NBN Co has launched its emergency preparedness campaign ahead of natural disaster season.
A launch event was held at NBN Co’s Asquith facility in New South Wales to showcase technologies and hardware that NBN Co can draw upon during a natural disaster, and which have been funded through the Australian Government’s $37.1 million Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disaster (STAND) program.
On hand at the event were a portable satellite dish known as a ‘flyaway’ kit, two hybrid powercubes, a multi tech trailer and a RoadMuster truck, all of which are designed to bolster the resilience of communications networks during emergencies such as bushfires and floods.
STAND has funded a suite of initiatives designed to improve telecommunications resilience:
- Five RoadMuster trucks, which can be deployed anywhere in Australia to provide temporary internet connectivity to communities that have been hit by a natural disaster.
- A total of 111 NBN Co SkyMuster satellite dishes, providing free WiFi services available at Rural and Country Fire Service depots and evacuation centres across the country.
- The upgrading of 467 mobile phone towers to provide at least twelve hours of back-up power;
- Twelve portable satellite dishes (Flyaway kits) which have built and delivered to states and territories. All of this equipment is ready for use in natural disasters.
- A communications program, including a series of animations on how to prepare for a telecommunications outage in a natural disaster.
The STAND program is part of the $650 million bushfire recovery relief package announced in May 2020, helping to better prepare communities across Australia for natural disasters.
More information is available on the What is the Government doing to strengthen telecommunications resilience? web page.
To find out what you can do to prepare for disaster season, visit the Telecommunications and natural disasters – 6 things you should know web page.