Wireless Mesh Networking: A Key Solution for Emergency & Rural Applications

All communities whether they are rural or urban will have to respond to safety, disasters, and emergency situations. These situations place a special burden on communication systems for having a fully operational system. Given the shortcomings of current Public Safety and Disaster Recovery, reliable wireless mobile communications that enable real-time information sharing, constant availability, and interagency interoperability are imperative in emergency situation. Wireless Mesh Networks have been receiving a great deal of attention as a broadband access alternative for a wide range of markets, including those in the metro, emergency, public-safety, carrier-access, and residential sectors. This paper provides a background on technology requirements for emergency and public safety communications systems and addresses some of the technical influences of wireless mesh networks. The article describes the capabilities and architecture of the man-portable, interoperable, tactical operations center communication system which was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It is a modern mobile communications infrastructure well suited for public safety and disaster recovery applications.