HyphaMESH For Hurricane Response and Recovery When Communications Systems Are Down
HyphaMESH extends critical connectivity in wide area searches and deep into rubble piles where cellular and radio signals are not reliable. HyphaMESH is deployed within minutes and operates with or without internet backhaul to provide reliable connectivity when disaster strikes.
- Challenge – No geography is immune to natural disasters. Hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, wildland fires, volcanoes and tornadoes can all damage or destroy communications infrastructure and other systems, causing widespread outages that impede public safety response operations.
- Solution – HyphaMESH creates a secure and dedicated wireless mesh network to extend existing coverage or establish an independent local network. The versatile HyphaMESH product line is well equipped to support broad public safety and emergency management operations when and where communications networks are damaged or destroyed.
Hurricane Response & Recovery
Terrestrial Network Outage
Hurricanes are one of nature’s most destructive weather events. When Hurricane Dorian decimated the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm in 2019, the country’s communications systems were destroyed. Tactical satellite phones were deployed for first responder use, but they had range limitations and marked transmission delays. These challenges are not limited to this event. Years of hurricane response have proven that communications infrastructure is often damaged and left inoperable in the wake of a storm and stopgap solutions are limited in their effectiveness and reliability.
Solution
The HyphaMESH REX Kit can be deployed when LTE infrastructure is down or to extend the range of existing LTE or satellite backhaul. The four HyphaMESH devices included in the REX Kit can create a local wireless network, with 3 miles line-of-sight range between each device. Wi-Fi enabled devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, and drones can connect to the 4 HyphaMESH devices and communicate within the local network or connect to the internet with built-in LTE or seamless satellite integration.
Benefits
Flexible IP communications network when terrestrial infrastructure is damaged or destroyed
HyphaMESH devices allow responders to communicate with no internet connection. HyphaMESH devices create their own mesh network that operates as a local wireless network with Wi-Fi access at each HyphaMESH device. This allows Wi-Fi enabled devices to communicate with each other without internet connectivity.
"Communications, transportation, and hazardous materials, that's where we're focused right now.”
-Brock Long, FEMA Administrator in a briefing following Hurricane Michael, 2018
