Communications of the ACM
Staying connected
The Network of Life
Hour upon hour, the heart-wrenching stories poured from broken faces. As television broadcast the devastation that hurricane Katrina wrecked on the Gulf Coast, human suffering was again palpable in living rooms around the globe. And as the images brought back previous horrors, most recently Southeast Asia's tsunami, there was a collective increased feeling of the frailty of our surroundings.
The natural disasters claimed thousands of lives and forever altered millions more. But while the media's reporting initially focused on the losses of basic necessities and the devastating loss of propertyto the tune of some $35 billion to $60 billion for Katrina and nearly $5 billion for Ritathe following days would bring many other burdens for victims to bear. The fundamental need for connection came through in sobs and tears as families yearned for a way to reach out to loved ones silenced in the chaos.
Katrina's punishing winds and subsequent flooding led to power outages and a ferocious pummeling of infrastructure. The loss of use of communication networks worsened the already disastrous situation. The FCC tallied the number of unconnected telephone calls the day after Katrina at a staggering 20 million. And while repairing those networks became a paramount mission in rebuilding the cities so ravaged by nature, preventing a repeat of that communication outage should also be a top priority.
"In addition to its other tragic consequencesincluding tremendous loss of life and widespread property damageHurricane Katrina severely shook the communications network in the Gulf Coast," proclaimed FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Commissioner Michael J. Copps, and Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein in a statement regarding restoration efforts following Katrina. "[R]estoring all these links will be as challenging a communication mission as we have ever confronted."
Indeed, telecom giants, namely BellSouth, which provides service in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, were stunned at Katrina's viciousness. BellSouth, no stranger to hurricanes, had included precautionary measures for such disasters as part of its network planning. One way the operator did this was to situate switches on no lower than the second floor of buildings in the low-lying areas within the New Orleans bowl-like region, and elevate buildings on the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi above ground level.
"Even these precautions, however, were not enough to withstand Katrina's sustained winds in excess of 145 miles per hour and storm surges of 2540 feet," stated William Smith, CTO at BellSouth, in front of a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation regarding Katrina in late September.
Who was to blame for the outage? Why couldn't anyone communicate? What should be done now?
Like it had before, the telecom and technology community came together to try to address those challenges and acknowledged the benefits and drawbacks of the hybrid communicationslike landline, wireless, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)comprising today's networks.
"There is a desperate need to reestablish communications in the disaster areas," blared Part-15.org's site, an organization of Wireless Internet service providers. "Donations of equipment and volunteers from the tech community willing to travel to the area affected by Katrina are sought."
As BellSouth rebuilt its own network, and started turning back up serviceof the nearly 3 million lines that were initially affected by Katrina, Rita, or both about 15% inside New Orleans and 1% of lines in Louisiana weren't up and running as of October 1other providers could start to turn up their own services as well. BellSouth worked with wireless service provider competitors to get connections up and running, inviting some providers to "collocate at our emergency command center, recognizing the critical role that wireless plays in today's communications and also knowing the key role we play in enabling wireless service," according to top BellSouth executives.
"Together with members of the wireless industry, we developed a joint wireless restoration plan, focused on interoffice rings, prioritizing cell site restoration, and the placement of microwave facilities," stated Smith during the Senate committee meeting. "These carriers provided input for restoration priorities together with our team...These collaborative efforts have been very important in the restoration effort."
As with after the tsunami, aid workers coming to help the affected areas brought in computers and satellite phoneswhich had been a great failure in the 1990s because of their clunky size and hefty price tag. The use of such technology has pushed demand for the satellite phones, because of their ability to communicate over great stretches of territory. In fact, satellite provider Iridium, borne from Motorola and sold after its bankruptcy in 1999, saw its traffic in the affected area climb 500% within 72 hours of Katrina's first impact. The FCC enabled use of additional spectrum to "accommodate network traffic and minimize risk of congestion resulting from Hurricane Katrina," Iridium said.
Other tech giants, too, have risen to the charitable occasion. SBC Communications fitted the Houston Astrodome with telecom services such as local, long-distance, and Internet connectivity. Intel announced a coordination of 1,500 laptop computers to the American Red Cross for distribution to shelters. The chip-making giant also donated 150 wireless Internet access points, which will enable wireless local area connectivity in certain shelters, and 50 Wi-Fi transmitters to build out coverage in the downtown and airport sections of New Orleans. Motorola donated equipment, including portable radios and wireless handsets. Verizon provided mobile phones and free prepaid calling cards, according to reports. Software behemoth Microsoft contributed $1 million to relief efforts and worked with the Red Cross on providing technological solutions. And Oracle matched its employee contributions and promised help with technical efforts in the area going forward, according to MarketWatch.
It's Electric
Yet even with the deep-pocketed rebuilding efforts and charitable donations, one of the most significant problems brought to light by the tragedy is the dependence on electricity powering communications. Keeping communications operational during a disaster of such magnitude is a huge feat. But networks that are dependent on power, and generators that can't be reached for refueling are a crucial vulnerability. At an FCC meeting recapping the events of the storm, Rod Odom, BellSouth's network services president, was reported to say that the hurricane reinforced the fact that modern communications networks "are increasingly dependent on power," noting that many instances of communications loss were not a result of physical damage to networks.
"Many of the communications failures are not a failure of connectivity but a failure caused by a lack of power at one point or another in the network," Odom said.
Today's hybrid networks are a mixed blessing, say market watchers.
"On one hand we are better off today because of all the communications technologies we use. More providers and more technologies usually mean if some get damaged then others will remain available," says technology industry pundit Jeff Kagan. "On the other hand without power, and with the basic networks being damaged there is very little we can do other than repair it. We may seem more vulnerable since we are all used to having instant communications with cell phones and assorted voice technologies, and when they go down, many people don't know what to do."
Katrina's wrath was bigger than providers had faced before. Previously, hurricanes followed a pattern of an initial surge, followed by a receding of water. At that point, power restoration would normally begin, explained Smith during the Senate committee meeting. But as the levees burst in New Orleans, the water recession never came. Coupled with security issues and flooding, "generator power was lost at several central offices due to our inability to refuel," Smith states.
Dial 911
That this could happen elsewhere, sometime in the near future, hit a nerve. That communication and network problems were a big issue following the terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, and one that was to be addressed, also resurfaced.
After 9/11, there were reports of failed radios and clogged channels that doomed communication to rescue workers. As part of the 9/11 Commission, one of the recommendations was that Congress "should support pending legislation which provides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes. Furthermore, high-risk urban areas such as New York City and Washington, D.C. should establish signal corps units to ensure communications connectivity between and among civilian authorities, local first responders, and the National Guard. Federal funding of such units should be given high priority by Congress."
After the report, the Department of Homeland Security said it was launching a new office to help coordinate interoperability of communications at the federal, state, and local levels and to help improve the compatibility of equipment.
"In addition to these targeted efforts, interoperable communications planning and equipment has been a high priority for Federal homeland security assistance to states and localities, particularly in high-risk urban areas," according to a press release issued by the Bush Administration one year before Katrina.
Yet days after the hurricane, the pounded communication networks became another political point of argumentation over which politico held the most blame in the preparedness, or lack thereof, for the hurricane itself. Who was to blame for the outage? Why couldn't anyone communicate? What should be done now? One hearing had senators demanding that all technologies used for communication, like VoIP have a fail-safe 911 system. The FCC vowed to carve out a Public Safety division in the bureau. And there was talk that PSAPs, or public safety answering points, shouldreally, this timehave access to better emergency communication. More of the spectrum used for wireless communication in addition to the 97MHz already designated by the FCC could be allocated to public safety to ensure such communication would be secured.
"I want to underscore how complete and total the implosion of communications seemed to be," Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican in the state during the hurricane, was reported by CNET to have said.
Telecom providers, like BellSouth, shed light on how networks are controlled in the aftermath of such destruction. Initially, the highest priority circuits are restored, specifically those that support public safety including hospitals, E-911 centers, and law enforcement, Smith said. Of the 138 E-911 response centers in Mississippi, 43 saw outages, which have since been restored. Of Louisiana's 91 E-911 centers, 35 were impacted, according to BellSouth. Five E-911 centers, all in the New Orleans area, remained out of service as of mid-September.
Rise Up
FCC Chairman Martin vowed to establish an independent panel, made up of public safety and communication industry representatives, to review what went wrong and how to make the networks right. Meanwhile, BellSouth has estimated the telecommunications network rebuilding effort will take months to complete and cost between $400 million and $600 million. "Congress and the private sector alike should be cautious about building unrealistic expectations about how long it takes to fully recover from a storm packing the furor of a Katrina," Smith stated.
Yet believers promise New Orleans will rise again to become a stronger city, with even more resiliency, able to stare down disaster and remain intact.
As the city begins to heal, the public should demand that service providers and government have that same goal for their communication networks.
©2006 ACM 0001-0782/06/0100 $5.00
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