[LINK] Cairns power and 3G wireless networks in recent cyclones

[Tom Worthington]

Phillip Musumeci wrote:

> ... If you wanted to
> harden the telecomms system so that it assisted in the coordination of
> responses during and after an emergency ... what would be the best approach?... In the case of 3G networks up north, extending the battery capacity of
> towers and links upstream might be a cost effective first stage ...

The large publicly subsidised investment in solar panels could be used
for emergency power. Most of the solar panels installed in Australia are
currently set up to switch off for safety in a blackout.

With a little extra electronics and wiring, plus some extra batteries,
the solar panels could be used to charge the backup batteries for
telecommunications equipment during a blackout. The rest of the time the
panels would supply power to the grid, as they do now.

I have asked Arnold McKinley to look at how to do this. He developed
electronics and software for photovoltaic panels in California before
starting a PHD at ANU:
<http://blog.tomw.net.au/2010/11/electronics-to-increase-solar-panel.html>.

Also I have suggested the solar panels installed on schools be used for
emergency power:
<http://blog.tomw.net.au/2011/02/broadband-for-broad-land-draft.html>.


-- 
Tom Worthington FACS CP HLM, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia  http://www.tomw.net.au
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science, The
Australian National University http://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7310/
Visiting Scientist, CSIRO ICT Centre: http://bit.ly/csiro_ict_canberra