As part of efforts to provide communication services to pilgrims traveling to Iraq for the Arbaeen, Internet-beaming balloons will be launched along the way the pilgrims travel on foot, by car and buses.
A website Mookeb (Arabic for tent) has also been launched through which pilgrims and their families can follow news and notices as well as cultural content about the annual mourning ceremony, ISNA reported. The website address is mookeb.ir.
Head of Iran’s High Council of Cyberspace Abolhasan Firouzabadi said, “Three communication balloons will be launched along the path providing pilgrims Internet services.”
The W-Fi balloons will be installed in collaboration with the Iraqi government.
Communication balloons help establish connectivity and are especially useful when ground-based infrastructure is unusable or insufficient. The technology enables people to contact loved ones.
Last November, the Iranian Space Research Center and the ICT Ministry deployed a communication balloon near the joint border with Iraq to facilitate Internet access for pilgrims visiting the neighboring country to attend the pilgrimage.
Installed at an altitude of 500 meters, the balloon provided a 100Mb Internet bandwidth. It was connected to a radio transmitter in the border city of Mehran.
Firouzabadi said steady and strong communications can help provide reliable and timely news and analysis.
Arbaeen is the 40th day that marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Imam of Shia Muslims, his family members and close aides in 680 AD in the desert in central Iraq that is home to his mausoleum which is visited by millions of Muslims throughout the year.
For those who prefer to walk from Iran to Iraq, the pilgrimage starts 10 days earlier from the main ceremony so the participants can reach Karbala. This year Arbaeen falls on October. 30.
