COMMUNICATION IN A DISASTER

There was a great article in Scientific American whose lead headline was:?“Officials pressure wireless companies so first responders and residents can communicate and save lives.” The date of the article was 2019.

What has happened since? Natural and man-made disasters continue to topple cellphone towers or knock entire networks offline. In 2021, the Colorado Glenwood Canyon mudslide? was so massive that the road collapsed and changed the course of the Colorado River. With little to no communication, messages had to be passed hand to hand by workers crawling along the canyon wall. The 2021 fire in Maui resulted in a widely publicized communication failure.? ?In 2022, Florida’s Hurricane Ian knocked out nearly a fifth of the cell sites in its path. The recent Hurricane Helene resulted in cell phone outages which continue today.?

And disasters keep coming, and the outcome is predictable. Emergency disaster and first responders recognize that sole reliance on fiber and cell towers is a gamble and a backup communication network that is easily deployable for emergency response is necessary.

One solution that is already deployed in Asia is the Network in a Box technology, or NIB. Developed by EUCAST Global, the NIB is a bundled, wireless solution that is ready-to-use in a single portable device that contains all software and hardware components required to immediately deploy a pop-up network to registered users. EUCAST’s strategy is to own the software, hardware and all proprietary processes so it is not dependent on third parties. The above picture shows a highly ruggedized backpack system that was developed for the Korean military. The Korean military epitomizes the word “ tough” so they beat the crap out of the backpack during its development phase.

The NIB backpack allows transmission of real time voice and video so a first responder can transmit with anyone authorized on the private network. Use applications include everything from fire and rescue, police, rail, maritime and military. The EUCAST NIB backpack has rechargeable batteries and multiple backhaul connection options including satellite, WiFi and fiber. An NIB drone was recently successfully tested, and the NIB technology is available in car and marine carrier units. Affectionately named the “zombie mobile”, a tricked out F150 truck is being visioned that includes the car carrier, backpack, drone and satellite dish for the ultimate apocalypse.

?About the author

Gary Sumihiro is the founder of Sumihiro Investments, LLC a global strategic consulting firm. Learn more at?www.sumihiroinvestmentsllc.com.?

?About EUCAST

EUCAST Global is an advanced wireless LTE, CBRS, and 5G telecommunication solution company. Learn more at www.eucastglobal.com.