Keeping heart surgeons online in the Tankwa Karoo

Paratus South Africa is backing the Revived Pulse Foundation for a third consecutive year as a principal event partner for Le Tour de Spirit of the Great Heart, the foundation’s annual charity cycle tour, which starts on Thursday.

Paratus is providing Eutelsat OneWeb low-Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity for the six-day, 640km ride, which runs from 17-22 September, along with two dedicated support staff and a backup vehicle that travels with the tour.

The ride brings together cyclists, medical professionals, organisers and support teams to raise money and awareness for South Africans who need life-saving cardiac care. The route starts in Beaufort West, the birthplace of heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard, and takes riders through Merweville, Sutherland, the Tankwa Karoo and the Ceres Valley. Conventional internet coverage thins out quickly once the tour moves beyond the towns.

That matters because many of the riders are medical specialists and healthcare professionals. They are away from their practices, but their professional responsibilities do not stop. A working connection lets them stay in contact with colleagues and, where necessary, patients, and deal with anything urgent while they are hundreds of kilometres from a consulting room.

For Paratus, the point of the technology is that it disappears. As the riders move through the Karoo and across the Tankwa, the connectivity fades into the background and they can concentrate on the road and on the cause they are riding for.

Kallie Carlsen, MD of Paratus South Africa, said: “At Paratus, we often talk about having the right team and the right gear to get the job done. Le Tour brings that philosophy to life. It takes committed people, the right support and the right technology to take on a journey like this successfully. We are proud that our people and our connectivity form part of that team, supporting Revived Pulse and the cyclists as they take on an extraordinary challenge for an incredibly worthwhile cause. For us, this is what partnership is about – showing up, getting involved and playing our part.”

‘Part of the Le Tour family’

Faan Botha, founder of the Revived Pulse Foundation, said: “This cause is very personal to me. I was fortunate enough to receive a donated cardiac device when I needed it, and I know first-hand what that second chance means. Revived Pulse was started to help give that same chance to people who may otherwise not have access to it, and Le Tour has become an important part of making that possible.

“When you embark on a journey like this through the Karoo and the Tankwa, you need good people around you. You need to know you can depend on them. Over the past three years, Paratus has become part of that team. They don’t just provide the connectivity – their people get on the road with us, and they get involved and help wherever they can. As a farmer, I appreciate people who turn up, do what they say they are going to do and get the job done. That’s what we have found in Paratus, and that’s why today I regard them as part of the Le Tour family.”

For more about the Revived Pulse Foundation, visit revivedpulse.org.

**About Paratus South Africa
**Paratus South Africa is part of Paratus Group, one of Africa’s largest privately owned network services operators. An independent provider of last-mile connectivity, Paratus South Africa has grown into an end-to-end network services aggregator and managed services partner. It delivers fibre, wireless, satellite, SD-WAN and internet services to customers in urban and remote locations. Its satellite capabilities include geostationary and Eutelsat OneWeb LEO services, aimed at the gaps terrestrial networks leave behind. Behind those services sits the Goedehoop Teleport in Doornkloof, Pretoria, a carrier-neutral facility that forms part of Paratus South Africa’s satellite services and digital infrastructure portfolio. Backed by Paratus Group’s African network and infrastructure footprint, the company builds its offering around availability and resilience.

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