Telesat donated satellite capacity to Top Comunications to restore critical communications after earthquakes hit Venezuela. Nearly 2,300 people were killed.
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A Canadian satellite operator is stepping in to restore communications after the earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week.
Ottawa-based Telesat said Thursday it donated satellite capacity to local telecom Top Comunications to help rebuild critical communications, emergency infrastructure, and public safety operations in the affected regions. The company's subsidiary, Telesat GEO, is providing capacity from its Telstar 19 Vantage satellite, which covers broad swaths of the Atlantic as well as central and South America.
Two major earthquakes struck northwestern and central Venezuela on June 24, hitting major cities Caracas and La Guaira. Nearly 2,300 people were killed, according to Wednesday's official death tolls from Venezuelan authorities, and almost 50,000 people remain unaccounted for. Physical infrastructure was destroyed, and digital infrastructure collapsed with it – internet access, power services, and telecom connectivity dropped sharply, making rescue efforts even harder.
Telesat said its satellite services are delivering reliable internet connection to first responders and communities in the most affected areas. Top Comunications is using the donated capacity to power free mobile Wi-Fi stations, the company said in a LinkedIn post.
“There is often a feeling of helplessness when a natural disaster strikes a foreign country. This was an immediate and tangible way that we, alongside Top Comunications, could help the people of Venezuela – and therefore a very easy decision to make,” Dolores Martos, Telesat’s vice-president of sales for Latin America and the Caribbean, wrote in an email.
Satellite imagery is also being used for birds-eye damage assessment. The Planetary Response Network at Lancaster University in the UK is calling for volunteers to analyze satellite images to spot affected areas like broken bridges or obstructed roads. Elon Musk's Starlink is providing free internet service to customers in impacted areas of Venezuela through July 25.
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