Reliable communications in unreliable conditions

摘要

It seems every few years or so, emergency response technology is truly pushed to its limits by the destructive forces of nature, often exposing crucial weaknesses in the communication infrastructure. The United States may forever be haunted by the events that took place immediately after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, when nearly every means of communication failed: Cell phones were rendered useless, Internet connections were severed, radio transmissions were hindered, and even satellite phones distributed as backup gear by federal relief workers were unusable. The results were disastrous: Families were left without aid for weeks, as local, regional and national emergency response crews struggled to coordinate relief efforts with faulty or non-existent communications equipment.