Yellowknife (Jan 12/05) - A Yellowknife company is on the ground in tsunami-ravaged Indonesia putting a communications network in place for CARE Canada.

SSI Micro got the call from CARE's information technology provider, Global Development Group (GDG), right before New Year's.

SSI Micro owner Jeff Phillipp: There may be more sites serviced by SSI Micro in the tsunami-hit region, including Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Putting all the equipment together to respond to CARE's request inside a week has been a monumental task, said SSI Micro owner Jeff Phillipp.

"Usually the equipment we have on order takes up to a month to come in," he said.

This isn't the first time CARE and SSI Micro have worked together -- recently they completed an installation project in Kenya.

This time around SSI Micro is to set up satellite links in Jakarta and Banda Aceh for voice, video and Internet services, said Phillipp. The man he's trusting with the job is Yellowknife's own Tim Froehler, who routinely installs satellite equipment.

"He was the lead for the Nunavut project," he said referring to efforts to get broadband access across all of the eastern Arctic. "He's just back from 60 days there and now he's on the ground in Indonesia for a week or two."

With the official death toll from the tsunami approaching 160,000, Phillipp characterized the situation as extremely dire.

"There's an aid flight leaving Ottawa on Wednesday, which will likely be carrying some of our tools and equipment," he said.

The new satellite communications system will allow CARE to communicate between its offices in two communities and the rest of the world, which is key to getting further assistance into the area.

"It will assist in the logistical organization of aid and administrative accountability," said Gerard Vander Burg, vice-president for GDG.

Logistics are expected to be the biggest headache of the job. While getting everything to Jakarta should be no problem, Banda Aceh was one of the hardest hit locations.

"We've done all we can to obtain licenses," said Vander Burg, adding he expects there may be a customs quagmire.

Along with the regular package of satellite equipment, SSI Micro will also be sending some solar panels in case the main power grid fails.

Phillipp added there may be more sites serviced by SSI Micro in the tsunami-hit region, including Thailand and Sri Lanka, although that has yet to be finalized.