https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Call Center/Command


More lessons from Hurricane Katrina

More lessons from Hurricane Katrina

Part 2 of 2 Last month's article covered some of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina for public-safety agencies and governments. This month's article
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 1st August 2006

Part 2 of 2

Last month’s article covered some of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina for public-safety agencies and governments. This month’s article will cover lessons learned for public-safety radio consultants and system engineers. Independent consultants can play a major role in helping public-safety agencies make the right decisions regarding the hardening of communications systems in order to survive disasters. Consultants also can help such agencies understand the various advantages offered by different vendors and their solutions.

A common theme of Hurricane Katrina was that the systems that fared well during the storm were designed and specified by independent consultants who had done the due diligence on the prevailing disaster profile in the region, had helped with a competitive procurement process and had the vendors build and install the system accordingly.

Let’s examine the myriad factors and considerations that must be contemplated by an independent consultant:

  • Risk analysis: Different regions have different risks. One can characterize risks in terms of unplanned events and planned events such as athletic or cultural events. Unplanned events include hurricanes, floods, tornados, earthquakes and wildfires. Many urban areas are at threat from terrorists. Some locations have critical infrastructure that may be targeted, such as large nuclear power plants, airports or liquefied natural gas or petroleum storage facilities. Additional areas may be at risk for pandemic situations, such as the bird flu. The risk of a disaster befalling an area, and its potential impact on the public-safety communications system, must be analyzed.

  • Cost/benefit analysis: With the likely risks and effects on the communications system identified, engineers can work with the public-safety agency to weigh the benefits of various changes to the system against the associated costs. These costs can be portrayed over a timeline of several years to facilitate capital and expense budget planning by the agencies.

    There are, of course, many sources of federal grant funds, especially for major cities that represent a potential terrorist target. By presenting a continuum of various cost options, public-safety agencies can decide the expenditures for which they should budget.

  • System design and implementation: Whether designing a new communications system, or conducting a study for hardening an existing system, agencies should expect that such activities will take some time if they are to be done well. Engineers need to collect and analyze extensive meteorological data, earthquake information and agency operational plans. Agency historical data on the locations where most incidents happen are helpful in ensuring that those areas receive good radio coverage. Similarly, the installation and testing of system improvements or a new system will typically take a year or more, depending on the size of the system and the amount of civil works — such as foundations, towers and shelters — that have to be installed.

  • Power systems: Generators are rated as prime or standby usage. The former are designed to run continuously, the latter occasionally for short periods of time during short power outages. There is a large cost difference between the two, and usually standby-usage units are specified for communications systems. However, Katrina showed that a massive catastrophe could force standby generators to run for weeks and months at a time. It is not generally economical to provide prime power generators for public safety, so what is suggested instead is that the power systems have — in addition to automatic switchover to a standby-rated generator — the ability to transfer to a second power source.

    A pigtail connection (essentially an extension cord) should be wired by qualified electricians and provided at ground level so that a second generator can be brought in on a trailer from a leasing company and rapidly connected to the system. Providing such a three-way transfer switch and pigtail will be relatively inexpensive, but will save precious time during an extended disaster and will allow the standby-rated generator to be given periodic rest and maintenance periods. The power-transfer switches must be located so flooding cannot affect them. Agencies also should preplan sources of leased generators and fueling services.

    Communications sites typically also include DC-battery systems to provide power during the short period of time standby generators take to start up during a power outage. These battery systems need to be sized to allow time for generator repair or preventative maintenance in case generators are running for long periods of time. New Orleans’ communications system site batteries were sized to allow at least four hours of operation. This allowed technicians to perform periodic maintenance on generators that, in some cases, ran for several months.

  • Backhaul links: Use of licensed microwave links between communications sites is preferred over unlicensed links or the use of leased circuits from telecommunications providers. Agencies in Louisiana that depended on leased T-1 lines found that they all went down during the storm. In contrast, the key links in New Orleans were all licensed microwave, which continued to operate. However, with the increasing proliferation of unlicensed equipment on the 2.4 GHz ISM band, links for vital public-safety circuits — which often are brought in by outside agencies providing disaster assistance — may encounter interference if they use unlicensed frequencies. At least one vendor can now provide backhaul links on the licensed public safety 4.9 GHz band that are a lower-cost alternative to traditional microwave links.

  • Antenna systems: Store spare antennas and coaxial cable so storm-damaged units can be replaced. Use microwave antenna radomes and strengthened braces in high-wind areas. Tie off coax at frequent intervals. Design combiner and multicoupler systems so there is no single point of failure at major sites.

  • HVAC: Ensure equipment sites have HVAC systems that are not dependent on building systems, or have a backup HVAC system that is powered from the standby generator system.

  • Site hardening: Shelters, fuel tanks and generators need to be well above flood planes and strengthened to withstand wind and flood surge; use existing tall buildings where possible. Towers need to be built to withstand at least 100-year winds and floods (Katrina proved even the 100-year threshold was insufficient). Adequate site-grounding and lightning and power-surge protection also is important.

  • PSAP/EOC facilities: Public-safety answering points (PSAPs) and emergency operations centers need to have sufficient facilities to run autonomously for days or weeks, depending on the risk. Stored water and food, cots, refuse-containment systems, and independent toilet facilities will be needed if the site becomes stranded because of storm, wildfire, earthquake or epidemic.
  • Interoperability: Communications systems must first be operable before they can interoperate with other agencies, and many of the suggestions in these articles can help ensure that. Plan with other public-safety agencies which interoperability links will be needed and how they will be used. Operational planning must include standard operating procedures (SOPs) for first responders regarding how the interoperability is to be invoked and used — and by whom. These SOPs need to be kept simple, and officers should be provided with “crib sheets” to carry with them at all times. Interoperability must then be practiced regularly to ensure field users are familiar with the capabilities. While interoperability among neighboring agencies has been extensively discussed in the industry, interoperability with federal agencies, such as FEMA, and with military units, such as the National Guard, has been more elusive, as Katrina illustrated.

    Federal agencies are licensed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and operate on different sub-bands of the 150 MHz and 450 MHz bands used by state and local FCC-licensed agencies. One solution is to install groups of repeaters at key locations or in communications vans that include both federal and local/state mutual-aid frequencies. By linking these repeaters together, a “commander’s net” can be created among these disparate agencies to ensure the top commanders can coordinate operationally at a major incident. Using IP to link these repeaters can provide some operational flexibility.

  • NFPA 1221: This voluntary national specification contains many suggestions for PSAPs regarding communications line redundancy, emergency power, HVAC, etc.

With proper planning and design, communications systems can be hardened to withstand the disasters that engineers and their clients identify as risks that must be mitigated.


John Facella is the director for public-safety markets at M/A-COM Wireless Systems. He has 23 years’ experience in public-safety radio and 20 years of first-responder experience as a firefighter/EMT. He is a member of APCO and the International Association of Chiefs of Police Communications and Technology Committee.

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM DISASTER HARDENING 101

  • Perform risk and cost-benefit analyses.

  • Provide capability for a second generator to be easily connected at major sites.

  • Reduce dependency on unlicensed or leased-line backhaul.

  • Ensure that site HVAC systems can operate independently of building systems.

  • Harden sites to survive 100-year-plus weather conditions.

  • Equip PSAPs and EOCs to be self-sustaining for days.

Tags: Call Center/Command content Tower & Site Wireless Networks

Most Recent


  • AR-based next-gen maps aim to rebalance detail and simplicity
    Every sat-nav user is familiar with the chagrin of missing their turn because the map’s lines and circles don’t resemble the real world. Yandex is blaming maps, not users, for these errors. At its annual conference in December, the company presented its re-designed maps boasting natural-looking 3D objects such as trees, bus stops, colored buildings, […]
  • Vodafone UK starts 'risky' shift to 5G standalone
    Vodafone’s Andrea Dona has unflattering words for some of the IT products that could sit inside his high-performance 5G network. “There are OSS limitations,” said the chief network officer of the UK service provider, referring to operational support systems from unnamed vendors. “If there is full automation on the 5G element, and the OSS is […]
  • ChatGPT may be fastest-growing app of all time, UBS Says
    OpenAI’s immensely popular chatbot ChatGPT may just have broken the record for the fastest-growing app in history, reaching an estimated 123 million monthly active users less than three months after launch. According a research note from UBS shared with AI Business, TikTok took nine months to hit 100 million MAUs and it took Instagram 2.5 years […]
  • Public-safety coalition renews efforts to secure federal NG911 funding
    A coalition of public-safety associations today reiterated its support for federal legislation that would provide the funding needed to pay for 911 centers to migrate from legacy technologies to an IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) platform that is designed to support multimedia communications, as well as traditional voice calls. Representatives of the Public Safety Next Generation […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • More lessons from Hurricane Katrina
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public
  • Microsoft patches 6 zero-day vulnerabilities under active attack

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

AR-based next-gen maps aim to rebalance detail and simplicity dlvr.it/Sj4gdM

7th February 2023
UrgentComm

Vodafone UK starts ‘risky’ shift to 5G standalone dlvr.it/Sj4dPJ

7th February 2023
UrgentComm

ChatGPT may be fastest-growing app of all time, UBS Says dlvr.it/Sj4NfL

7th February 2023
UrgentComm

Public-safety coalition renews efforts to secure federal NG911 funding dlvr.it/ShwGfn

4th February 2023
UrgentComm

Newscan: Cyberattacks on DoE national labs draw lawmaker scrutiny dlvr.it/Shvpw3

3rd February 2023
UrgentComm

The shine begins to wear off 5G private wireless dlvr.it/Shth0P

3rd February 2023
UrgentComm

Phishers trick Microsoft into granting them ‘verified’ Cloud Partner status dlvr.it/Shqngn

2nd February 2023
UrgentComm

Shapeshifting robot can morph from a liquid to a solid dlvr.it/Shqk9K

2nd February 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.