Emergency call

The large-scale failure in communications services during the recent floods in Kerala is a stark reminder of the lack of preparedness in dealing with the aftermath of disasters on the part of telecom operators, policy-makers and disaster management agencies. India is not new to floods and earthquakes but no lessons seem to have been learnt from similar incidents in the past. Be it the floods in Mumbai in 2005 or the havoc created by heavy rains in Chennai in 2015, communication networks have time and again collapsed during the crisis. The importance of communication for effective response in natural disasters has long been recognised by emergency managers. A well-designed communications and information infrastructure which functions during a crisis can significantly enhance the resilience of communities exposed to risk. This has been acknowledged by India’s policy-makers as well, as the Department of Telecom has laid out a Standard Operating Procedure with clear instructions on what needs to be done by all stakeholders. Yet the fragility of country’s communications infrastructure in reality exposes the huge gap between plan and practice.

It is clear that locating equipment where it is least exposed to risk can reduce damage to infrastructure and make telecommunication installations less susceptible to natural disasters. Autonomous power supply is critical and there should be sufficient fuel for back-up generators as power outages can be prolonged. Equipment should be installed in buildings in higher locations where the risk of flooding is reduced and basements should be avoided as sites for equipment and reserve generators. To make data services more accessible, servers should be geographically dispersed and network elements can be based on a cloud platform. Operators should be mandated to provide mobile base stations and backpack devices in case of disaster when terrestrial network gets damaged. During crisis situations there is usually a dramatic increase in traffic, but at the same time relief operators require telecommunication services urgently. For this reason, priority needs to be given to designated users engaged in relief operations. Novel traffic deluge management techniques, which differentiate urgent and delay-tolerant services, can provide connectivity for urgent services while delay-tolerant services may be redirected to a temporary facility. Earthquake-proofing towers in known risk areas and developing a satellite-based system which can provide back-up communications and data connectivity also need to be prioritised.

The list could go on, but the point is that at a time when India is poised to take its place as a global digital power it cannot afford to leave its citizens without a dependable communications network. Lessons must be learnt from the failures in Kerala to ensure that we learn from history, not repeat it again and again.

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