Comelec allots transmission alternative to Benguet
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – With less than three months to go for the May 10 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and a partner company said a satellite internet network will be set in case low signal for transmission will occur.
Smartmatic regional coordinator Mavic Madayag said “as of now Comelec has not advised us on how many BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) machines we will used for the province.”
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BGAN is a global Satellite Internet Network with telephony using portable terminals, which will be used by the identified remote areas in the country to transmit election results to the Comelec main server in Manila instead of the global positioning system (GPS).
Benguet has been included in the six most remote areas in the country heavily needing BGAN machines, the Comelec said.
The Comelec records show Benguet together with Abra, Samar, Leyte, Zamboanga and Tawi–tawi have been tagged as areas with weak or zero transmission signals of mobile telecommunication companies.
However, Madayag said the field test last January 26 in Bakun town was successful even without the BGAN machines.
“The BGAN machines will be used only when necessary,” she stressed.
A laptop box, print kit and a BGAN unit are part of the kits to be used in the actual elections, with the BGAN machines as back up when signal for Globe, Smart or Sun Cellular companies is low or none.
During the Consolidation Canvassing System Technician Protocol Field Test, mock polls were held at two points in Bakun town transmitting results to the Provincial Capitol in La Trinidad and then to the Comelec point in Manila. (Maria Elena Catajan)
