Sept. 15, 2008 – HOUSTON, TEXAS – SkyPort Global Communication’s Network Operations Center in Houston performed flawlessly when tested by the full force of Hurricane Ike, enabling SkyPort to provide round-the-clock support to the National Guard and other first responders following the devastation.

The hurricane passed directly over SkyPort’s Network Operations Center (NOC) and Teleport at the Ellington Joint Reserve Base, which is designed to sustain Category 3 hurricane winds and is located on the highest ground in the Houston area to prevent any damage from flooding and storm surges.

SkyPort maintained 100% operational status of its satellite and terrestrial systems even at the height of the hurricane’s strength.  At the peak of the storm, SkyPort’s NOC recorded sustained winds of 61 mph with gusts up to 93 mph, and was deluged by rainfall but continued to support all customers including mission critical communications for the Texas National Guard, Florida National Guard, and Cisco Systems.

Hurricane Ike made landfall at 2 am on Sept.13 and is so far reported to be responsible for 32 deaths and over $21 billion in property damage. More than 4.5 million people in the Texas gulf region are still without power. 

Although power outages were widespread, SkyPort seamlessly transitioned to redundant power backup systems for over 41 hours.   SkyPort located its operations at Ellington Joint Reserve Base to take advantage of the fact that the Base has priority for power restoration after events such as Ike.

“SkyPort’s Network Operations Center and Teleport were designed and built to endure this type of event so that first responders and commercial clients can maintain effective communications in critical times,” said Patrick Brant, President and CEO of SkyPort Global. “We were prepared and we performed impeccably, which is why customers like FEMA and the National Guard trust us in times of need.”

Brant said the response of SkyPort was similar to the company’s performance in 2005, when SkyPort was awarded the prestigious Minuteman Award for its outstanding support during Hurricane Katrina.

“I think we have lived up to and honored that award,” Brant added.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Cisco Systems are continuing to use SkyPort services to aid in the deployment of emergency systems and clean-up efforts into the area. SkyPort’s secure facilities are being used as a critical staging area for communications equipment being deployed and Cisco System’s Network Emergency Response Vehicles (NERV) relied on SkyPort’s secure operations center as a take-off point for recovery efforts.

The SkyPort facility is also supporting FEMA through MCS, a provider of mobile communications systems, which is currently deploying 25 systems for FEMA communications camps. The camps are to provide Internet, voice and data to FEMA units, dramatically improving recovery operations.

Numerous customers nation-wide rely on SkyPort’s steadfast communication services for on-going operation.  All of SkyPort’s customers maintained full communications capabilities throughout the storm.

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