The challenge
Plan International runs field offices in Bomi, Lofa and Nimba counties that rely on VSAT links. The links at all three offices needed to be migrated, with work in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The work followed changes to the satellite service on the Marlink network that serves the offices: a move from the IS-25 to the IS-37 satellite in May 2023, and from IS37 to SES4 in November 2025. Each change needs an engineer on site to re-point the antenna and line up the new link.
What we did
- Bomi County field office: VSAT migration.
- Voinjama field office, Lofa County: VSAT migration.
- Ganta field office, Nimba County: VSAT migration.
- All three offices, May 2023: satellite change from IS-25 to IS-37, with the antennas converted to circular polarisation (Ganta 7 to 9 May, Voinjama 11 to 13 May, Bomi 18 to 20 May).
- Completed the work at the three offices in 2022, 2023 and 2024, including a further visit to Ganta in June 2024.
- Bomi and Lofa field offices, November 2025: migration of both VSAT links from the IS37 satellite to SES4, with antenna re-pointing, line-up and a CPI test (4 November in Bomi, 7 November in Lofa).
The result
Three field offices in three counties were migrated in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and the Bomi and Lofa links were moved to SES4 in November 2025.
