

#Iridium sat phone free
Télécoms Sans Frontières(TSF) equipped these terminals with free data.
#Iridium sat phone portable
Three portable satellite connectivity devices―known as broadband global area networks, or BGANs―reached Tonga within days. Iridium loaded all nine phones with free airtime. In multiple waves of deployment, WFP in Fiji dispatched three satellite phones, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sent another six. The ETC’s regional and global partners mobilized a rapid response. “In that instance, we looked at who needed to be contacted in Tonga and how we could possibly reach them, knowing they were disconnected,” John says. “We need to react now - we need to respond now.” This was John Dovale’s first thought when news of the disaster reached his office in Fiji, from where he coordinates the World Food Programme- (WFP)-led Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) preparedness and response operation in the Pacific. The undersea communications cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world, and its own islands, was severed in two places during the eruption. The entire island nation was left in shock as falling ash blanketed the landscape. Peak waves towered at heights of 50 feet, flattening homes, schools, and infrastructure on the low-lying coral island group of Ha’apai.

Located 65 kilometres north of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, the blast triggered a tsunami that smashed into the shores of Tonga’s 170 islands. The explosion was heard as far away as Alaska.

The force of the volcanic blast shattered satellite connectivity as it sent a huge plume of ash and debris hurtling into the atmosphere. Satellite phones and portable connectivity devices - these are the means of communications for people on the outer islands of Tonga in the aftermath of the massive and deadly eruption of the undersea Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on 15 January 2022. “I am so happy to be talking to my family,” he says to the nearby disaster management officer, who is overseeing a line-up of 40 people waiting to use the phone. An island resident presses the phone to his ear, uttering a cry of relief as he connects to his family in New Zealand, 2,382 kilometres away. On the tiny and remote island of Vava’u in Tonga, a satellite phone crackles to life. The territory, as defined by the FCC is: the 50 United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in January 2022 was a stark reminder of how telecommunications preparedness can mean the difference between silence and life-saving response. Iridium Subscribers can call 911 from within the United States. Canadian customers need to obtain local emergency numbers before leaving cellular coverage. Iridium 911 services will not work in Canada. For more information about rental options Click Here. We also have convenient and hassle free rental options for Satellite Phones if it is only needed for a certain period of time. Rental options are available through our partner Canada Wide Communications. Iridium Satellite Phones require an Iridium satellite prepaid or monthly phone plan to work.
