Aug 17, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Kymeta Takes Mobile Connectivity on the Road to Support First Responders During Total Solar Eclipse

Projected to welcome upwards of 100,000 to 500,000 visitors during the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse, the city of Greenville, S.C.’s police department is keeping its force connected with a little help from Redmond, Wash.-based Kymeta.

Kymeta, the company delivering on the promise of global, mobile connectivity, is taking its satellite-connected Toyota RAV4 on the road to provide field trial mobile communications to the Greenville Police Department as cellular data networks become bogged down. “The Kymeta vehicle is equipped with a Kymeta KyWay™ terminal, featuring mTenna™ technology,” said Tom Freeman, Senior Vice President Land Mobile of Kymeta Corporation. The KyWay™ terminal is Kymeta’s mobile satellite terminal.

Kymeta’s selection of Greenville was not an accident. “We chose to provide this testbed service to Greenville because we recognized the significance of the need here,” said Freeman. “Cellular data coverage is a concern for cities along the path of totality nationwide, but of all the cities on the list, Greenville is expected to have one of the largest number of visitors.”

Greenville, population 68,000, has been recognized as one of the best places to view the 2017 total solar eclipse, gaining the attention of news media, eclipse chasers and NASA, which has an official viewing location at the Roper Mountain Science Center. This popularity, and the surge in visitors that could increase the city’s day-of population by up to seven times the norm, will impact communications systems.

“The significant increase in visitors will have an impact on cellular networks, which are likely to face decreased capacity, and that’s a problem,” said Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller. Miller anticipates that the impact will be due to the increase in people uploading photos and video of the eclipse to social media networks, and appreciates the extra support. “Communication is critical to ensuring timely response to incidents and in keeping the public safe,” said Miller. “Having the extra testbed support Kymeta is offering will provide us with an additional means of communication.”

“Kymeta Government Solutions is proud to support the citizens and visitors of Greenville in this effort. The eclipse will allow Kymeta to test our technology in a real-world situation where terrestrial communication networks are likely to be stretched beyond capacity,” said David Kervin, General Manager and Vice President of Kymeta Government Solutions. “Over the last several months, the Kymeta Government Solutions team has been performing extensive trials with military and law enforcement organizations, validating Kymeta technology as a force enabler. We appreciate that the City of Greenville IT team and police department have authorized Kymeta to use the eclipse as an opportunity to again put our technology to the test. Kymeta will use what we learn to make further improvements for our federal, state and local government customers.”

Kymeta’s connected car, and first-of-its-kind antenna technology and satellite connectivity service, have wider implications for the future. “There are a wide range of challenges facing today’s emergency responders, in particular when it comes to communications, especially during large events that put pressure on cellular data networks,” said Dr. Nathan Kundtz, President and CEO of Kymeta Corporation. “With Kymeta, there’s this massive amount of capacity available for the first time on mobile platforms, so first responders always have reliable connectivity on the move. But it doesn’t stop there. That capacity is global; it can be applied anywhere, and it’s available to any type of vehicle, whether you are on land, in the air or on the water.”

Kymeta’s road team is set to provide emergency mobile communication services to the Greenville Police Department before, during and after the eclipse event on Aug. 21.

About Kymeta

What’s the missing link to connecting billions of people to high-speed mobile access? Antennas. And Kymeta offers the world’s only commercially viable electronically scanning satellite antennas and terminals. Kymeta antennas and terminals deliver high-throughput communications for land, sea and air, making mobile connectivity as available as a view of the sky. Plus, the world’s largest satellite operator, Intelsat, has joined forces with Kymeta to deliver KĀLO global access services that combine with Kymeta antennas and terminals to provide revolutionary mobile connectivity. Without Kymeta mTenna technology, connecting and staying connected to all those new satellites while on the move will be difficult, if not impossible.

If it moves, Kymeta will keep it connected. Anywhere.

For more information, visit kymetacorp.com and KALO.net.