Maker
Worst-
Case
Internet
The Network Relief Kit brings
online connectivity to disaster
sites. By Mike Outmesguine
5 1 4 6 2 63
For more information, visit nethope.org.
Communications is often the first service to go down after a disaster, assuming the area even has a connected infrastructure to begin
with. Cellphones, EVDO, DSL/cable internet, and
even land lines go down quickly when exposed to
water or faced with power outages and broken fiber
lines. But you can always count on the sun, a battery,
and a satellite orbiting 22,000 miles high.
The backpack-portable Network Relief Kit (NRK)
from NetHope does just that. Utilizing solar-electric
battery charging and low-power satellite hardware,
the $3,500 NRK brings together all the technology
needed for a quick uplink to the outside world. It
features a selection of easy-to-configure appliances
designed to get field workers up and running quickly
and easily with email, voice, video, and internet at
very usable speeds.
The NRK relies on the Inmarsat Broadband Global
Area Network (BGAN) satellite service, which is
marketed toward the extreme business traveler
dealing with disconnected parts of the world.
The BGAN connection requires a laptop-sized
satellite terminal. Service costs around $1 a minute
for regular voice calls and $3 to $6 per megabyte of
data, plus monthly or annual subscription fees. Data
speeds are up to 492kbps send and receive, and
the service supports IP streaming up to 256kbps,
making adequate-quality video possible.
BGAN satellite signals cover most of the globe,
via three geostationary Inmarsat- 4 satellites positioned over the equator: the I- 4 Asia-Pacific over the
West Pacific off Indonesia, the I- 4 EMEA (Europe,
Middle East, Africa) over the Congo, and the newly
deployed I- 4 Americas over the East Pacific near the
Mike Outmesguine is president and founder of TransStellar,
Inc., a technology services company, and the author of
Wi-Fi Toys.
You can always count on
the sun, a battery, and a
satellite orbiting 22,000
miles high.
BACKPACK BROADBAND: The NRK includes all the
necessary equipment for quick field deployment,
and fits in a backpack or small suitcase.
Main components include:
1. Inmarsat BGAN satellite terminal
2. Fold-flat 48-watt solar power kit
3. Small, lightweight laptop computer
4. 8-hour battery power supply
5. Carrying case or backpack
6. Various phone, network, and USB cables, power
adapters, chargers, and controllers to bring it
all together.
Also recommended: Wi-fi router, ruggedized laptop,
analog phone (if not available where you’re going)
Galapagos. Absent from proposed BGAN coverage
are the Arctic and Antarctic regions, with coverage
fading around the 70th parallels. Relief agencies
working in the polar regions will have to rely on
another service such as the faster but less portable
VSAT satellite technology.
Photograph by Kate Lacey
44 Make: Volume 19
