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UK Maritime And Coastguard Agency Equips With Iridium Satphones
Bethesda MD (SPX) Jul 19, 2006 Iridium announced Monday that the United Kingdom's Maritime and Coastguard Agency has equipped its newly formed firefighting teams with the company's satellite phones to provide reliable communications when responding to fires on ships in the country's coastal waters. The MCA's Maritime Incident Response Group was formed in April to provide highly trained teams capable of being deployed by helicopter at short notice to fires and other emergencies on ships at sea. The MIRG comprises approximately 700 firefighters based at 15 stations strategically located around the coasts of England and Scotland. It is the United Kingdom's first fire and rescue service created specifically for large-scale incidents at sea, and is one of the first of its kind in the world. The Iridium satellite phones and accessories are packaged in a hardened, floating Pelican case and are constantly maintained in a ready-to-go state at each station. The equipment and satellite airtime are being supplied by Applied Satellite Technology, an Iridium service provider. "The Iridium satellite phones will provide voice and short messaging to enhance the command and control capability between the operational commander onboard the casualty and shore-based resources," said Mervyn Kettle, MIRG project manager. "They will supplement the primary VHF radio nets with rescue authorities ashore." "The Iridium satphones will provide an important margin of safety for our teams," Kettle added. "We will never leave any crew isolated on a burning ship at sea unable to communicate. Often, MIRG teams will deploy to locations beyond the reach of VHF radio or GSM phones, and in many cases the ship's mains may be knocked out by fire or explosion, disabling the installed radio and satellite systems." The MIRG units had their first operational deployment in May, responding to a fire on the cruise ship, Calypso, in the English Channel about 20 miles off the south coast of England. "This incident proved the value of the Iridium satellite phones beyond a doubt," Kettle said. "Iridium provides a robust and reliable mobile communication solution for these specialized fire and rescue professionals working in extremely hazardous conditions," said Harvey Hipperson, Iridium sales manager at AST. "Iridium's unique architecture of low-Earth orbiting satellites intersecting over the poles ensures seamless global coverage, even for teams operating in high latitudes off the north of Scotland, using standardized equipment and procedures." "Iridium has become firmly established as a premier supplier of dependable, long-range, ship-to-shore communications for the world's maritime industry," said Don Thoma, the company's executive vice president. "Although Iridium's non-marine business has grown rapidly over the last two years, the maritime sector remains one of our most important core markets and continues to show rapid growth." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Iridium AST Satellite Constellation - multiple satellite deployments in LEO and Beyond
Globalstar Satellite Data Services Cover Alaska to Chile
Milpitas CA (SPX) Jul 14, 2006Globalstar has announced its independent gateway operator in Mexico, Globalstar de Mexico, is expanding its simplex or one-way data coverage throughout all of Mexico and to areas of northern Central America. |
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