4.5 Determining the requirements for CARE’s planned operations

See Annex 20.7 Telecommunication system expansion checklist.

• Meet with the Country Director, Security, Programme and Emergency officers to determine what telecommunications systems and equipment will best suit the needs of the office and response teams.
• Determine which combination of systems will be most useful for the emergency.
• A basic system that is usable under many difficult circumstances in many locations around the world is a set of Iridium hand phones for voice, with a BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) for internet connections. VHF radio should also be included in all high-security risk areas.
• For satellite hand phones, determine the system to be used (Iridium or Thuraya). Be sure to check local coverage (Iridium is global and the Thuraya covers the Middle East and Africa).
• Determine satellite hand phone equipment requirements including:

• number of handsets required
• number of car adaptor kits required
• office requirements. A satellite hand phone with an outdoor antenna (docking station) is recommended as a main office contact phone point
• For satellite internet connection, determine the system to be used (see section 5 for telecommunications systems options). Consider requirements for internet only and/or telephone and internet.
• For radio, determine:
  • what system (HF/VHF) is required
  • number of base station radios required
  • number of radio handsets required
  • number of vehicle radio sets required
• Determine IT requirements (see Annex 20.8 Computing/telecommunications assessment checklist), including:
  • number of additional computers required
  • internet service availability and options (local service providers, satellite terminals)
  • any special software requirements (for example, photo processing or satellite terminal software)
  • IT support requirements (for example, printers for field, flash drives)
• Determine power supply requirements, including uninterruptible power supply (UPS) generator, in coordination with administration staff (see section 6.3).
• With this list of requirements, make a detailed list of all equipment required to fulfil these needs.
• Compare these requirements with what is available now by using the current inventory already compiled to determine additional equipment needs-noting that team requirements may change once exact details are known about the time to purchase and install the equipment, and the cost.