[SatNews] Thrane & Thrane is announces it will renew and extend the emergency communications training sponsorship it started with high profile humanitarian NGO Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) in July last year. The new sponsorship was agreed during September 2010 and will see Thrane & Thrane supply further EXPLORER BGAN terminals, including a brand new EXPLORER 325 vehicular terminal for training courses at the TSF bases in Bangkok and Managua.

TSF uses Thrane & Thrane EXPLORER terminals to support training in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for emergency organisations working throughout the region of Latin America. The objective of the training is to build a network of humanitarian professionals trained in emergency telecoms, able to coordinate their efforts and increase the impact of emergency response. A critical part of this training is the use of satcoms systems in the field.

The sponsorship extension includes the supply of 2 x EXPLORER 500 and 2 x EXPLORER 700. Thrane & Thrane will later deliver the recently launched EXPLORER 325 terminal, for use on moving vehicles, which will be used for an upcoming training course taking place January/February 2011. This extensive delivery adds to the EXPLORER 300, EXPLORER 500 and EXPLORER 700 terminals that were supplied for the original sponsorship.

"Thrane & Thrane EXPLORER terminals are used by the majority of the world's emergency response organisations, humanitarian organisations and other NGOs," comments Morten Rishøj, Market Development Manager, Land Mobile Business Unit, Thrane & Thrane. "We're pleased to be in a position to help TSF, as they are dedicated to supporting other organisations in improving their ICT skills, which at the end of the day will help to save lives when they are called into action."

Thrane & Thrane's sponsorship of TSF dates back to spring 2003 when the company donated several terminals to TSF. In recent years, the sponsorship has expanded to include donation of terminals for training seminars. In 2009 Thrane & Thrane supported a telecommunications training program for emergency responders from 40 international NGOs. Beneficiary NGOs of the session held in August 2010 in Managua came from the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Participating organizations are trained to respond to emergency communication issues in crisis zones. The training program includes emergency environment, an overview of telecom hardware and services available for emergencies, as well as hands-on sessions and a simulation exercise.