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Using BGAN to talk

Portable satellite connections give remote communities a chance to voice their opinions

Gregg Swanson

Using a VoIP conference call feature on a portable satellite connection, remote communities can express their opinions in their own language, and organizations can reduce the travel costs for agricultural projects.

Many organizations, research institutes and government departments have staff members who travel regularly to remote areas. If there is no mobile phone network in the communities where they work, and no fixed telephones, then communicating with colleagues back at head office can be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Field workers who travel for extended periods to rural areas can often feel disconnected. When they leave, the communities will have to wait until their next visit for answers to their questions. In these situations BGAN could provide a useful solution.

Portable BGAN (broadband global area network) terminals connect to a system of three communication satellites to transfer data and voice. Together, the satellites cover almost 98% of the Earth’s surface, which means that the terminal can be used almost anywhere and will connect to one of the satellites via its own built-in antenna. A wide variety of broadband terminals is now available, from different manufacturers, but they can all be linked up to a computer using a USB connection.

Once the BGAN is connected to the satellite network, users can surf the web, send emails and make telephone calls. The price of a single terminal starts at around US$1000, with higher-end units costing more than US$2500. On top of that, users pay a monthly service fee of around US$40–50, and then a charge for every megabyte downloaded, at roughly US$7 per megabyte.

Gregg Swanson, executive director of HumaniNet, a non-profit organization that specializes in providing ICT assistance to humanitarian and aid organizations, has conducted several tests with BGAN and its forerunner, RBGAN (regional broadband global area network). ‘The popularity of mobile phones is a testament to the value of voice communication,’ says Swanson. ‘For the staff of humanitarian, environmental or agricultural organizations working in remote areas, BGAN could be useful to give them email and internet access. Someone working in a remote part of Papua New Guinea, for example, can call a partner organization or head office in Europe or the United States, or could get in touch with a colleague at the university in the capital for a quick response to an urgent problem.’

Teamwork

Most BGAN terminals have a separate handset for phone calls, removing the need for expensive data downloads and reducing the cost to around US$1 per minute for an international call. Using a VoIP application, such as Skype, on a computer connected to the BGAN terminal then allows users to make conference calls, a feature that could be useful for agricultural and other extension workers in remote areas. ‘You can attach a microphone to the computer and let villagers have their say over a conference call using Skype,’ suggests Swanson. ‘You would only need one extension worker or interpreter to travel to the village, with some training on how to set up the equipment.’

Although a conference call using VoIP over the BGAN network would mean expensive download costs, Swanson believes that organizations whose staff travel regularly to remote communities could still save on transport costs. One extension worker with a BGAN terminal and a laptop computer could hold a conference call with community members and colleagues back at head office, or with experts and donor agencies in other countries. An interpreter could also be part of the conference call, working in a different location, but giving community members the opportunity to communicate in their own language. For many organizations, making cheap conference calls could reduce the need for international experts to take expensive flights or for teams of researchers to travel long distances by car. The community would still have the opportunity to have their say but many NGOs could make significant savings.

BGAN can also offer internet and VoIP to many users in a small area. For example, the Hughes 9201 terminal includes an integrated wireless internet connection. ‘We call it the internet café in a backpack. Multiple users can connect to the internet over the wireless network. For an emergency relief team, for example, working on a remote mountainside where there is no mobile phone coverage or any other means of communication, then using a VoIP application would work very well.’

While BGAN offers flexibility to make calls or access the internet from just about anywhere on the planet, the system does have its limitations. ‘BGAN is just one more tool in the ICT toolkit,’ says Swanson. ‘It should be considered as a solution in specific situations, but it is certainly not for general use. It is, however, difficult to imagine a time when mobile phone networks, as they are now, will cover the entire planet. I think there will always be a market for portable satellite equipment for voice and data. For people who work in areas where there is no alternative, BGAN can be an affordable and effective solution.’

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Gregg Swanson is executive director of HumaniNet.