Houston, we have a connection

Texas is a state that boasts some unique statistics. It is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous U.S. It has four metropolitan areas with populations greater than a million. It is very successful in many industries and leads in many including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, and computers and electronics, just to name a few.

Given the success Texas has enjoyed, it’s easy to forget many of the geographic challenges its citizens have had to overcome. Texas has dealt with its share of extreme weather conditions. Some of the most destructive hurricanes in the U.S. history have impacted the state. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 resulted in the death of thousands of people, making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. In addition, the state experiences the most tornadoes in the U.S., an average of 139 a year. The extreme weather conditions have also resulted in brutal heat waves.

In addition to these extreme situations, the state deals with many of the same everyday occurrences as any other: traffic jams, automobile accidents, fires and other man made situations that require emergency assistance. And like all of these states, there are various departments across Texas to ensure the safety of the public in the every day and the more occasional emergency situations.

Lubbock County, a small region in comparison to the large state of Texas, knows first-hand the importance of being prepared for any emergency situation. The county is located in the northwest part of Texas and has a population of over 240,000 and 901 square miles to protect. The county’s emergency management division, which is part of the Sheriff’s department, needed access to reliable, secure and affordable emergency communications to fulfill its mission of protecting the people in its community. In seeking to improve its emergency communications to support its mobile operations the county obtained a mobile operations vehicle to maintain data, voice and video communications during emergency situations and in support of planned operational events.

Lubbock County is also part of the statewide Texas Rapid Response Task Force. As part of this task force, it needs to ensure it can keep communications running smoothly in emergency situations across the state. 

To meet its emergency communications requirements, Lubbock County turned to satellite technology to keep it connected. Clint Thetford, Lubbock County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, took the lead in the search for a reliable emergency communications solution. After researching different options, he selected Spacenet’s satellite communications solutions, including the Connexstar S2 satellite services, based on the SkyEdge II VSAT platform and transportable antennas, to support critical data, voice and video communications across the county, and the state.

Satellite networks have always been a truly redundant, diverse, and independent means of back-up. The ability to deliver communications capabilities anywhere independent of land-based assets makes satellite a unique component of emergency communications. In the past, satellite was often viewed as having limited communications capabilities, making it difficult to justify. However, technology advancements in the satellite industry - both in the hardware and the actual service - are changing that for many agencies. Today’s satellite networks can be deployed with the push of a single button from any location and support Voice over IP (VoIP), data, or even Land Mobile Radio (LMR) communications from a mobile or fixed satellite location. And, because satellite capacity can be dynamically allocated where and when it is needed, organizations have access to more flexible and economical service options.

Lubbock County integrated Spacenet’s satellite equipment and services into its mobile operations vehicle that is used across the State to maintain data, voice and video communications during emergency situations. The vehicle is one of two primary mobile communications platforms within the region, and it can be utilized as an alternate dispatch point for its jurisdiction in the case of an outage, helping to enable the county to operate normally. The system supports voice over IP (VoIP) through telephone systems that connect back to Lubbock County’s telephone numbers.

“Spacenet’s satellite system has proven to be extremely reliable and effective for supporting our critical emergency communications requirements,” said Thetford. “In addition, the company has gone above and beyond to provide excellent customer service support, even assisting with issues that were outside of its normal scope of work. The system works well for our requirements and helps us protect the public across the County and the State.”

Since the implementation, Lubbock County has used its mobile operations vehicle to support multiple events across the County for real-time deployments. It has served as a critical communications network to support data and voice communications. The mobile operations vehicle was recently used to support a community in Texas that lost its connection to the 911 system due to a cut in the fiber optic lines. The mobile operations vehicle rolled into the community and within an hour was able to provide 911 access through its VoIP phones. The fiber optic lines were not restored until another six to eight hours later. In addition, as part of the state’s Rapid Response Task Force, the county has used its mobile operations vehicle and satellite services for several emergency exercises throughout Texas.

“Maintaining communications no matter what is critical for Lubbock County in order to protect its community and serve on the state of Texas Rapid Response Task Force,” said Spacenet Vice President, Mike Mazza. “Spacenet was committed to working with the county to ensure a reliable and effective system was in place, and we look forward to working with other similar organizations to help with public safety efforts across the nation.”

Another unique attribute of satellite is its ability to integrate with Land Mobile Radio in support of critical communications in emergency situations. Although LMR is a proven solution, most systems are networked via terrestrial technology, which are vulnerable to local network outages during emergency situations or extreme weather conditions. To reduce this risk and enable constant access to communications, satellite solutions have the ability to provide seamless backhaul for Land Mobile Radio and provide backup to terrestrial lines that support the Public Safety Access Points (PSAPs). Satellite can provide a cost-effective and reliable backup solution to terrestrial links to keep LMR systems running, since it is independent of the local network infrastructure.

In addition to providing a reliable backup solution, LMR over satellite can solve the entire communication requirement for both Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity. First responders typically set up their LMR infrastructure on-scene to support local communications. Using LMR over satellite, first responders can communicate from the disaster site to the EOC’s or other designated facility, supporting WAN requirements.

In Texas or any other state, government agencies and sheriff’s departments across the nation are aware of the important topic of emergency communications to ensure the safety of the public. Whether due to weather conditions, natural disasters, or man-made situations, emergency responders need access to reliable data, voice and video communications no matter what. It can, in extreme situations, mean the difference between life and death. However, finding the right solution that meets each department’s unique requirements and budget can be a challenge. Today, these departments have access to a broader and more advanced array of satellite options. Emergency managers across the nation’s counties and states, no matter how big or small, can meet their emergency communications needs with relatively easier-to-deploy and cost-effective satellite solutions.