Telecommunications for mines in Greenland

Telecommunications for mines in Greenland

Contents Introduction 3 Phases 3 Preliminary exploration 3 Exploration phase 3 Construction phase 4 Production phase 4 Winding-up phase 4 Connections 4 Telecommunications infrastructure 4 Connecting the mines to the telecommunications network 4 Iridium 5 BGAN 5 VSAT 6 Fixed disc 6 Link 6 Climatic conditions 7 Telephone and Data capacity 7 2

Introduction In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the proliferation of mines in Greenland. The financial crisis has resulted in some setbacks, however, with some projects being postponed, and the Olivine mine has closed, for example. The five phases are as follows: Preliminary study Exploration phase Construction phase Production phase Winding-up phase TELE Greenland has been extensively involved in developments so far and has assisted the mining companies in setting up the necessary and desired telecommunications. Preliminary exploration All work is done in the open field, i.e. transport is on foot or by helicopter. Here, Iridium can be used. A VHF Repeater can also be established, whereby handheld VHF radios can be used within a limited area. Data communications with Iridium and BGAN. However, BGAN can only be used within the area of coverage. Many of the projects TELE has been involved in have been in the Exploration phase, and the extent of the telecommunications established must of course be viewed in relation to the anticipated yield. Phases Exploration phase The extent and nature of TELE communications for the mines is determined by 1) the particular phase of the project, and 2) the scope and value of finds that will be ascertained in the initial phases; 3) the geographical location; and 4) the location in relation to the rest of the TELE Greenland Telenet. Many test drillings are conducted. There can be quite a lot of people in the mine area. Sleeping and living quarters are established, with the requirement to be able to send e-mails and use the Internet. For example, it is possible to set up VSAT. 3

As of early spring 2011, the following exploration and preliminary exploration sites have involved TELE: Black Angel, Maamorilik Hudson Resources, Sarfartoq Nuna Minerals, Qusssuk and Storøen London Mining, the Isua project Godthåbfjorden Construction phase Roads, a harbour and possibly and airstrip are established. The use of heavy machinery is involved. The number of people in the mine area can range from 50 to 500, and the area can be anything from a few hundred metres to more than 100 km. The requirement for TELE communications can range from a VSAT all the way through to complete solutions for a settlement. There have been a number of enquiries where TELE has submitted an offer, but which have not resulted in the involvement of TELE Greenland. Production phase Extraction has commenced The existing mine operation sites where TELE Greenland is involved are the gold mine near Nalunaq Winding-up phase In connection with winding up, it has proved reasonably straightforward for the mining company to sell equipment second hand, e.g. VSAT to other mining projects. Connections capacity available, because traffic to the west coast along the radio chain will no longer take up satellite capacity. All along the west coast from Nanortalik to Uummannaq, it is possible to get directly onto the information highway, because the submarine cable and the new radio chain provide significantly faster Internet, data communications and telephony. Essentially, with the submarine cable, the villages and settlements of Greenland are just as centrally located in the global telecommunications network as New York City. GREENLAND IN THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD KALAALLIT NUNAAT NUNARSUUP QEQQANI TELE realises the vision of Greenland in the centre of the world by investing in modern tele communications. Having a proper telecoms infrastructure is increasingly important to Greenland s commerce, societal institutions, citizens and its entire economic development. Connecting the mines to the telecommunications network To connect Greenland s telecommunications network with telecommunications in an individual mine, depending on conditions, either a link to the radio chain or a satellite link can be used. Iridium, BGAN or VSAT can provide simple connections. Telecommunications infrastructure In recent years, TELE Greenland s telecommunications network has expanded strongly, partly as a result of the new submarine cable, partly with the expansion of the radio chain on the west coast from Uummannaq to Nanortalik, and partly because the IP network has been extensively upgraded. Connections to the settlements have been greatly expanded. The submarine cable has brought about a tenfold increase in the speed of telecommunications between Greenland and the rest of the world compared to today s satellite connections for telephony, data and Internet alike. Villages and settlements, and hence also mines outside the radio chain will still have a connection with the rest of Greenland and the rest of the world via satellite, however. But there will be significantly more LOW Mobility HIGH IRIDIUM Mini-M LOW BGAN VSAT Data capacity Stationary parabolic antenna LINK HIGH 4

Iridium No matter how isolated your location in Greenland, you can communicate with the world around you using an Iridium satellite telephone. Iridium is the only satellite telephone system that covers the whole of Greenland. Handheld communications are via 66 low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites which move in polar orbit around the earth, and the system is particularly suitable for conditions in Greenland. Each satellite has 48 spot beams, so any site with unobstructed line of site to the satellite is covered. To use the Iridium telephone indoors, it is most practical to have a fixed-line telephone with an outdoor aerial. This way, it is possible to call people in the field at home from the office at the lowest Iridium rate. The fixed line telephone will normally also be on all the time, unlike the mobile, where people want to save the battery. This means it is not always possible to make contact with people out in the field. It would be a good idea to equip people in the area with a pager. A pager can be kept in a breast pocket, and unlike a telephone, there is no need to have it at your ear with the aerial facing upwards with an unobstructed line of sight. The pager is even capable of detecting the signal in a concrete building or on an aircraft. A stand-alone pager with its own subscription can be arranged, i.e. without an Iridium telephone. BGAN The next generation of professional wireless satellite communications. BGAN is one of the best mobile terminal solutions for telephone, broadband and fax. The special BGAN terminal is designed for the Internet and is capable of transferring media presentations from harsh, deserted surroundings. BGAN is a super broadband unit that uses satellite to give you outstanding communications options via phone, fax and video conferencing. The terminal is perfectly designed for sending large quantities of data in harsh surroundings where other types of communications might give up. BGAN comprises an integrated lightweight aerial and receiver that can be directly connected to a laptop. BGAN enables you to communicate with virtually the whole world, via very powerful BGAN satellites. Inmarsat has relocated the BGAN satellites, and this has resulted in a reduced cover in northern and eastern Greenland. BGAN offers you these unique possibilities: Simultaneous phone and data communications Full duplex telephony Telephony and fax services Coverage throughout most of the world Standard LAN, USB, Bluetooth and phone/fax ports Can be charged using solar cells Small, lightweight aerial integrated with receiver, but with the option of connecting the aerial to the receiver via a cable so that the aerial can be placed on a windowsill Compact mobile unit, no larger than a laptop bag Designed to be highly resistant to moisture, dust and high or low temperatures Easy to set up and quick to dismantle 5

VSAT VSAT is a semi-mobile satellite solution. VSAT connects via Intelsat 903 to a HUB at Copenhagen Teleport (CTP). At the customer s site, access to the Internet and telephony is via a 2.4m dish, a modem, a switch and a telephone Gateway. The phones are connected to a CTP switchboard with a Greenland telephone number in the 19xxxx series, and connection to the Internet is via an MPLS connection at CTP. Satellite solutions in Greenland are characterised by two different factors: capacity and mobility. Capacity depends on the selected satellite; the closer to Greenland, the better, but it also depends whether the satellite s antennae are directed towards Greenland, i.e. spot beam, or whether the antennae simply point towards the earth, i.e. global beam. TELE Greenland mainly uses two Intel satellites, IS903 at 325.5 east and IS907 at 332.5 east. Both satellites use spot beam over Greenland. This implies that, using a large 11m dish, the signal can be received even up in Qaanaaq. The dishes are typically incorporated into permanent ground stations, so mobility is very limited. An SCPC (Single channel per Carrier) communications link is used between the mine and Nuuk. Using this solution enables GSM to be established in the area. Unobstructed line of site to the satellite is vital. If the available mapping material cannot be used, it will be necessary to conduct an actual physical survey to establish current physical and geographical conditions. VSAT can be dismantled and set up elsewhere reasonably quickly and inexpensively. Fixed dish A solution involving a fixed dish is typically used where the distance from the TELE radio chain is too great. A ground station with a fixed dish will require a 2.4m or 3.7m dish for a small-scale model or up to 4.9m for a village solution. For the small-scale model, however, TELE prefers a 3.7m dish because a larger dish requires considerably less transmission output to upload the same bandwidth. Unobstructed line of site to the satellite is vital. If the available mapping material cannot be used, it will be necessary to conduct an actual physical survey to establish current physical and geographical conditions. IS903 coverage 6 Link A micro link is connecting a terminal station at each endpoint. Where geographical and physical conditions require it, a repeater must be set up between terminal stations to guarantee the connection and appropriate transmission quality between the two endpoints, this is described as a radio chain solution. TELE offers delivery of high-quality radio link solutions that satisfies the physical and geographical conditions for use of these systems. TELE s offering is a high-quality product because apart from delivery of the solution, TELE is also subsequently able to provide operation and maintenance services for the supplied solution. However, TELE can only undertake this obligation/task if the equipment used matches TELE s existing product range and infrastructure. Between the two terminal stations, there must be free line of sight, because the radio waves cannot make allowance for any obstructions in the area (such as mountains, hills, tall buildings); in other words, the radio waves do not seek a path around such obstacles. It should also be noted that, if there is free line of sight between the two terminal stations, the first aspect of this condition is met, but there must also be a certain clearance to enable the signals to move freely between the two terminal stations. It is only possible to clarify whether there is sufficient clearance by preparing a area calculation and profile of height, to illustrate these conditions. If it emerges that there is insufficient clearance, this can be dealt with by setting up antenna masts and, if these are too high, identifying alternative locations for one or both terminal stations. Calculation of clearance, antenna and mast

height requires the preparation of a section calculation with preparation of section profiles based on usable mapping material these calculations are typically called a desktop study. If the available mapping material cannot be used, it will be necessary to conduct an actual physical survey to establish current physical and geographical conditions between the two points that are to be connected. If the customer has what it takes to carry out this preliminary study, TELE will specify the details and information required, or alternatively TELE can carry out a preliminary study on behalf of the customer. Climatic conditions Climatic conditions also have a major influence on the quality of a connection because precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.) has a major influence on signal distribution (of the radio waves), so precipitation can prevent the desired signal from penetrating at the desired strength. Climatic influences can be compensated for by increasing the transmission output and by using larger and/or better antennas. Telephone and Data capacity Creating a connection from TELE Greenland s radio chain or satellite connections to the mine can be regarded as the foundations of a new building; the interesting point here, however, is the actual building that goes on top of that, i.e. the services TELE is able to offer. As an example of a building, mobile telephony and 3G mobile broadband can be established via a link connection. All employees can thus make phone calls and access the Internet for personal and work use. Employees can use their own mobile phones, and their own 3G USB dongle on their personal PC, or for work, this can be provided by the employer. The table below shows a summary of available services and bandwidths for individual connections. Iridium BGAN VSAT Stationary parabolic antenna small Stationary parabolic antenna large Telephony PSTN 1 2 Standard 4 telephones 4 telephonelines up to 24 ISDN 1 VoIP yes yes yes yes yes GSM maximum of 4 channels Fax via an adapter yes yes yes LINK DATA Direct Internet IP up to 493 kbps upload max 512 kbps 1/1 Mbps 4 Mbps from 2 Mbps to 155 Mbps max 10 download kbps max 2 Mbps file trans- streaming fer 2,4 up to 256 kbps kbps MPLS TV on 4,2m yes yes (DVB-T) parabolic antenna Climatic conditions in Greenland mean that radio chain frequencies and antenna sizes that are normally very widespread in Europe can only rarely be used for connections in Greenland if a quality connection is required. Low temperatures, icing over and very high wind speeds must also be taken into account. 7