UK Resilience
Last updated: 27 October 2008
Commercially available satellite communications assist in enhancing the resilience of telecommunications through diversification.
Through the network of Regional Government Offices, Cabinet Office has made available a centrally negotiated Catalogue of commercial satellite communications equipment and training. The most popular system has been the Inmarsat BGAN system.
UPDATE June 2008
In 2005, Cabinet Office provided satellite handsets connected to the Globalstar network and call time for use in training and responding to emergencies to a community embracing Category 1 responders. Cabinet Office has extended these arrangements to the end of financial year 2008/9. The following manuals for the Telit Sat 550 handsets are availble:
The Globalstar service is delivered by a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites that move across the sky. Although experience of the Globalstar service has been mixed, largely as a consequence of technical problems, the satellites launched by Globalstar in 2007 have improved the service and more are planned. Holders of Cabinet Office Globalstar handsets are encouraged to continue to use them for training and response for which Cabinet Office will cover the cost of additional calls. Advice on using the service can be found on the Globalstar website [External website]
Inmarsat are to add a third satellite to their constellation. As a consequence they have scheduled movements of their existing satellites through November and December, 2008.
The effect of these movements will be that in Scotland and Northern Ireland there will be a five week period where BGAN coverage is unavailable. At lower latitudes, England and Wales should continue to have coverage. Further information is available from Inmarsat [External PDF]. This situation reinforces the need for diverse communications arrangements.
After the moves, the current choice of pointing your portable terminal at one of two satellites (one to the south west and one to the south east) will no longer exist. From the UK we will only be able to see a single satellite further south. However, this satellite will have a greatly increased angle of elevation above the horizon thereby providing improved visibility. If you currently site your equipment through a south west facing window you may need to find an alternative location facing south east. If your satellite capability is delivered through an antenna mounted on the roof of your building the antenna will need to be re-oriented. For those affected, our technology partners will be contacting you to arrange for this adjustment to be carried out for which you will see no charge.
Training was provided by Inmarsat for representatives of Telecommunications Sub-Groups to provide a greater understanding of the system and equipment. The training included the following presentation:
Additional links from the Inmarsat website:
General enquiries: Cabinet Office, 22 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH.
[Terms and conditions, privacy and copyright] [Complaints procedure] [Document readers] [
RSS Feeds] [This website is speech enabled]