huridocs-tech Rural e-mail satellite communications in developing countries

from the Global Knowledge for Development mailing list:

BREAKTHROUGH AGREEMENT REACHED ON RURAL EMAIL
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

For Immediate Release

FRIDAY,  DEC. 10, 1999 - Henry Norman, President of the nonprofit
Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) today announced the signing of
an innovative agreement that will permit it and its collaborators to
bring low cost email services to rural and isolated areas of developing
countries. The other signatories to the unique agreement are commercial
companies, Wavix, Inc. of Maryland (Wavix), and the Surrey Satellite
Technology, Ltd., of Guildford England (SSTL).

VITA is dedicated to bringing technical assistance to the developing
world. In 1993, VITA received a "Pioneer's Preference" license from the
Federal Communications Commission for its early work in non-military
applications of low earth orbiting satellites. SSTL is one of the
world's premier builders of small satellites and had launched its
latest, UoSAT-12, in April. Wavix has been seeking satellite capacity to
transmit oceanographic and meteorological information to its clients,
via the Internet, from ocean buoys worldwide. A three party agreement
has been worked out under which, subject to any necessary FCC approvals,
SSTL will lease a transponder on UoSAT-12 to VITA, and VITA will operate
the transponder in accordance with the terms of its FCC authorization
for a low earth orbit satellite system. VITA will sub-lease capacity to
Wavix, which will make financing available for the arrangement with
SSTL.

VITA is entitled to use 50 percent of the capacity to serve rural
populations in the developing countries and Wavix, Inc. will use the
balance except for a small amount reserved to SSTL. This complex
arrangement took a year to negotiate. However, the parties feel they
have achieved a win-win situation in which the interests of all three
organizations, particularly VITA's commitment to bring communications to
rural populations, are dramatically advanced.

Norman pointed out that "one half the population of the world has never
made a telephone call and most are isolated by poverty, geography and
distance. We will now be able to help bring them into the mainstream of
development. That has been the purpose of this effort and we now have
the means to begin."

John Borden, President and CEO of Wavix, Inc., said, "We are very
pleased that in addition to meeting our own need to transmit large
volumes of data, we can join with VITA in this unique and pioneering
humanitarian venture."

SSTL's Technical Director, Jeff Ward, said, "We are happy to have this
opportunity to work with VITA and Wavix. The negotiations were
complicated, but their ultimate success was assured by the desire of all
the parties to make it happen."

A second satellite in the "virtual constellation," HealthSat-2, is owned
by SatelLife of Watertown, Massachusetts, which was founded by Dr.
Bernard Lown, professor emeritus at the Harvard School of Public Health.
SatelLife has used the satellite since it was launched to provide health
information to physicians and hospitals throughout the world, primarily
in Africa. An agreement among SatelLife, VITA, and Wavix was completed
earlier this year. SatelLife will be able to use both satellites to
carry out its mission and is a collaborator with VITA in the plans to
use the two satellite system for humanitarian and development purposes.
Holly Ladd, SatelLife's Executive Director, expressed her organization's
enthusiastic support for the VITA/Wavix/SSTL agreement and said, "We
look forward to our collaboration with VITA in carrying out humanitarian
and development projects and enhancing the capacity of our sister
organizations from both the developing and developed world to carry out!
theirs. We think the communications system now in place will be a major
step forward." SSTL's Ward added, "We are very pleased that HealthSat-2,
also of SSTL manufacture, will form part of the network."

Norman concluded, "This is the first part of a three part program which
will include non-governmental organizations (NGOs) all over the world
working closely together to develop an information culture in areas
lacking communications. The participation of information providers from
universities and research institutes also will be sought. In the future
we hope to add more satellites, gateways and terminals. We are also
negotiating with commercial satellite communications companies to ensure
that whatever the demand, it will be met. What has been called the
revolution of inclusion is about to be accelerated."

****

For further information, contact:


Gary Garriott (VITA), garyg@vita.org <mailto:garyg@vita.org>

John Borden (Wavix), john.borden@wavix.com

Holly Ladd (SatelLife), hladd@usa.healthnet.org

Jeff Ward (SSTL), j.w.ward@eim.surrey.ac.uk 







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