Satellite communications in disaster management: selected Canadian systems

The role of telecommunications in general throughout an emergency management situation is outlined. No single telecommunications system can meet all emergency management needs. Consequently, interoperability among systems and protocols is a major issue. The increasing use of Internet Protocol based applications has alleviated some of those concerns. However, because space based technologies are in widespread use for management of most major events, and since Internet Protocol is intolerant of high latency, satellite-specific techniques to mitigate latency should be adopted. The increasing use of the Global Positioning System for personnel and asset tracking is noted. The paper concludes by providing an overview of Canadian solutions to three differing disaster scenarios: a specific threat to a specific region; emergencies requiring communication with moving vehicles by satellite; and a system having a full feature set which can be transported to a major incident site. Created through three independent projects, these systems provide Canada with broad communications capabilities for meeting the needs imposed by disasters.