A Year after Haiti. Is Communication Still a Big Issue in Preparedness?

Wow. A year has already passed since that mind-numbing earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince. Ringing in my ear since has been a soundbite from Jill Dougherty, CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent, reporting the morning after:

“But when you have an operation like this, you have to be coordinated, you have to know where you’re going. And one of the big issues at the beginning was just communication. Think of it—the State Department couldn’t even talk to the officials in the Haitian government initially.”

Can We Communicate Better Today?

What if a Haiti-like event—or any disruption that knocks out communications and power—happened in your community today? Could your government officials call anyone outside the area to coordinate critical resources?  Could your county emergency managers reach the governor to identify needs and request support? Could the governor and his or her staff email or call FEMA? Would anyone be able to tweet or update the community on Facebook or other social networks? Would they be in the same boat as Haitian officials were a year ago today?

If Haiti’s leaders had portable satellite communications kits with solar power, Washington could have known what they needed within minutes—instead of hours, even days—of the 7.0 quake.

To honor the memory of those lost a year ago and to respect the lives of people everywhere, let’s resolve to be resilient. Let’ accept the fact that communications networks can and do fail—more often than we like to admit. Without adequate communications for sharing situational awareness, people unnecessarily suffer—even die. Let’s commit to having a Plan B so lack of communications is never a question for rapid response when lives are at stake.

Aid & International Development Forum | OODAlink to Exhibit

This summer, we will be showcasing our communication survival kits — OODAkits — to humanitarian aid and development organizations at the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) in Washington, D.C.

OODAlink Invited to Speak on Satcom Technologies

Our Director of Technology, Jeff Jacobson, was invited to speak at one of the event’s workshops, Optimizing Technology: Transport & ICTs, facilitated by Keith Robertory, Disaster Services Technology Manager for the American Red Cross. On Friday, July 23 (10:00 AM), Jeff will explore emerging trends in satellite communications solutions for voice and data connectivity, to which types of scenarios they’re best suited, and factors to consider when evaluating.

“By its very nature, the international development community often works in remote areas with little or no access to mobile phone or broadband services, ” Jeff explains. “And in disaster relief situations, communications infrastructure is often the first to go. We decided to participate in AIDF this year to raise awareness in these sectors about portable satcom solutions that keep people connected anywhere on the globe.”

About AIDF

AIDF, being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on July 22-23, is currently in its fifth year. However, this is the first event to encompass the development sector as well as humanitarian aid, relief and development. The event is a worthwhile opportunity for the aid, relief and development sector to network, build partnerships and address global humanitarian and development challenges, as well as showcasing goods and services to those responsible for delivery.

As well as featuring suppliers of goods and services in the provision of disaster relief, humanitarian aid and the development of health, education and basic utilities in developing economies, the event will feature a number of workshop sessions addressing key issues such as climate change, combating infectious diseases, global partnerships for development, and logistics and procurement.

For more information, explore the AIDF Event Guide.

Télécoms Sans Frontières – Communications for Life

We applaud the work of Télécoms Sans Frontières …

Their Origin: During missions responding to the crisis in the Balkans and in Kurdistan during the 1st Gulf War, Télécoms Sans Frontières’ (TSF) founders realized that, in addition to medical and food aid, there was a critical need for reliable emergency telecommunications services. Conflicts and emergencies often led to massive civilian displacement and separated families. And affected populations are often left with no communications infrastructure in place to find assistance and loved ones. To address this need, TSF bought its first satellite phone eleven years ago and the organization was born. For all missions today, TSF offers a 3-minute call to any affected family.

TSF soon found that the international response teams that deploy to emergencies also had a critical need for reliable telecommunications services in the first days after an emergency. TSF, therefore, expanded its operations, improved its technology, and began to establish rapidly deployable emergency telecommunications centers to serve UN, government, and NGO humanitarian workers, and developed a reputation for being among the first to arrive after disasters.

Mission Haiti 2010: Deployed in Haiti the day following the terrible earthquake that struck the country, TSF teams remain mobilized, day after day, supporting the humanitarian community and the affected population. Three calling centers have been established in Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and Jacmel that are open for the people of Haiti: Union School in Port-au-Prince, Adventistes in Carrefour and Rue Febrile in Jacmel.

Everyone should know more about the work of this organization!

Disaster Strikes When You Least Expect It

The nightmare in Haiti once again hammers home this age-old axiom.

How many more people will die in the future because of our complacency – in this country and elsewhere?

How many times do we have to witness such disasters only to find that once again lack of communications is the greatest hindrance to rapid and accurate assessment of the impact? How many people could have been saved if communications were available to quickly obtain accurate situational awareness and better coordinate the resources for search and rescue?

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Special Rates on Satellite Phones for Haiti Response

Iridium 9555 satellite phones with discounted airtime rates for Haiti response teams.

For organizations responding to the earthquake in Haiti, we can off the following discounted rates. Order by 3:00 PM Eastern for same-day shipping.

Iridium 9555 to Buy  -  $1,995 with 500-minute bundle
Iridium 9555 to Rent  -  $295/week + airtime (2-week minimum)

Other airtime options are available. Contact us to order or for more details.

More details on the phone: Iridium 9555.

No Portable Satcom in Haiti? How are They? What do They Need?

Watching CNN’s coverage of the devastating 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti early this evening, I found myself gasping at the thought that key relief agencies and media outlets still find themselves struggling to communicate years after Katrina and 9/11.

The Miami Herald was not Connected

When asked in the early hours after the quake hit, on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” what The Miami Herald knew of the developing situation, their Carribean correspondent Jacquie Charles essentially said they didn’t know because they couldn’t connect with anyone there.

“Well, we’re still trying to get through because all the communications is down … We have people en route to Haiti right now and we also have a ‘stringer’ on the ground, but because the communications are all down, we cannot get through to anyone at this moment.”

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OODAkit FAQs

Here are the OODAkit FAQs. But if we missed your questions, please post it the comment field below so we can include it!

Communications Portability

Much like having no potable water, having communications assets that aren’t portable is not all that useful. Imagine if your cell phone were the size of your suitcase (or even as small as your laptop). Just how useful would that be?

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