Two hundred and seventy-four million or 274,000,000 — that’s the number of people who will need humanitarian aid in 2022, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. That’s 3.5 percent of the world population, 39 million more than last year’s, and still 274 million too many when you think of its cost in men, women and children’s lives lost and damaged.
Fortunately, humanitarian response and the systems supporting it are evolving apace with the increasing demand for humanitarian aid. Case in point: Rapid Deployment Kit, the humanitarian satcom network management solution.
The Rapid Deployment Kit: What Is It?
The Rapid Deployment Kit or RDK is a portable satellite communications network management solution. It has been developed by the global communications specialist, IEC Telecom, in collaboration with the mobile satellite service provider, Thuraya.
The RDK comes preinstalled with OneGate, IEC Telecom’s future-ready network management solution. OneGate makes a local dashboard available for network segregation, access vouchers, cost optimisation, and many other satcom network administration capabilities.
The RDK comes with the following hardware:
- 3-in-1 antenna (GPS, LTE, Diversity)
- 2 x 98Wh/6,8Ah battery
- Portable mobile satellite services or MSS terminal for data services
- Rugged case
4 Ways the RDK Works for Humanitarian Aid Missions
The following reasons make the RDK the perfect humanitarian satcom network solution.
1. Portability and Rapid Deployment
Typhoons, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural calamities devastate everything in their path, and that includes terrestrial networks of communications. To be effective in their mission, humanitarian aid workers must get deployed with satellite communications equipment.
Humanitarian aid workers also need to be deployed as fast as possible. The first three days after a calamity are crucial. If first responders can bring aid within that critical three-day window, the chances are high that the humanitarian aid mission will be able to mitigate secondary impact issues.
What this means is that, on the one hand, humanitarian aid missions must respond immediately, preferably within the first three days of the calamity. On the other hand, humanitarian aid missions need satellite communications equipment, and transporting such equipment could lead to deployment delays.
As a case in point, very small aperture terminals or VSATs are undoubtedly the current golden standard for satellite connectivity in humanitarian aid missions. However, they’re not something you can simply pack in a bag and take onboard a commercial flight. When bringing such advanced equipment, you are likely to require aid and relief cargo charter services.
In contrast, the RDK is a satcom solution you can pack in a bag — specifically, the case that comes with the kit. Since the batteries may be removed, you can take the equipment with you on a commercial flight.
The RDK is also very straightforward to use and operate. There is no need for a satcom technician to get the satcom kit up and running.
Therefore, after a calamity strikes, a team of humanitarian aid workers can book the earliest flight available, take their RDK with them when they board the plane, and be in the field doing mission-critical work in as short as 24 hours. There’s no need to wait for a cargo plane or a satcom technician to become available.
2. High-Speed Internet Connectivity and Suite of Productivity Enhancing Applications
Traditionally, humanitarian missions used satcom networks mainly for telephony services. They let headquarters talk to their team in the field, let field leadership talk to distributed teams on the ground, and allow different teams to coordinate their efforts.
However, satellite communications are increasingly being used for internet connectivity. The ability to connect to the internet through satellite signals has made a slew of digitalisation options available. Digital applications like videoconferencing and remote system maintenance can increase the productivity and efficacy of humanitarian missions.
High-speed internet connectivity is something humanitarian missions will find extremely useful. This is the reason VSAT is such a popular satcom solution.
Fortunately, the RDK — as light and compact a solution as it is — can provide high-speed internet connectivity. The OneGate network management solution powering RDK comes with TCP acceleration, redundancy elimination, and TCP compression to provide users with network speeds of up to 2 Mbps.
While 2 Mbps is fast for satellite network data, it may be insufficient for bandwidth-hungry productivity applications. The RDK’s OneGate network management solution, however, seamlessly interfaces with a host of digital applications designed to work in low-bandwidth environments.
The RDK can therefore provide a host of productivity-enhancing applications like the following:
- Videoconferencing
- Remote video surveillance
- Remote systems troubleshooting and maintenance
- Telemedicine
- File transfer
3. Network Segregation, Access Control and Welfare Enhancement
When there is limited bandwidth for data-intensive applications, humanitarian missions have no choice but to conserve that bandwidth for mission-critical activities. This means, however, that field personnel might have to go for days, weeks or even months without communicating with the families they left at home.
This is less than ideal. Aid workers could get demotivated if they cannot contact their families for long periods. For personnel welfare, humanitarian aid workers must be given satcom access for personal communications or data requirements.
The RDK makes this possible through OneGate’s ability to segregate corporate and welfare networks. Even if the welfare network’s bandwidth allocation gets used up, the corporate network will remain unaffected, and mission-critical communications could go on as usual.
The RDK’s OneGate technology also comes with user control based on a flexible voucher system. Through a local network management dashboard, the designated network administrator can assign vouchers to the members of the team.
Each voucher will have a corresponding bandwidth allocation. Team members can then access the welfare network by logging into the system using their access voucher. Since RDK also has a Wi-Fi enabler, aid workers can access the network through their personal gadgets or smartphones.
The flexible voucher-access user control system also means humanitarian organisations can extend their welfare network to cover their aid beneficiaries. They will be able to help evacuees and refugees get in touch with their relatives or provide telemedicine consultations on demand.
4. Channel Switching and Cost Control
The RDK is a humanitarian mission first-responder kit. However, once terrestrial networks recover, OneGate enables RDK to seamlessly switch to 4G in areas where GSM coverage is available. The RDK’s least cost routing ability translates to operational cost savings.
The local network management dashboard also allows field leadership to monitor and control the satcom network status. Headquarters can do the same via a remote virtual dashboard. This lets mission control track and regulate the mission’s satellite communications cost.
Prompt Humanitarian Relief Response
First responders have a limited window of opportunity to extend aid and relief to the people who need them. If they miss that window, the situation could worsen due to the secondary impacts of the immediate crisis.
The Rapid Deployment Kit helps humanitarian organisations rapidly deploy their aid and relief missions. With the RDK, humanitarian missions will have a light and portable satellite communications solution they can take with them to the remotest parts of the globe.
