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That's What I'm Saying....

Talking in the Dark This article from the NY Times Sunday Magazine makes the point I've been trying to make for three weeks on this page. Mesh Networks are waiting in the wings as a great, cheap, effective alternative for disaster recovery.

Some critics challenge whether wireless mesh would be sufficiently reliable in the wake of a disaster. My response - "when five 9's goes to six 0's after a disaster, any communication at all is an improvement." I think we need to collectively adjust our standards for communication and have a paradigm shift regarding how we defend against unplanned disasters. In addition to fortifying our exisitng dominant networks (which is inevitable with all the lobbyists in Washington), we should also build alternate networks that will be left standing when the dominant network is taken out. These would be overlay networks that would complement the dominant networks, not replace them. In that way, such networks should be judged by a different standard: their resilience, not their ability to deliver "carrier grade" telecommunications.

Just as highways are available for ambulances and police cars, whose sirens and lights communicate to regular users to pull over and cede the network to the first responders, mesh networks buiilt for disaster could be used during regular times for any public purpose, enjoyed by the community and enriching the public life, but when needed, they would be converted to an all-emergency responder network at the snap of an operator's fingers.

Insurance is something we buy so that we can spread the risk of a disaster, and have cash to rebuid and recover from the disaster. It's a wonderful invention of modern business, spreading the risk among the whole community and allowing buisnesses and individuals to maintain continuity in their lives. There is also the concept of self-insurance, where one sets aside enough resources to get by on one's own in the event of a disaster.

That is what mesh networks would become for a community. Self-insurance, which would ensure that the community could talk to each other after a disaster, and get itself back on its feet ASAP, regardless of the speed of outsiders' help. And such self insurance is within economic reach of every town in the US. If we can't predict where disaster will strike, or how we wil recover, we can at least ensure that we can talk to each other so we can help each other. Mesh networks are a ray of sunshine in these dark times. And FEMA, Homeland Security, Congress, and the White House could earn huge points wth a disenchanted public by helping communities to build such networks, addressing the Digital Divide, conquering the rural broadband deficit, and all the while, making the nation safer, more self-reliant, and more resilient. It could happen. Call your congressman today.

Posted on September 19, 2005 at 10:54 PM

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