Europe to escape the war or the misery they suffer in their countries of origin.
Syntelix will provide the necessary technological means and will take charge of the installation of the equipment, maintenance, operations and customer service. The Open Arms has departed today from Barcelona for a new mission with the new equipment already installed and in operation. Over the next few weeks, the equipment will be installed in the Astral, which is now under review in the port of Denia.
The service will be provided through the Hispasat 30W-5 and Hispasat 30W-6 satellites, located in 30º West, whose coverage over the Mediterranean makes it ideal for this type of solution. In addition to satellite Internet access, the organisation's two ships will also be equipped with an IP telephone service so that they can communicate between the ships and with their headquarters on land.
Oscar Camps, director of Proactiva Open Arms, has valued this collaboration very positively because, he considers, "for Open Arms it is essential to be connected during the rescue missions both to perform the tasks of location and coordination and to be able to transmit what is lived in the sea and put eyes where there is nobody and to denounce the human rights violations that we find in the middle of the sea”.
Carlos Espinós, the CEO of HISPASAT, is happy to “be able to contribute our technology to collaborate in an essential humanitarian endeavour - saving the lives of human beings in a desperate situation. For HISPASAT it is important that technology can be useful for people; there's no doubt that in this case it will be essential in order to coordinate the rescue work, and there's nothing more important than that”.
For his part Carlos Derqui, the CEO of Syntelix, stated that "the monitoring and rescue work that Proactiva Open Arms does is extraordinary and admirable. Being able to collaborate in improving its communications systems is vital".
The solution that HISPASAT and Syntelix offer involves an innovative, flexible and adaptable service, which has been created to respond to the connectivity needs in mobility settings, such as the nautical sector. The service provides broadband Internet access, connecting these types of ships and in a wide range of options suited to the users' needs, from basic connection for the crew to the highest quality link to receive IP TV or to connect thousands of passengers on a cruise ship; always tailor-made and on demand.
With this initiative, which forms part of HISPASAT's Corporate Social Responsibility policy, the company strengthens its commitment to the development of people and the community, providing access to communications, collaborating in projects where terrestrial infrastructures are not possible and where the company's activity yields benefits for society.
