Situation

• A mudslide in North Vancouver had killed one person, injured another and threatened the neighbourhood
• The sloping terrain prevented cellular signals from reaching the disaster site
• Even regular police radios could not connect
• A lack of interoperability between different communications systems prevented first responders from communicating with each other on site

Approach

• The RCMP contacted TELUS and asked for an emergency shipment of Mike handsets
• TELUS shipped a Cellular on Wheels (COW) unit from Toronto, providing cellular coverage to the area within 24 hours
• TELUS also hooked up landlines to the RCMP command post at the site

Business Benefits

• Emergency workers at the site could communicate with each other “off net” using Mike’s Direct Connect feature, even before cellular coverage was provided
• Upon its arrival less than 24 hours after the emergency, the COW unit “bent” a cellular signal down to the site, providing connectivity to the outside world
• Homeowners were kept informed of progress at the site and could be contacted when necessary

Solution Details

On Wednesday, January 19, 2005, residents of a picturesque North Vancouver neighbourhood at the foot of Mount Seymour woke to disaster. Days of heavy rain had caused a mudslide that destroyed two homes, killing one woman and critically injuring her husband. Emergency teams quickly moved into the area and the RCMP ordered the evacuation of 70 other homes. But the police and emergency teams soon discovered two other problems. Because of the sloping terrain, cellular signals could not reach the area. And on the ground, a lack of interoperability between the different services’ communications systems meant that police, fire, ambulance and other emergency personnel couldn’t communicate with each other.

Dietmar Uberschar, Manager, Telecommunications Services, E Division, RCMP, remembers it well. “Even the RCMP radios in that area didn’t have coverage. I contacted TELUS and we arranged to have 20 Mike phones shipped out to us.” Uberschar knew that the exclusive Mike Direct Connect™ digital two-way radio feature would enable police and emergency workers in the area to contact each other securely at the push of a button. He also arranged with TELUS to activate a new technology solution called COW, or Cellular on Wheels. A completely mobile, fully functional tactical radio site on a truck, COW acts as a temporary cellular transmitter. Positioned to receive a signal from a remote cellular site, it can then “bend” the signal into an area where coverage is interrupted. That same night, TELUS airlifted a COW truck from Toronto to Vancouver.

With the truck positioned at the site, the RCMP and emergency workers had contact with the outside world. “That wasn’t all,” says Uberschar. “Within a day, TELUS also hooked up landlines to our command post at the bottom of the site, which allowed us to communicate with homeowners. TELUS went out of their way to help us assist the community and provide security for residents.”

                        While the COW truck has proved itself in areas where the terrain interrupts cellular coverage, TELUS recently introduced a new solution that is even more powerful. Satellite Cell on Light Trucks, or SATCOLT, links wirelessly over satellite, enabling it to be deployed anywhere, even in parts of the country where cellular coverage doesn’t exist. At a moment’s notice, using either of these solutions, any agency providing emergency response or security at a temporary site or location can acquire the secure communications it needs, both for its own people and with other first responders and public safety agencies.