Volunteers in Technical Assistance Satellite Network (VITAsat):

The VITAsat system will provide (on a non-profit making basis) an electronic mail facility to provide health, education, disaster and any other critical information to and from areas of the globe with poor telecommunications infrastructures.

It is anticipated that users will be non-government organizations, government development / humanitarian aid agencies, and related users such as health centers, schools, project offices and disaster operation offices. VITAsat will not cater specifically for the personal market.

Services will be offered for free on a priority basis to non-profit organizations and at cost to other organizations working in developing countries for the development of humanitarian aid.

The system will transfer messages (at a rate of several dozen per day per user) between remotely located stations and those who are connected to the internet. Messages are stored in the satellite until it passes over a gateway, which commands the satellite to downlink the messages. These downlinked messages are routed to their intended recipient via the Internet. The gateway will then uplink messages intended for remote users. The gateway for Africa will be located in the University of Cape Town’s Electrical Engineering Department in South Africa.

The user terminals and satellites interact during a 10 minute pass (on average), which is sufficient for the transmission of approximately 250 pages of information. The initial gateways will be built in Norway, South Africa, Australia and Chile, however as the number of gateways is increased the frequency and speed of transaction will increase accordingly.

The cost of the user terminals has not yet been determined, however it is envisaged that they will be priced at between US $1,500 / 2,000. User terminals will be capable of automatically communicating with multiple satellites.

The total system cost excluding user terminals will be approximately us$3.2 million. This includes a modest secretariat at vita for co-ordination of operations and an effort to use the system for global activities in distance education. As a non-profit organization, VITA operates on grants, contracts and donations. Most support over three years has been gained from USAID (United States Agency for International Development), the World Bank, the US department of Energy, Margaret J. and Herbert Hoover Jr. Foundation.

A two satellite LEO system for the provision of store-and-forward email and data services to and from developing countries on a non-profit making basis.

USAID, World Bank, Volunteers In Technical Assistance.

The first satellite was launched in 1997. The second is due for launch
in September 1999. Operational in 1998.

VITA has recently agreed to share resources with SatelLife and Consorcio Sat (both non- commercial organizations) and to form a coalition to enlist other satellite companies to contribute their excess, unused capacity for humanitarian communications. These shared resources will take the form of a co-operative agreement among coalition members.