I’ve said it often – as citizens and organizations we are becoming increasingly reliant on systems that we have no idea how to fix, that allow us to do more for less with shorter lead times (think of jumping into the car with a postcode for the SATNAV instead of looking at and packing a map for a journey) regardless of the risks.

This article from the BBC news site discusses our reliance on GPS and some of the potential threats to it’s availability.

We also know that solar flares pose a significant risk to our infrastructure due to their effect on the electromagnetic spectrum and the induction of unwanted electromagnetic fluxes in conductors (similar to an air-burst nuclear weapon).

Recently, the news reported how the Chinese military retain and train a battalion of carrier pigeons to ensure they can maintain critical communications in a cyber-crisis or similar event.  A good example of resilience planning if ever their was one.

Meanwhile in Columbia, they’re strapping cocaine to pigeons as the ultimate in stealth drug trafficking – albeit they carry smaller quantities than their go-fast craft and submersibles.

Perhaps you ought to think of installing a pigeon coop on your companies sites?

You can always fall back on them as a food supply like Captain Blackadder!

In light of this I thought it might be useful to offer a few thoughts on the feasibility and appropriateness of such a solution.

Firstly, we can start from the assumption that the mobile network providers will wish to earn revenue where possible by providing a service (especially if there is a chance of a peak in demand which of course translates to extra revenue); however, we’ve all experienced the problems of network overload when seeking to call or text friends at New Year or ring home when stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway so we can’t bank on their being any connectivity in a crisis.

Secondly, whilst the telecommunications masts are normally provided with a battery back-up to maintain the mast in the event of a power cut, this is only likely to last for about 1 hour depending on the amount of power drawn and conditionof the battery when activated.

I am not aware of any capability to deploy diesel generators as fallback power supplies to the mobile telephony so once the battery is drained that’s it until the power is restored.

Ok, so what about having multiple SIM cards to try and tap into a netowrk that is unaffected?  Well, some of the mobile operators themselves use this as a fallback plan but it is not as straightforward as it might seem since many phones are locked to a particular SIM card or network – for example the i-Phone is locked to O2.

Trying to use international roaming services is also fraught with problems of having to dial the country code before the number which can make this approach more trouble than it is worth once you add on the additional routing costs of the call and in a crisis the mobile companies often ask for permission to restrict these calls in order to preserve what little capacity they have for national services.

The emergency services and government departments may obtain a limited number of special SIM cards from the Home Office that provide Mobile Telephone Privileged Access Services (MPAS) but the person you need to call must also have switched to that system otherwise you cannot contact them.

VHF radio communications then seem to be the most robust means of providing resilient telecommunications over short distances.  Whilst the handsets also require batteries there is no need for a network infrastructure to transfer the message – indeed other users can relay messages over long distances when properly trained as yachts do at sea in a pan or mayday call.  Longer distances require either HF radio (which can travel around the globe but is slow and of limited bandwidth) or SHF satellite communications (which can be delivered point to point around the world with high speed data and voice – for a premium).

If you really need to communicate in a crisis it seems the most resilient solution is a mobile satellite telephone with a standby diesel generator to keep it charged – not a cheap solution – but disasters aren’t cheap events and it may be possible to cover some of the costs with insurance depending upon how and when you procure the solution.

Whichever option you choose, it’s worth doing your homework and checking with your solution provider to find out exactly how they plan to maintain your service during a variety of scenarios to ensure that you can communicate during a disruption.

For a low tech, short range option one could always install voice pipes or sound powered telephoneslike those used on warships.  These were designed to work throughout major damage and disruption and even after an Electromagnetic Pulse from an air burst nuclear weapon (which tends to destroy all electronic and electrical equipment unless it is specially designed to cope).  Being able to communicate with anyone after that sort of disruption might be just the sort of bonus you need to put a spring back in your step after the kick-off for nuclear armageddon!  What have you done to ensure resilient telecommunications in a crisis?

@Veterus