Satellite Technology helping in Haiti

Inmarsat's mobile satellite communications are being deployed to support emergency relief efforts in Haiti following the worst earthquake in the region for possibly more than 250 years.
The scale of the disaster was still being assessed as Inmarsat-sponsored aid agency Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) dispatched a team from its American base in Nicaragua to provide vital emergency support.

Equipment and personnel
Aftershocks were felt measuring 5.9 and 5.5 respectively, and more were being forecast.
The TSF first response team is equipped with Inmarsat mobile voice and broadband terminals, with further equipment and personnel expected to arrive from the organisation's international headquarters in France in the coming days.
TSF will use Inmarsat BGAN and Mini M to provide essential communications services - a critical requirement for co-ordinating the early stages of the response - for the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO), and other NGOs arriving to assist with relief efforts.
Along with the electricity and water supplies, the country's cellular and terrestrial telecoms networks are down, and Haiti is effectively cut off. Satellite communications now provide the only means for communicating to, and within, the country.

Family members
After the initial emergency response, TSF will offer free calls to the local population, enabling them to contact family members. TSF estimates that up to 5.4 million people in the highly populated country are affected.

The ability of the Inmarsat-4 satellites to dynamically reallocate spot beams to areas of high demand will ensure that spectrum is available to essential government and aid operations in the immediate region.

Source: Inmarsat