Inmarsat help for tsunami warning system
Satellite provider inmarsat has signed a deal with the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to further
upgrade and enhance the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System, Inmarsat
announced.
The deal will see Inmarsat provide its Broadband Global Area Network
(BGAN) service for 50 sea-level stations in the Indian Ocean.
BGAN, which delivers broadband data connectivity via the Inmarsat-4
communications satellites, will enable the transmission of sea-level
observation every minute, versus the current system that uses
meteorological satellites to transmit data every 15 minutes.
Faster transmission could be vital when a tsunami happens.
Increasing the transmission frequency will provide more time and
information for national warning authorities to alert coastal
populations at risk.
The signing of this deal comes on the eve of the three-year
anniversary of the tsunami that devastated parts of south-east Asia in
December 2004. |