Disaster recovery
equipment, mobile generators, shelter, transportation and
control tools, and even provisions. The communications
system will have to connect rescue officers in the immediate
area and then connect back to government and international
agencies such as the World Health Organization or the
UN. Towers to provide mobile communications and even
emergency systems such as P25 or TETRA may well be
compromised or destroyed, so the team may be required to
establish its own systems.
Verizon in the USA says situational awareness is essential
to understand the nature of the disaster, where resources
are needed most, and the assets in place and in transit.
The development of a common operating picture means
that agencies can work together effectively, and the data to
assemble this can come from traditional sources as well as
new devices such as IoT sensors and drones. At the same
time, security should not be neglected – cyber attacks during
a disaster could cripple operations. Access to databases needs
to be controlled, and there will need to be secure sign-in
protocols, especially if cloud services are being used.
Naturally enough, Verizon suggests that LTE is the obvious
connectivity solution for disasters. Mobility in terms of voice
and data connection is required during emergencies, and
LTE provides access to smart applications to build and share
the common operating picture, as well as accessing critical
information from central databases and sending to the field
to assist complex tasks. Verizon can offer deployable networks
to backfill for the loss of base stations; cells on wheels (CoW)
and cells on light trucks (CoLT) can be quickly moved into
the area to connect users using LTE smartphones.
“We offer a priority and pre-emption service free of charge
to qualified first-responders, and we’re going beyond those
solutions to further extend their LMR networks,” says Steve
Miller, national security lead at Verizon Enterprise Solutions.
Public awareness
New technologies and solutions are now making it possible
to quickly alert the public to the danger of an emergency and,
equally importantly, how to react, such as warning systems
using mobile phones. In the USA, the Integrated Public Alert
and Warning System (IPAWS) provides alerts using a number
of mobile bearers; Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are
While terrorism grabs the headlines,
the emergencies that have the
biggest and most frequent impacts
are likely to be storms and floods
sent to public mobile phone operators and on to their users.
Trevor Drawbridge from SEEMS Global describes a system it
is developing to receive low Earth orbit satellite messages from
this IPAWS system and to then turn these into an audible
message. This can be installed in offices, schools and other
public areas to pass on audible warnings. The unit can be
plugged into a public address (PA) system if one exists, or it
contains its own speaker. Drawbridge emphasises that “using
standards-based protocols such as CAP (Common Alerting
Protocol) in this case will make interworking far easier”. In
Canada, the Alert Ready system will send a tone and text
to comparable smartphones as well as to TV and radio for
more on alerting the public at scale, see my article on critical
messaging in our last issue – Ed.
Space to the rescue
The benefits of satellite communications during a disaster are
obvious, given the lack of reliance on terrestrial infrastructure.
Space-based communications broadly fall into two categories:
geostationary satellites and polar orbiting.
Polar orbiting satellites are constantly on the move and so a
number of these are needed in a “constellation”, and the range
to these satellites permits relatively compact antennas and
transmitter/receivers. For example, the Iridium system has
found its place as a tool for explorers and emergency teams
operating outside of the area of terrestrial communications, or
in polar or high-latitude areas. Iridium is being updated with
a new constellation of satellites which will offer a workable
data as well as voice service. The US deployed 5,000 Iridium
phones following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (initially a
number of handsets were given to civic leaders but, without
being told how to use them, they were not effective).
Geostationary satellites remain in the same position in the
sky; in this case, a popular choice for emergency response
is the Inmarsat BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network).
Small terminals and antennas can connect an isolated control
station to the internet to share emails, access databases,
upload images and videoconference. The data speeds of up
to 384kbps are not as high as LTE and the latest wireless
technologies but still provide a workable service when other
communications are not available. Another role for satellite
communications is as a backhaul for terrestrial systems. For
example, AT&T provides service to the FirstNet system in
the USA – it can quickly deploy an emergency band 14 LTE
network which will be connected to control centres and other
users using satellite links.
Remote sensors and IoT
For some time, sensors have been able to give early warning
of events such as tsunamis and volcanic activity. However,
many natural disasters occur in developing countries where
infrastructure is limited, as was the case in Indonesia and
Thailand in 2004. The careful selection and siting of sensors
may significantly limit loss of life and the cost of recovery.
One approach
that has been
used with some
success is prestaging
convoys
with the fuel
and equipment
needed to restore
comms outside
hurricane-hit
areas and have
them move in
once the storm
has passed
November 2019 @CritCommsToday 29
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