Podsystem, a contributor of multi-network data SIM cards for the machine to machine industry, announced the launch of its “SIMs for Charities” initiative, aimed at helping charities to take advantage of the latest technology to make their work more efficient and cost effective. As part of this initiative it is donating MultiNet Europe SIM cards to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
The RNLI is a charity that provides on call, 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue services along the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
The initiative has been set up to make multi-network data SIM cards available to charities and use Podsystem’s reputation to negotiate low data rates available from networks, saving them thousands of pounds on their data charges.The donation to the RNLI will be used in emergency situations, for which the multi-network functionality of the SIMs will be especially important.
The RNLI will be incorporating the SIMs into a new type of pager used to alert the charity’s volunteer lifeboat crews when there is an emergency at sea.
These work via a VHF radio signal when they are in range of the transmitter, however the SIMs will provide a secondary route to the system via GPRS when the pagers are out of radio range.
In addition, the SIMs will enable a reporting mechanism via the GPRS network, whereby the crew member can respond to the message at the push of a button, which will then send a confirmation back to the lifeboat station that the alert has been received.
Podsystem’s MultiNet Europe SIMs connect to every network in every European country, including the five UK networks (operator agreements permitting), with no roaming fees, suiting applications that are in constant movement or may be occasionally located in rural areas, such as those used by the RNLI.
Alex Marshall, RNLI Operations Manager, commented; “In any emergency at sea, time is of the essence. It is therefore paramount that we have the latest technology available to allow us to quickly contact our volunteer crew members to let them know they need to launch the lifeboats to carry out a rescue. Through this initiative, we will be able to ensure cost effective and reliable communication with our volunteers, so that they can reach the scene as soon as possible and ultimately save lives. Using these SIM cards will also allow us to save money which would otherwise be spent on telecoms costs and free up donations for other important life-saving equipment.”