In Puerto Rico, Hughes, an international provider of broadband satellite services, deployed over 900 very small aperture terminals, or VSATs, at sites around the region after Hurricane Maria, enabling broadband-tier speeds of 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload connectivity. Since Hughes was already a service provider on the island, they were able to immediately deploy a number of terminals from local partners such as Today’s Satellite TV and Coamo Satellite Service to critical sites, including pharmacies and hospitals. Further, Hughes partnered with Response Force 1 to assist FEMA’s earliest missions in assessing the damage to the island by deploying satellite terminals to the San Juan Airport and other critical locations.

When it comes to communications, satellite connectivity offers the only true alternate path to terrestrial networks, making it an essential part of emergency preparedness and in getting a community back on its feet in the aftermath of a disaster.

Operating over high throughput satellites, or HTS, the terminals provided the necessary bandwidth and flexibility for first responders to transmit and receive data and images, make voice over IP, or VoIP, calls, as well as help island businesses to re-open and people to connect to their loved ones on the U.S. mainland.

Read the full article on satellites after natural disaster by Dave Zatloukal at Devex International Development