Satellite communication is often the only option for
workers in remote regions, but UK-based oilfield service
companyExprosays not all suppliers offer the same business
value.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Expro has a presence in
more than 50 countries, with about a third of its 4,000 employees
in Europe, a third in the US and the rest distributed across South
America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Expro's business is providing a variety of services and
equipment to the oil and gas industry, but this typically involves
working in the remotest regions of the world that lack viable
fixed-line communication infrastructures.
Faced with the challenge of reliable connections between staff
in Africa and the company's e-mail, financial, ERP, health and
safety, and other administrative systems, Expro decided the best
connectivity option was a satellite-based system.
"Staff relied on mobile phones and web-based e-mail services
from local ISPs, but there was no support for linking into
corporate systems," said Martin Ogden, Expro's head of
infrastructure and operations support, group IT.
In an extensive tendering process to choose a supplier to deploy
the technology, Expro found most were very good in developed
regions, but not in Africa. One exception was Global Telecom and
Technology (GTT).
"GTT is not tied to any one carrier or any one service provider,
which enables it to source bandwidth and network connectivity from
the most appropriate carrier to obtain the best deal for its
customers," said Ogden.
Other key factors in GTT's favour included its experience in
delivering services into Africa, its established contacts in
Nigeria and Angola, and its familiarity with local legislation.
"GTT was able to handle the satellite licensing process, which
would otherwise have been a difficult thing for Expro to do," said
Ogden.
Katie Liddle, GTT senior sales manager, said "GTT focuses on
managing strong relationships with satellite service providers and
local incumbent telcos. If any new providers enter the market, we
are quick to form relationships with them too. We see this as a key
strategy for adding business value to corporate customers."
GTT works with industries including banking, manufacturing,
automotive, legal, and media, with most of its
Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSat) customers in the gas and
oil industry. It has links with suppliers Europe, Eastern Europe,
North and South America, Middle East, and Asia, including China.
GTT is headquartered in Washington with offices in New York,
London, Paris Dusseldorf and New Delhi.
Expro also saw value in GTT's ability to bundle all the
satellite equipment into the cost of the project and take on the
responsibility of sourcing and purchasing satellite equipment and
shipping it to Africa.
"Apart from signing the contract and a brief specifications
meeting, we did not get involved until the configuration of the
hardware. GTT managed all the logistics," said Ogden.
GTT deployed VSat satellite technology to one Expro site in
Angola and three in Nigeria, including one on a barge in a swamp in
the Niger Delta.
Standard VSat equipment was used for the installations, but
Expro has been able to realise added value by going through a
systems integrator such as GTT. Proactive monitoring and
troubleshooting with local suppliers forms part of the managed
service.
VSats are two-way satellite ground stations with small dish
antennas that access satellites in geosynchronous orbit to relay
data at speeds of up to four megabits per second.
Expro's Nigerian and Angolan offices now have the same direct
access to all core systems, services, applications, and servers and
as other Expro sites.
Frost and Sullivan estimate there are about 60,000 VSats
installed across the Middle East and Africa, up from 7,000 in 2002.
This suggests VSat technology is the primary means for business
critical communications in these regions.
"Although we have been entirely happy with the performance of
the VSats since they were deployed last year, one of the lessons we
have learned is to make sure there are enough UPS systems in place
to cope with erratic power supplies," said Ogden.
VSat communications typically cost more to run than fixed-line
systems and often require large up-front investments in equipment,
but Ogden said the business value of links far outweighed the
operating costs.
He said GTT had also reduced the impact of the capital
expenditure by amortising the equipment costs over the length of
the contract.
Several months after the sites in Nigeria and Angola went live,
Expro plans to continue expanding its satellite communications to
connect staff working on both short and long term projects in
remote regions. Expro's office in Egypt is next in line.