Streaming My Consciousness

A number of years ago, somewhere around 9/11, I had a number of discussions with my friend Dwight Ordway, a fellow church geek, about equipping a communications trailer for disaster response. Dwight currently runs Trinity Technology in Ministry, an organization that is providing real time voice and data communications capability to missionaries around the world through a BGAN satellite network that currently covers about 95% of the planet. (Sure beats the typical 6-month delay in getting mail back from some of these remote missionaries in unreached parts of the world!)

Meanwhile, COR is in the process of equipping a disaster response trailer as part of their recently launched “Reach and Restore” missions ministry (we gave Greensburg a new fire truck. how cool is that?). This morning, I had an interesting conversation with Ed, one of the guys coordinating the trailer project, regarding communications capability. It wasn’t something they had given much though to beyond a box of FRS walkie-talkies.

I suggested to Ed that an effective communications platform could help them leverage that asset even more in affected communities, and started tossing some ideas his way:

An extensible mast on the trailer that would contain:
- a repeater-based 2-way comms system that would reach further, and also be capable of an all-channel broadcast in case of emergency
- data connectivity back to home for access to databases on available resources or notifying the “mothership” of immediate supply needs (know anyone in strategic or tactical airlift?
- Link back to the internet via a 3G data network or BGAN where 3G isn’t available
- local wi-fi for field teams with handhelds/PDAs or SIP phones
- a low-power FM station to broadcast information into the immediate area (could be as simple as an audio loop off an iPod)
- small phone bank/e-mail station for locals to communicate with loved ones outside the area

From an IT standpoint, I can also see equipping this team with a hardened laptop that has navigation capability and the ability to monitor weather conditions, and possibly some sort of GIS capability for effectively deploying teams. (Naturally, we’d need a few coordinator types trained on using it!)

Their primary target area is within a 50-60 mile radius of the KC metro area for things like ice storms (the trailer will be equipped with chainsaws and other such tools), but to also make the resource available for teams to go into places like Greensburg or the Gulf Coast, so the resource doesn’t sit idle. Being able to notify relief agencies like the Red Cross that we have this capability ready to move in on less than 24 hours’ notice could be hugely beneficial to those agencies as well.

What are your thoughts on how we can help these guys equip this thing? I envision something that we can roll into the area, fire up a generator (or even solar/wind power?), stick the mast up, and we’re online within an hour. It would be nice if we could get some support from communications people like Sprint, radio people like AFR for radio, and maybe even some type of federal support (DHS for funding and coordination with relief agencies, possibly FCC for licensing concerns, etc.)

While this is initially focused locally, I can definitely see potential for it being a prototype for other churches across the country. How can we geeks help? Communications infrastructure is frequently non-existent in disaster situations, and we have the know-how to fill that gap. I can also see the potential for being able to put together a “tactical mission kit” that could be brought along with a missions team and is small enough to carry via commercial air (When I worked for AFR, all the equipment for our remote radio stations – except for the antennas and satellite dish – fit in an 8U rack that fit quite easily in the Cessna 401 that we used to get around)