Datasat Communications offers new wave of TETRA network services for mining

Datasat Communications, a company well-known for providing quality remote satellite communications services, announced recently that the company is offering a new range of TETRA network services aimed at mine operators who plan on upgrading their analogue Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) networks to digital ones. The service delivers design, build and network transition to allow operators to enjoy TETRA standard mission critical voice and data services via satellite infrastructure integration and wireless broadband.

The new services from Datasat are custom-designed to improve the capabilities and reach of TETRA networks via a series of rapid deploy solutions and satellite backhaul.

In a company statement, Datasat Communications General Manager Bernie Branfield said that radio communications is a crucial part of all remote mine operation. The development of PMR paves the way for companies to improve their mission critical voice services and deliver fail safe data services in areas such as asset management, health and safety, and operational effectiveness.

"TETRA is now an important critical communications technology in a number of industries including public safety and security, mining, transport and utilities,” Branfield added. “Its excellent voice capabilities – such as group calling – are now complemented by enhanced data services that greatly increases the range of applications where TETRA is a viable solution. Datasat Communications has experience of using satellite to ensure the availability of mission critical communications in remote areas. We also have the wireless and terrestrial communications capabilities for modern organisations to integrate TETRA into a single communications infrastructure."

SpeedCast announces acquisition of Australian Satellite Communications

A December 6, 2012 announcement from Hong Kong-based SpeedCast revealed its recent acquisition of Australian Satellite Communications (ASC.)

SpeedCast is a global network and satcom services provider. The Company and its majority shareholder, TA Associates, jointly acquired ASC.

ASC delivers satellite communications services to customers across Australia. It serves the mining and oil & gas industries, as well as construction, government, and maritime sectors.

According to a statement by Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast, the Company is implenting a strategy of organic and acquisitive growth. Acquiring ASC allows SpeedCast to consolidate its leadership in the Asian market. It can also deepen its inroads into the oil & gas, mining and other verticals of the the Australian market.

In turn, ASC can provide a bigger variety of satellite communications products and services to its customers. It can also serve clients on a global scale instead of being limited to Australia. 

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Australian satellite company exhibits at Diggers and Dealers 2012

The Goldfields Arts Centre in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia hosted one the leading annual mining conferences in the country, the Diggers & Dealers 2012, last August 6 to 8. Aside from bringing together investors, miners, suppliers, and those involved in the mining sector, the event also welcomed companies and organizations which deliver services that make mining operations more efficient.

NewSat at the Diggers and Dealers Forum

One of the exhibitors at Karlgoorlie was NewSat Ltd, Australia's leading independent satellite communications company. Alongside the mining boom, the satellite sector has also seen increasing demand for their services and technologies. The mining industry has been taking advantage of satellite communications for the successful operations of many remote mining locations.

NewSat's booth at the mining conference

NewSat showcased its many products and services, including Internet, data, voice and video conferencing perfectly suited to mining operations. The company also discussed how its world-class teleport facilities can provide the necessary communications platform for entertainment systems in the mining sites. With satellite communications, the FIFO scheme in the industry has been given an alternative, and along with operations efficiency, employee welfare has been improved. 

Just recently, the company snagged a lucrative teleport contract along with BAE Systems, to deliver offshore and onshore communications to the Wheatstone Project in Western Australia. 

iDirect SatManage network management systems ready to serve Elara Comunicaciones

VT iDirect announced that Elara Comunicaciones will be leveraging iDirect's SatManage network management system to provide its customers in the mining, oil and gas, and maritime sectors with greater network monitoring functionality.

Based in Herndon Virginia, VT iDirect provides satellite communications and IP network technology to customers around the world. Its current customer, Elara, is a Mexico-based satellite service provider that operates over 2,000 active remotes serving different verticals in the mining, oil and gas, and maritime sectors.

Elara needed an optimized network management system that would provide customers with comprehensive insight into their network operations. iDirect responded by installing its SatManage suite to manage Elara's numerous remote assets.

A sophisticated suite of Web-based tools that automate, monitor, and integrate hybrid networks and NOC-based applications, SatManage can provide traffic usage information, create customized reports on  the performances of IP networks, and monitor location and health status of their remotes via a Web-based portal. SatManage will let a company directly share its network performance data and management tools with its customers. The software suite was designed to be easily accessed and understood.

SatManage will reduces issue response time for Elara, which will improve the rate at which the Mexican company retains and acquires customers. Elara will also be able to focus on its core competencies, allowing it to provide more value-added services to both new and retained customers.

Elara installed SatManage back in March of this year. The iDirect software will ostensibly achieve operational status this August.

If SatManage works out for Elara, it might be interested in VT iDirect's recently-released upgrade. The enhanced SatManage 5.2 network management software will have new features like an automated SLA Manager and Web Service APIs.

Datasat: Communications infrastructure key to long-term value in mining industry

An optimized remote communications infrastructure can help mining companies control costs and increase business efficiency, according to a recently-released positioning paper by Datasat Communications

The mining industry is currently enjoying an eight-year commodities supercycle of growth. However, the slowdown of the Chinese market has prompted some speculators to predict that the supercyle is coming to an end. There are also fears that another twenty-year slump akin to the 1973-2003 "dark age" is looming in the horizon.

In order to make the most out of the possible downturn, mining companies must maximize the efficiency of their operations. One of the ways to do so is to optimize existing and planned remote communications infrastructure.

Datasat's positioning paper detailed the pivotal role played by remote communications in maximizing the value of a mining organization's technology investment. According to Bernie Branfield, General Manager of Datasat Communications, the communications infrastructure of a mine site is worth several times the initial investment.

Mining companies have unique business needs and budgets. Their communications solutions must be specifically tailored to those requirements. Effective cost management will maximize operations efficiency, which is important in these times of diminishing returns where mines require 50% more effort and expenses to extract the same amount of resources that they used to do ten or twenty years back.

To create a communications infrastructure that ensures high levels of performance and availability, mining companies may avail of a great range of network technologies. Satellite communications services can now provide high data rates and secure connections over inter-site and inter-country distances at affordable prices. Similar advances for wireless and mobile communications bring a wide range of applications that are used for intra-site and site-to-site communications.

An optimized remote communications infrastructure can provide innovative solutions. The idea is to increase the efficiency of mining operation during and after the mining supercycle. Remote communications can lower operational costs by allowing more remote operations to be performed on sites. It also adds long-term value to the project by allowing the infrastructure to perform tasks that it hitherto could not be used.

For example, communications infrastructure can be used to maintain a social licence with local communities through close communication. By expanding their existing communications infrastructure to encompass to nearby communities, mining operators can use it to educate and entertain said communities, which will improve their relations.

To this end, a mining company should be careful in selecting a network service provider. The mining company and the network service provider must work together to delineate the mine's specific requirements and create a communications infrastructure perfect for its needs and budgets.

Mining Sites in Australia rely on Satellite Communications

Many of today's mining companies face tremendous challenges accompanying their growth. In Western Australia, the sector has seen a boom but along with it, the rise of unique geographic and operational challenges. Rich mining sites are often found in remote regions, and the cost of bringing in equipment and human resources is quite expensive. The booming mining economy in Western Australia has also seen fierce competition among mining companies who hope to keep the best staff within their turf. To do this, companies invest greatly on employee welfare, trying their to best to ensure the safety of miners, and of course, their entertainment. However, the remoteness of mining locations often force the companies to spend on a costly FIFO or Fly-in Fly-out scheme, to help deter homesickness among employees. 

Mining boom in Western Australia presents unique challenges

An alternative to the FIFO scheme is an investment on satellite communications for mining. Due to geographic limitations, mining sites cannot fully rely on terrestrial communications infrastructure. Some of these sites are simply too-far flung for the reach of fibre optic networks and cables. What satellite communications offer is unbridled infrastructure that can be the groundwork of improved infotainment systems in mining sites for the miners. 

High-speed data carried by satellites allows entertainment systems to be built in this distant work locations even in the harshest environments. These robust communications systems give miners the opportunity to connect with their loved ones through voice and video conferencing, lessening the stress from an exhausting fly-in and fly-out scheme, as well as the emotional test of homesickness. Digital entertainment platforms can also be built to provide miners off-duty activities. They can stream movies, enjoy Skype, free-to-air TV, as well as make the most of room-to-room communications. 

Satellite broadband in place in mining sites

In Australia, the Mining Camp Entertainment Systems and R-Group has relied on satellite communications from NewSat to deliver real-time, streamlined, satellite communications to over 1,000 rooms across various mining sites. By providing miners connectivity, as well as entertainment, mining companies are focusing on improving employee retention and productivity, as well as reducing operational cost from employees constantly leaving and returning. Unique solutions such as these are crucial for a mining industry facing equally unique hurdles as result of the booming mining economy in WA. Innovative solutions are now the determining point in helping mining companies succeed in remote regions.