The ability to communicate during a disaster can mean the difference between life and death, yet during a disaster communication with the outside world is often nonexistent. Cellphone towers and phone lines can be down. Internet service and electrical power can be out. The first 72 hours of a disaster are the most critical for saving lives. However, during the first 72 hours relief workers are often the least equipped to carry out their mission. Our idea is to provide a portable disaster cell phone network. Essentially a cell phone tower in a suitcase.
Our plan is to build a series of rapidly deployable low cost portable battery powered cellphone transceivers that will allow relief workers to communicate with the outside world. Our system will connect the cell phones that most workers already have in their pockets to radio transceiver that translate the cellphone’s signal into high frequency ham radio waves then transmits them to a second portable radio tower that is outside of the disaster zone.
Ham radios bounce off of the earth’s ionosphere and can be transmitted and received at ranges in excess of 6000 kilometers. One radio transmitter can act as a cellphone tower for a whole village. As more towers are deployed to the disaster zone, coverage will increase.
Each tower will be able to communicate with any other tower in range. Each tower will also be able to communicate with any cell phone or smart phone device. The plan is to power the transceiver with a battery that is large enough to run it for at least 72 hours. This will hopefully allow enough time for the regular cell phone providers to bring their networks back online. However the transceivers will also have the capability of being powered by a small generator or regular grid power so that the 72 hour time window can be extended. The devices will be simple enough that anyone can set them up.
A little bit about me:
My name is Adam Osborn and I am a college student in the United States. I am studying computer science at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California under professor Tom Murphy.