Case Study: Department of Natural Resources achieves resilient wildfire and emergency connectivity with Hughes Network Systems

Getting Connected is Essential to Battling Wildfires and Other Emergencies

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a midwestern state needed resilient, independent communications to protect lands and coordinate wildfire and emergency response from local fire stations acting as command centers. Terrestrial networks could be damaged during disasters, and the DNR required a solution that would reliably connect multiple agencies and first responders. Hughes Network Systems was engaged and the DNR selected satellite-enabled services including HughesNet for Government with fixed VSAT installations and transportable hubs to meet those needs.

Hughes Network Systems deployed HughesNet for Government across more than 60 fire and fueling stations using fixed VSATs (JUPITER‑based HTS service delivering up to 25 Mbps down / 3 Mbps up) and two HT2900 transportable communications hubs staged for rapid statewide deployment. The result is secure, high‑speed Internet, VoIP and on‑site Wi‑Fi for day‑to‑day operations and large‑scale response, plus portable voice/data access for out‑of‑state crews—significantly improving coordination and connectivity during emergencies.