What Happens When There is No Dial Tone and No Internet DICK PRICE, CBCP COMMUNICATIONS SME
What Happens When There is No Dial Tone and No Internet Introductions Speaker Audience US Virgin Islands – Irma/Maria Your Experiences Operating within a Communications “Desert” Open Discussion
US Virgin Islands – Irma/Maria Three Main Islands – St Thomas, St Croix, St John US Territory – Not a State Federal – 1 Non-Voting Delegate to Congress Cannot vote for President of US Territorial – Governor, not a President!!; Senate – 15 members Located 40 Miles East of Puerto Rico Largest Employer – Government of USVI Largest Industry – Tourism, Retail Trade Budget - $2B in Debt/ $110M Budget Deficit Personal Income – 33% below poverty line Education – 70% High School, 19% Bachelor’s degree
US Virgin Islands – Irma/Maria Communications – Public Sector VI-Next Generation Network – Middle Mile Fiber/Broadband Provider Bureau of Information Technology (BIT) – Public Safety Radio, GVI Broadband Virgin Islands Public Television/Radio Communications – Private Sector ILEC – VIYA owned by ATN Cellular – AT&T, Sprint, VIYA (On Island Facilities), Verizon, T-Mobile Cable TV – VIYA Broadband – 14 ISP’s; VIYA Cable Landing Stations – CenturyLink, AT&T Tower Companies - SBA Towers, Crowne Castle
US Virgin Islands – Irma/Maria Damages - Public Sector VI-NGN 80 miles (95%) of aerial backbone fiber lost, $30M to bury 71% of the 24 Fiber Access Points Damaged $300M to bury all last mile routes nearly all were damaged BIT LMR Sites - 8 of 11 major damage, 3 totally destroyed Analog trunked system built in 2006; Not P-25 capable, $12M+ to rebuild Public Television Studios totally destroyed on St Thomas 100 Foot Tower totally destroyed
US Virgin Islands – Irma/Maria Damages – Private Sector ILEC Over 90% of aerial facilities: copper/fiber and cable TV destroyed Over 50% of backbone was buried pre-storm and survived Plans to bury most of damaged aerial cables Cellular – AT&T, Sprint, Most damage occurred to leased towers. Many generator problems due to 3+ month run times VIYA decided to abandon old system and install new 4G network Broadband Loss of middle mile routes and their own last mile aerial facilities Cable Landing Stations No damages, very hardened facilities Tower Companies Several towers destroyed and numerous generator failures
Lessons Learned Aerial cable needs to be buried. All buried pre-storm routes survived Generators need to be continuous duty not standby Power to “high” sites needs to be buried Networks need to have more “self - reverting rings” Larger stockpiles of spare equipment needed Microwave back haul needs to be supplemented via buried fiber Pre-positioned resources and contractors needed in advance of storms Better understanding needed for shipping requirements and timing
Your Experiences Landlines Do you still use them? Did they work? Cell Service Second phone on another Carrier? Did you have good data /text coverage? Do you think a cell booster would have helped? Do you have a personal hot spot? Do you use it? WiFi Were you reluctant to use a service as it was an “open” network? How was the speed of your service?
Your Experiences What apps/services have you found useful? Walkie/Talkie - Zello? TiKL? Whatsapp? WiFi – WiFi Analyzer? Speedtest? GETS? WPS? How could your experience have been better? Different provider/carrier? Different devices/equipment? More choices in back up power? Solar chargers? Go Kit Do you have one? What is in it? Do you have it packed and ready to deploy?
Your Experiences – Major Events Natural Disasters Hurricanes - Katrina 2005; Sandy 2012; Harvey/Irma/Maria 2017 Tornados – Joplin, MO; Moore, OK; Tuscaloosa, AL Winter Storms – Nor'easters 2018 Fires/Floods – Midwest/California Man-Made Hazmat spills Terrorist – 9/11, Anthrax, Active shooter Structural collapse/urban events International Events Earthquake - Haiti Tsunami - Japan
Deploying to a Communications “Desert” Situation Awareness is Key to a Successful Outcome Obtain “Ground Truth” to the extent possible People on the ground you can contact Media/Local Blogs/On Line Community Discussion Pages
Deploying to a Communications “Desert” Understanding the Main Event Is the event stable/unstable - Why? Why did it occur? Natural event or Man-made Has it ever happened before - Was it this bad? What is the political environment you will be operating in? Who is in charge? Is the governmental organization capable of dealing with the event? What role does the federal government play in the event? Who are the key players within the lead agencies?
Deploying to a Communications “Desert” Understand the logistics chain Transportation/lodging/food supply/security/medical /package delivery Documents for: entry/exit Are curfews in place If so, understand restrictions and how to move about Obtaining information from ground zero Advance teams; amateur radio Contact groups before deploying What are the communications capabilities Cell/sat/amateur radio What is working now; How well is it working What was it like pre-event
Deploying to a Communications “Desert” Team Contacts Any pre-existing contacts on the ground? Are they recent? Previous experience with them? Anyone not going who has information to share? Will you be working for public or private sector? Information Gathering Historical background information on the area/environment? Look for local papers/blogs available to acquire more “ground truth”. Assess the regulatory and legal environment/jurisdictions. Pre-event conditions? Security, infrastructure, culture. Carrier/Comms company information/contacts in event area? Retail stores? Command posts? Download and print maps before departure. Call your cell carrier(s) before you leave: special calling plans (international roaming).
Deploying to a Communications “Desert” Comms Gear - Basic Comms Gear - Advanced 2 nd Cell Phone - Different carrier than Cell phone – Accessories/chargers primary phone (GSM/CDMA) AM/FM radio battery powered Multiple power sources – Batteries, power GPS Receiver for map guidance packs, solar chargers, vehicle charger, inverter WiFi Hot Spot – Choose correct carrier FRS Radios (2) Cables, comms and IT accessories (thumb drives, USB cables etc.) Amateur Radio – 2 meter if licensed or not Power supply: commercial, vehicle, battery Public Safety Radio Scanner with Weather pack Radio Headset(s) for cell phone Sat phone – Appropriate carrier (Inmarsat/Iridium/Thuraya/Globalstar) GETS Card Wireless Priority Service
Managing Comms in the “Desert” How do you get Internet services? Ask your hotel what the situation is for their guests Look for community hot spots in public places – libraries, government offices Link in with the local providers for information on service restoration and short term capabilities Ask public safety personnel how they are connecting for personal use Any creative solutions from non-traditional groups (Love-IT on St John) Cell carriers: open roaming for data Set up your personal WiFi hot spot device Set up your cell or sat phone to create hot spot
Managing Comms in the “Desert” How do you get phone services? Enable WiFi calling on your phone, enable all networks: LTE/GSM/UMTS Utilize community hot spots for calling Ask local cell phone companies for information on service restoration and short term capabilities National carriers may not have facilities in your area, rely on other carriers Ask public safety personnel how they are connecting for personal use Find out if cell companies are offering open roaming for calls? As a last resort, set up your sat phone - Expensive
Managing Comms in the “Desert” Quality of Service Received Are your expectations in line with the environment? Services offered will be poor right after the event occurred Over time, the service should improve but prepare for disconnected calls and very slow data rates Your cell carrier’s quality may suffer if they are using other carriers Know your carrier’s policy on poor service credits; document your experiences Understand sat phones will have delays (voice) and SLOW data speeds
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