Satellite system connects eight sites with Internet, email, and voice just days after disaster

ViaSat Inc. installed satellite network terminals to quickly restore communications to midstream EPCO, Inc. energy facilities impacted by hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September. EPCO, a ViaSat Managed Services customer, alerted service personnel as the hurricanes approached from the Gulf of Mexico so equipment could be pre-staged at ViaSat facilities in Atlanta. With roads and infrastructure severely damaged, no common carriers were traveling to the region, so the ViaSat Atlanta crew drove through the night to deliver LinkStar® satellite network terminals and bring the sites back online with Internet access, email, and VoIP (Voice Over IP).

An EPCO Emergency Response Team prioritized the order of the disaster recovery installs after the storms left parts of onshore and offshore communications infrastructure inoperable. Hurricane Gustav struck September 1, and after hitting the road September 3, ViaSat restored communications in Thibodaux (Sept. 4), Houma (Sept. 4), and Sorrento (Sept.5) in Louisiana. The crew returned to Atlanta, restocked their truck, then headed back to the region following the September 13 arrival of Ike to install terminals at Morgan’s Point (Sept. 16) and Sabine Pass (Sept. 17) Texas; Gibson, Louisiana (Sept. 22); and two offshore platforms (Sept. 24/25).

“We had no idea of the magnitude of damage in the area or to EPCO communications systems,” said Jimmy Durham who headed up the ViaSat team. “There were power lines down – some hanging so low we had to stop and make sure the truck would clear – trees in the road, water over some of the roads, homes completely destroyed. And there was also no water, food, or power within 100 miles.”

“The communications infrastructure of these sites was significantly impacted,” said Dan Mueller, director of communications for EPCO. “We asked ViaSat for help and their instant response was critical to recovering our operations after the hurricanes. This is the second time they jumped in and did a great job for us and we have been very pleased with the performance of ViaSat equipment and personnel under very challenging circumstances.”

The EPCO emergency communications network includes a new managed voice service that ViaSat operates from a VoIP gateway at its hub in Atlanta. The service is completely integrated end-to-end and provides guaranteed transport of VoIP calls over the satellite and into the terrestrial network, as compared to “best effort” VoIP, which may or may not be available at any given time.

“I’m very happy that our new managed VoIP service hit the ground running and passed this critical test,” said John Szymanowski, director of worldwide service for ViaSat. “The way our team pitched in to help this customer shows that, beyond our reputation for great technology, we’re developing a responsive and talented service group as well.” 

About EPCO (www.epco.com)

Established in 1968, privately held EPCO, Inc. and its affiliates own significant equity interests in five publicly traded energy partnerships. The EPCO family of partnerships comprises one of North America’s largest midstream energy networks, providing a variety of services, including transportation, gathering, storage, processing fractionation, and terminaling, to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined products, liquefied petroleum gases, and petrochemicals.

« Back to news archive