On December 26, 2004, an earthquake, registering 9.0 on the Richter scale, rocked the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. The quake was powerful enough to trigger a huge tsunami, which devastated the coast of Sumatra, as well as affecting other countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, and thousands more lost their homes and belongings.
Over sixty different organizations responded, bringing disaster relief to the people of Aceh province. These organizations are working in the areas of non-food items, agriculture and food security, sanitation, water, health, education, food, protection, coordination and support, shelter, infrastructure and rehabilitation, and livelihood. Communication is key to their operations. PACTEC, at the request of Air Serv International, arrived on the scene within two weeks of the disaster and began setting up two VSAT communications systems. Many obstacles had to be overcome to accomplish this.
Finding a way to air freight the large satellite dish antennas was a challenge. Transporting cement and clean sand overland to Meulaboh was another obstacle, since the road had been washed out by the waves. After a pole had been cemented in place for the dish in Meulaboh, the location of the Internet café was changed, and a second pole had to be put in place.
Finally, during the install, it was found that some key pieces of the dish were missing, which meant a five day wait while they were shipped from the USA. The first system, in Meulaboh, began operations February 1. The second system, in Banda Aceh, came online February 9.
At each location, an Internet café was set up inside a tent next to the VSAT. In the Internet cafés relief workers from the UN and the NGOs can access the Internet by using one of three available laptop computers, or by connecting their own computer to the network. In addition, each Internet café is also a WiFi hotspot, allowing 24/7 wireless access to registered users. Phone calls are available on VOIP telephones. Through these means, relief workers are able to communicate with each other and the rest of the world.
The Internet cafés are busy from morning until evening. Users are pleasantly surprised by the speed of the connection, which is 1 Mbps downlink, and 768 kbps uplink. They are able to complete their work quickly and easily, without waiting for pages to load. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is using the three Internet café laptops to share maps, briefings, security information, contact information, and meeting notes.
PACTEC is partnering in this effort with: Airserv International; SDN Global, satellite service provider; iDirect, which donated the satellite equipment; and Loral Skynet, which is providing the satellite coverage.
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