Mobile networks and broadband internet access for corporate and consumer
customers operated by PNG DataCo have been restored by SES Networks
following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck near the town of
Bulolo, Papua New Guinea in the early morning hours of 7 May 2019, SES
announced today.
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SES Networks and PNG DataCo restore connectivity to Earthquake-stricken Papua New Guinea (Photo: Business Wire)
Connectivity for DataCo customers was disrupted due to damage caused to
critical nodes of terrestrial and subsea transmission infrastructures
between Port Moresby and Madang following the earthquake. Contingency
teams from SES Networks used an additional O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)
beam to deliver an extra 1.5 Gbps of low-latency IP Transit service to
ease network congestion on DataCo’s damaged primary link. The additional
bandwidth was made available within hours of receiving a request from
DataCo.
“Together with DataCo, we are glad that connectivity has been restored
swiftly to enable communications and critical disaster recovery services
in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake,” said Imran Malik Khan,
Vice President, Global Fixed Data Sales of SES Networks. “We recognise
the importance of communications services in the event of natural
disasters to facilitate quicker information transfer between families
and communities, as well as to coordinate recovery and search-and-rescue
operations. Our thoughts are with the affected communities, and we offer
our well wishes.”
“It is our duty to provide the essential communications links for our
customers to connect with their loved ones and facilitate critical
business and operational activities,” said Paul Komboi, Managing
Director of DataCo. “We are glad that SES’s O3b MEO satellites has
provided us and our customers with a reliable, high-throughput and
low-latency solution in our time of need. The fact that connectivity
services were restored in the shortest possible time at critical areas
where our primary linkages were down has helped the local communities,
businesses and organisations greatly.”
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About SES
SES is the world’s leading satellite operator with over 70 satellites in
two different orbits, Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit
(MEO). It provides a diverse range of customers with global video
distribution and data connectivity services through two business units:
SES Video and SES Networks. SES Video reaches over 351 million TV homes,
through Direct-to-Home (DTH) platforms and cable, terrestrial, and IPTV
networks globally. The SES Video portfolio includes MX1, a leading media
service provider offering a full suite of innovative services for both
linear and digital distribution, and the ASTRA satellite system, which
has the largest DTH television reach in Europe. SES Networks provides
global managed data services, connecting people in a variety of sectors
including telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as
well as governments and institutions across the world. The SES Networks
portfolio includes GovSat, a 50/50 public-private partnership between
SES and the Luxembourg government, and O3b, the only non-geostationary
system delivering fibre-like broadband services today. Further
information is available at: www.ses.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190512005004/en/