Testing your Satellite Phone and other Backup Equipment
Why should you test your satellite phone? It should always work correct? Murphy’s Law says if it can break it will and it could fail when you need it the most. Satellite phones are very reliable but it is a good idea test the unit on a regular basis.
If you don’t already have an emergency plan and emergency equipment in place I highly recommend you put a plan in place. Even if you don’t live on the coast with the threat of a hurricane or tsunami you need an emergency plan. You never know if you could be without power, water, or food for an extended period of time. Every home owner, business and government agency needs an emergency plan in place. An emergency plan looks great on paper but you need to act out this plan have a “dressed rehearsal” at least every quarter. Know where your “tested” backup equipment is located and what procedure you plan to follow when an emergency comes along. The homeowner needs have water, fuel, satellite phone, generator and non-perishable food stored in the event the local power grid is disrupted for days or weeks. A satellite phone would be a valuable communication devise if the local telephone infrastructure is disrupted. GlobalCom offers a number of prepaid and emergency services for every budget allowing you to have a low cost always on always ready satellite phone that does not rely on the local phone system.
The failure with the emergency plan in New Orleans after Katrina was the result of poor planning. There was not enough emergency equipment and resources in place. Their biggest mistake was the lack of “dressed rehearsals”. The plan they had in place looked good on paper but was it rehearsed? Was the plan to use school buses as evacuation vehicles rehearsed? Did they put these drivers in the buses and have them drive a planed route when picking up people for evacuation. This should have been done once a year or once a quarter but most likely never happened. We should all learn from these mistakes and put an emergency plan in place.
The plan needs to have procedure to follow, backup equipment, and an equipment testing schedule in place. All of your emergency equipment needs to be placed on a test schedule which includes satellite phones, emergency lighting, generators, computers, facsimile machines and fuel. Nuclear power plants do a great job testing all their backup equipment on a regular basis. Whether you are a home owner, business owner or government agency we should follow the example of a nuclear plant. Plan for the “worst” and hope for the best. Each item of your emergency equipment needs to be tested at least once a month. If you live on the coast you may want to test the equipment once every two weeks. Your generators need to be cranked and the voltage tested. Your satellite phones need to be tested for voice and data. Testing serves two purposes one you know the equipment is functional and it allows you to be familiar with the operation of the equipment. Being familiar with the operation of your satellite phone is critical. A satellite phone functions differently from a cellular phone. The phone may have worked well when you purchased the unit six months ago but with time you may forget how to properly use the unit in an emergency. The satellite antenna must have 80% view of the sky. You must “wait” till the phone registers prior to using the unit. If you don’t follow these procedures your satellite phone will not acquire the satellite. GlobalCom fixed site units once installed uses off the shelf desktop or cordless phones and have a dial tone like your home phone and but they also must be tested on a regular basis. Even though satellite phones are very reliable you never know if the equipment has failed or the satellite service suspended due to lack of payment.
You may say it won’t happen to me I don’t need an emergency plan I have always stayed out of harms way. It is better to plan for the “worst” and hope for the best. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Are you ready for the “worst”?
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