// Remote I Austere I Wilderness : Communications
Understand your communications options. Make informed decisions. Be prepared for any comms failures, when you need them to work.
For Expedition Leaders, Medics, Guides, NGO's, Disaster Responders, SAR, Humanitarian Organisations, Field teams and Outdoor Professionals.
Understand the technology. Know how to use it. Understand the limitations. Plan for failure.
Course at a glance
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Audience: Expedition Leaders, Medics, Guides and Outdoor Professionals
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Level: Non-technical / introductory
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Focus: Practical expedition communications and risk management
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Coverage: Radio, cellular, satellite, satellite messaging, PLBs, remote internet and power
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Approach: Practical instruction, operational planning and real-world case studies
Communications are a critical part of remote area risk management.
But choosing the right system isn’t simply a matter of buying the latest satellite device, carrying a radio or relying on your phone.
What works depends on where you are going, what you need to communicate, who needs to communicate, what networks and infrastructure are available, and what happens when your primary system fails.
The answer is often: it depends.
This course gives remote area professionals the knowledge to understand those dependencies, make informed equipment choices and build communications into their operational and emergency planning.
A practical course for people who need communications to work
Expedition communications can appear technically complicated. They don’t have to be.
This course is designed for professionals who need to understand and use communications systems effectively without becoming communications engineers.
The course is delivered by a communications specialist with extensive experience of using communications in the context of remote field operations, including in very remote areas.
It is aimed at:
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Expedition Leaders
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Expedition Medics
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Guides
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Field Teams
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Outdoor professionals
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Disaster Responders
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NGO
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Humanitarian
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Other personnel responsible for people, safety or operations in remote environments
No specialist technical background is required.
From choosing equipment to managing communications in the field
From choosing equipment to managing communications in the field
The course covers the communications systems and technologies you are likely to encounter on expedition, but the focus is on practical capability rather than technical theory.
Radio
How radios work in practice, what affects their range and reliability, and how to use them effectively as part of a small-team communications system.
Cellular
How cellular networks and roaming actually work, why your phone may not behave as expected overseas, and what cellular connectivity can—and cannot—provide in remote environments.
Satellite communications
An introduction to satellite networks and the different services available, including satellite phones and other satellite-enabled communications systems.
Satellite messengers and PLBs
Understanding the capabilities, limitations and appropriate uses of PLBs, SENDs and satellite messaging devices—and how they fit into an overall communications strategy.
Remote internet
What satellite internet can provide in the field, including systems such as Starlink, and why an internet connection doesn't necessarily solve every communications problem.
Power
The often-overlooked question: how do you keep the system running?
Communications are part of risk management
A communications system is only useful if it supports the way an expedition actually operates.
You'll look at how to develop a practical communications strategy, including:
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Communications planning
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Equipment selection
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Network and coverage considerations
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Redundancy and contingency planning
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Equipment testing and field validation
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Emergency Operating Procedures
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Communications doctrine for small teams
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Practical set up and use
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Managing expectations around communications in an emergency
The aim is simple:
Know what you have. Know what it can do. Know its limitations. Know what you will do when it doesn't work.
Learn from real-world experience
Communications failures rarely happen in isolation.
They happen alongside poor weather, difficult terrain, injury, exhausted people, damaged equipment, depleted batteries, unavailable networks and rapidly changing circumstances.
The course uses historical case studies from adventure expeditions and military operations to examine what happened, why communications mattered, and what can be learned from those experiences.
These examples bring the technology back to its real purpose:
supporting people and managing risk when conditions are less than ideal.
By the end of the course, you'll have a much clearer understanding of the communications options available to you and how to assess them against the requirements of your expedition.
You'll be better equipped to:
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Identify the communications capability you actually need
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Understand the strengths and limitations of different systems
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Select equipment appropriate to the operating environment
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Assess coverage and connectivity
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Plan primary and backup communications
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Test and validate equipment before deployment
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Develop practical emergency communications procedures
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Set realistic expectations about what communications can achieve
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Integrate communications into wider expedition risk management
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Most importantly, you'll be in a better position to make informed decisions before you leave, rather than discovering the limitations of your communications system when you need it most.
Why learn from us?
Your instructor brings together two areas of experience that rarely sit together: more than three decades working with mission-critical communications, and a decade of practical expedition leadership in remote environments, including testing and using telemedicine systems in the field.
His communications career began in the Royal Signals, including with Special Communications operating long-range HF and satellite systems overseas. Since then he has designed, operated and troubleshot communications ranging from military satellite systems and global telecommunications to modern enterprise and cloud infrastructure.
Away from technology, having also worked in the UK and overseas expeditions as a Divemaster, he has spent the last decade leading canoe expeditions in Finland and Northern Ontario and working as a guide. He is a qualified canoe leader, Wilderness First Responder and expedition leader, with additional training in prolonged field care, wound care, off-site safety management and water rescue.
He has experienced communications, medical and operational challenges from both sides: as the person responsible for making complex systems work, and as an outdoor professional relying on them in remote environments.
This combination of technical expertise and practical expedition experience is what underpins the course.
Venue: The National Outdoor Centre, Plas y Brenin, Snowdonia
Dates:
8 November 2026
Cost: £170.00 (exclusive of VAT).
VAT at 20% will be added to all invoices.
How to book:
Click the link below to access the booking course pack for the course you are interested in. Download the pack, save it your computer and you can complete the booking form electronically and email to us. Alternatively, print off the pack, complete and scan the booking form back to us. Only complete and submit the booking form if you intend to attend the course and be bound by our terms and conditions including cancellation charges. Once the booking form is received, we will review it. If you are successful in securing a place in the course, we send you an invoice, at which point a binding contract will exist. If you later decide to cancel, the contractual booking terms (found in the booking pack attached), apply. These include cancellation charges. We recommend delegates take out insurance to cover any cancellation (and accommodation costs) as we cannot act as an insurer if you are unable to attend the course or change your mind once a contract is in place.
Note that all course costs are stated exclusive of VAT which will be added at 20%.
Important/eligibility: Please note that for administration purposes, we will not process applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria.
Please note that places on courses are limited and are intended for the sectors and organisations we support. Our 'Why' is supporting organisations and good causes such as NGO's, Rescue Organisations, expedition teams and others that need excellent training at reasonable cost. We support a number of organisations who cycle volumes of delegates through our courses. Priority in terms of bookings/places will be given to operational remote area medics, NGO's and Rescue teams as well as other good causes. Other applicants will be considered much nearer the course date. This is who we are set up to support. Instructors or individuals from or who deliver training for or are involved in or have links to other remote area medical training companies are not eligible to join this course. Simply put, our courses are attended by institutional clients and this is a conflict of interest - training is available elsewhere. Our training has taken years to develop and hone and we value our Intellectual Property. We have a legitimate interest in ensuring that our Project and our 'Why' are not undermined and that our instructors can enjoy delivery of the courses, to maximise learning for our clients. Our priority is training our long standing client bases and to maximise the benefit of our training for those communities - and not other training organisations. For that reason, delegates should pay particular attention to reading our terms and conditions in this regard, before submitting any Booking Form. These terms and conditions include protections for us and are in place specifically to safeguard the great work we do for and with great people and to ensure the sustainability of our Project. We are very robust in protecting our intellectual property. Booking terms and conditions also include cancellation charges.
Booking link:
We recommend all delegates to take out suitable insurance before booking courses, to include cancellation, travel and accommodation costs.
Keep an eye on this page for updates on when (dates) that joining instructions, invoices and certificates will be sent out. We regularly update to keep delegates informed.