Smart satellite services equip Balangay voyage to China

SOME 600 years ago, Sultan Paduka Batara of Sulu, his family and 300 of his noble followers embarked on an expedition to China to seek a preferential trade deal from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Today, a group of Filipino adventurers are retracing that voyage on board ancient boats made of wood, called the “

This will be the continuation of a journey that started seven years ago but was unfinished because of bad weather.

Unlike the Sultan’s group, however, the team led by Environment Undersecretary Arturo Valdez—the same team that conquered the world’s highest peak Mt. Everest over a decade ago, will be armed with satellite telephony.

Smart Communications, the wireless unit of the PLDT Group, is providing Valdez and company satellite communications—a Thuraya Atlas IP for broadband connectivity, and four Thuraya XT mobile satellite phones.

“The Smart satellite mobile and broadband device will provide the group with reliable equipment to monitor weather patterns and choose the safest route to China. It will also allow them to stay connected with their families and provide real- time updates of their location even when at sea,” said Joel Lumanlan, head of Smart’s Global Access and International Services.

On board three Balangays, the team recently sailed from Bacolod to Manila, farther north to Poro Point in La Union before crossing the South China Sea to Hong Kong, and then Shanghai.

“Replicating the Sultan’s journey to China down to the ancient boats called balangay will commemorate the 600th anniversary of that historic undertaking,” said Valdez.