It’s unfortunate that it sometimes takes a disaster or emergency to bring struggling countries into the light. Haiti became a household name when a catastrophic 7.0 Magnitude earthquake shook the islands on January 12, 2010. For a struggling country, what little infrastructure stood fell with the buildings. Haiti went dark. The world had to wait for satellite communications to be established in order to access the situation, organize relief efforts and see what the country looked like in the wake of such a disaster. With basic supplies in such high demand, any ability to communicate with the outside world would be even slower. Satellite internet in Haiti would have to wait with little to no emergency plan or provisions in place.

In order to establish satellite internet in Haiti, mobile VSATs were needed so that crews could remain flexible as they moved through the islands. When you need communications, any communication is better than what exists. The communication that was established allowed the relief effort to be better communicated than with the little ability before Haiti had satellite internet.

With so many natural disasters in the world, a plan for responding to one is imperative. The money to afford to mobilize the plan is another. Assessing damage and accessing and distributing supplies, tending to the injured, search and rescue efforts must all be coordinated and executed and somewhere in the mix is establishing a basic communications infrastructure to orchestrate it all.

Providing satellite internet to Haiti for the long term will come with rebuilding. The international financial support will provide for a better infrastructure than existed before and VSATs in Haiti will be more common than ever. It is unfortunate it had to come at such a price.

Whether you need satellite internet to support reconstruction efforts or you are building a business, let us know how we can support your network.