Most mission areas to which Defence personnel are deployed are seriously lacking in the kind of facilities that we normally take for granted, such as electricity or running water, and good telephone and Internet connections are even rarer.

But if you are away from home for months at a time, you will want to keep in contact with those at home. And they with you.

Delta IP internet provides Internet and telephone services. After all, regular contact with friends and family is important for the well-being of military personnel deployed on a mission. Delta IP plays a part in providing this contact.

What can you expect from our service? Is using the internet the same as you are used to at home? We have one clear answer to that question: No, the service is not as you moight be used to at home.

Please read below why and what you can do to make effective use of Delta IP internet.

The connection in the mission area is slower than what you are used to at home

The internet connection runs from the compound via a satellite link to the Netherlands and has a limited bandwith. You share this connection and the available bandwith with all the other Delta IP users in the compound.

• The connection is slower because the available bandwith via the satellite is limited.
• The connection is more expensive because of the high costs of satellite communication and the local infrastructure.
• The connection is more liable to interference from the weather.

For these reasons, it is unreasonable to compare the quality of the connection in the mission area with that what you may accustomed to at home. But if everyone takes heed of the 5 important tips for effective internet use, the available bandwidth will be sufficient.

The availability of the connection depends on several factors:

• Weather conditions in both the Netherlands (where the other side of the satellite link is situated) and the mission area.
• Energy supplies.
• Black hole situations.
• Having consideration for one another.

Priority system

Delta IP provides Internet access according to a priority system. Some applications use a lot of bandwidth. In order to share the available bandwidth as fairly as possible while enabling everyone to surf, e-mail and chat with minimum delay, applications have been divided into categories. Peer-to-peer applications and other download programs, as well as streaming audio and video, will be placed in the lowest category (in terms of priority). The Internet connection is used mainly between 17.00 and 22.00 hrs local time. During this period, therefore, it is likely that the network will be slower.