Twoobii takes portable broadband anywhere

STAFF REPORTER - The Twoobii satellite broadband service from Q-KON was recently demonstrated to be a reliable option for convenience and reliability of portable communications anywhere in Namibia and southern Africa. On an epic trek over 1 000 km of the most isolated desert terrain in the world, the technological forefront of mobile communications was put to the test.

Tanja Schonenborn and Rafael Fuchsgruber took on this race, running 1043 km in total, starting on 20 May at the tallest hiking dune in the world, Big Daddy in Sossusvlei, and ending at Mount Etjo 16 days later.

The organisers of the race approached Q-KON Namibia to provide a communications solution as they would be travelling in areas with limited to no coms available. The team needed to stay in touch with loved ones at home, be able to upload photos and videos of the race and, should there be an emergency on-route, be able to call for help.

Race organiser Nel de Jager said of the technology: “Awesome, awesome, awesome! Proper communication was one of the main concerns we had, but with the Twoobii portable unit, we could travel with peace of mind knowing we would have comms no matter where we are”.

The service is aimed at providing trusted communication for special events and unique user requirements who are travelling to remote locations with no other communication options.

Satellite data communication is a well-established service with various known services provided by global operators such as Inmarsat, Irridium and others. While the reliability of satellite services is well entrenched in the market, previously available options offered very expensive data bundle options, making the service very exclusive and mostly used for emergencies only or very limited broadband usage.

BUNDLES

The Twoobii portable service provides the same anywhere connectivity, ease-of-deployment and reliability through standard Twoobii data service bundles. “This combination makes it a much more attractive options for tour operators, film crews or adventure expedition leaders,” according to the company.

The portable Twoobii terminal is about A3-size and comes in a carry pack suited for rugged environments. To activate the service, users deploy the unit using self-guide instructions to connect to the Twoobii satellite service platform.

The broadband service bundles are unlimited with fixed rates and the billing is not usage based. The standard units operate from normal power supply and can be connected to UPS or generator power.

Twoobii was designed and developed by the integrated teams of the Q-KON group and Intelsat. Twoobii is the follow-up on a range of satellite broadband and access products with the initial service launched back in 2010. Operating on the very advanced Intelsat high throughput satellite EPIC range, Twoobii is the first commercial solution that offers the full advantage of this satellite technology to the general market. Intelsat Ku-band EPIC satellite services such as Twoobii enable cost and performance benefits while still offering high reliability and full continental signal coverage.