State of California Emergency Response Network – A Case Study

The State of California Office of Emergency Services (OES) was looking for a modern communications network for emergency response.

The goal of the OES network was to assist various civil agencies (Highway Patrol, Fire Departments, Department of Transportation, Relief Agencies, Police and various other law enforcement agencies) in case of crises. California is prone to various crises of natural origin e.g. earthquake, landslides, flash flooding, contamination due to hazardous materials and forest fires. In addition, emergencies due to terrorism are always a threat these days.

The task is more challenging since the state terrain ranges from High Sierra Mountains, rugged coasts, deserts in southern California, and various regions with dense forestation.

Traditional terrestrial systems often fail in case of the emergencies described above. It was clear that a satellite based solution was the only alternative for providing the first responders with the following:

• a) Quick deployment of system at the sites of incident

• b) Restoration of communication (voice, data and video) anywhere in the state

• c) Interoperability with the existing Infra-structure

• d) Easy installation, operation and maintainance

          e) Be cost competitive

Kromos-Anacom Solution
The Kromos-Anacom network was chosen for this network. This solution was picked based on its flexibility, scalability, bandwidth efficiency, advanced VoIP and sophisticated Network Management System (NMS) in addition to meeting the basic requirements mentioned above. The OES network consists of the following:

1. The Hub: The Hub is deployed at the OES Headquarters. The network is designed with future expansion in mind. There is a Redundant Hub installed at a separate location. This Redundant Hub will assume the role of the primary Hub in case the primary Hub either fails or is rendered ineffective due to an act of terrorism, etc. This is done to ensure uninterrupted operation of the network in case of an emergency. The Kromos Hub is the only solution in the industry that does not require the redundant Hub to be connected to the primary Hub using a terrestrial link.

The Hub also has an NMS platform, a VoIP Gateway, IP PBX and connection to the phone company (PSTN) through a T1 line. This PSTN connectivity allows the OES personnel to call outside numbers through the Hub. The IP PBX at the Hub handles all call forwarding/routing etc. In addition, there are 24 VoIP lines provided at the headquarters to back-up the POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) lines in case of emergency. The Hub uses a high power Anacom Transceiver and a large dish. The facility also has generators for back-up power.

2. Fixed Earth Stations: The majority of remotes are fixed earth stations. These sites have a Kromos Satellite IP Gateway, a VoIP Gateway and PCs connected using an Ethernet switch. Some of these sites also have a video conferencing facility. The outdoor equipment consists of an Anacom transceiver and a small dish. Most of the remotes talk to each other through the Hub (STAR Topology). However, some of the “high-priority” remotes are enabled to connect each other directly in a single hop (Mesh Topology).

3. Transportable Stations: These stations are typically mounted on trailers that can be towed using a truck or SUV to any site that requires immediate voice/ video/data connectivity. Some of these stations are also vehicle mounted. Each transportable consists of a Kromos Satellite IP Gateway, a VoIP Gateway, an IP video camera, an Anacom Transceiver and a satellite dish. Some of these stations are equipped with autoacquire antennas that can be pointed to the satellite accurately without manual adjustment for quick deployment.

The basic network is configured to use satellite bandwidth (a precious commodity) only when needed. A handful of the high priority locations have been assigned dedicated links for continuous dissemination of information.

The network consists of about 100+ nodes and most nodes have 8+ VoIP lines. Some of the locations have more VoIP lines. The entire network has close to 1000 VoIP lines being managed and routed by the Kromos Softswitch at the Hub. The entire network is being managed using Kromos NMS, Web, etc. from the Hub location. The network administrator also has the ability to manage the network from any other location with connectivity to the network.

This system configuration is depicted in a diagram above.

In a number of recent emergencies involving catastrophic fires, landslides, flooding, etc., the OES network has been able to respond faster and more reliably with fewer personnel using this network. Moreover, some of the OES trailers were even loaned out to other national emergencies for providing instant communications.