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No Dial Tone and No Internet DICK PRICE, CBCP COMMUNICATIONS SME - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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


  1. What Happens When There is No Dial Tone and No Internet DICK PRICE, CBCP COMMUNICATIONS SME

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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 

  8. 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?

  9. 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?

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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?

  13. 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

  14. 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).

  15. 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 

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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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