Free high-end videoconferences for military families with loved ones in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan are now available, thanks to a partnership between Felton-based Satellite Telework Center and an organization named Freedom Calls.
The Freedom Calls Foundation enables about 2,000 video teleconferencing events each month by operating call centers at seven military camps, according to the group’s Web site.
The foundation built the call centers, as well as a satellite system enabling sites in the United States with advanced teleconferencing systems to bring in local families to use the systems for free.
That’s where Jim Graham, owner of Satellite Telework Center, comes in. His business rents space to people with home-based businesses and commuters from Silicon Valley who need office space with all the necessary equipment.
One of those pieces of equipment is the Polycom QDX 6000, a high-quality videoconference system with a 42-inch screen.
“You dial up the military bases, and people are right there with each other,” Graham said.
“It is one thing to talk on the phone,” he continued, “but the visual element really makes a big difference to military people that are deployed for so long.”
The company purchased the videoconference system when it came to town in May, but it was not being used very much, so Graham went online and found Freedom Calls.
As of last week, no one had taken up Graham’s offer to use the free service. However, with many people from Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley deployed overseas, he says the service is sure to catch on soon.
Freedom Calls executive director and founder John Harlow started the organization after viewing a television story about a National Guardsman who racked up a $7,000 phone bill calling home while stationed in Iraq.
Harlow did some checking and found that servicemen and -women spend in excess of $100 million a year calling home.
“This is the least we can do to help,” said Graham, “I want to get the word out locally so these families can stay connected.”
