Recent climate events, such as the dramatic flooding in Valencia, highlight the crucial need for telecom operators to ensure the resilience of their networks in the face of natural disasters. To maintain connectivity in affected areas, they must deploy adaptive infrastructure, such as elevated antennas and easily transportable modular sites, which are weather-resistant and quickly operational. This technical preparation, although essential, must be complemented by effective coordination with local authorities for an optimized response.
Given the reality of climate change, one might question whether mobile operators should establish a dedicated team to address these challenges. Such a team could lead necessary infrastructure adaptations while integrating preventive actions and raising awareness among clients to prepare them for major crises. By developing a proactive strategy, which includes both technical improvements and targeted education, operators would be better equipped to ensure network continuity during natural disasters. This would also enable users to adopt the right reflexes in crisis situations, thus strengthening collective resilience.
Temporary solutions, such as mobile cells (COW) and connectivity drones or balloons, provide provisional networks in isolated or damaged areas. The use of autonomous generators, backup batteries, and solar stations also supports continuous equipment power, even when external resources are unavailable.
At MWC 2024, Japanese operators, frequently facing natural disasters, demonstrated the effectiveness of their resilient solutions. These innovations reveal that anticipating and adapting to extreme conditions is not only possible but essential for operators.
The operators would benefit from following this approach by strengthening their infrastructure resilience, implementing mesh networks, forecasting, and advanced detection solutions to address climate challenges, and investing in innovation in this AI era. A swift, coordinated response will be key to ensuring continuity of service for users, even in the most critical situations.
-> Average cost of network outages: $5.6 million per hour for major carriers
-> Hurricane Katrina (2005): 2,000 cell towers destroyed, took 8 months to restore basic services
-> Japan earthquake/tsunami (2011): approximately $15 billion in damage to telecommunications infrastructure
-> Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico, 2017): 95.6% of cell sites down immediately after impact, full restoration took nearly 11 months
Resilient network infrastructure:
Elevated antenna sites: Operators can construct antenna sites on elevated structures to prevent flood damage.
Modular sites: These easily transportable and installable sites are especially useful in affected areas, particularly for smaller networks, enabling quick replacement of damaged infrastructure.
Weather-resistant design: Use of water- and element-resistant equipment for base stations, enclosures, and critical components.
Temporary connectivity solutions:
Mobile cells (cell on wheels – COW): Mobile network towers or truck-mounted antennas are deployed to disaster-stricken areas, providing temporary coverage. These COWs connect to the main network infrastructure and are often used by emergency services.
Drones and balloons (e.g., Google Loon): Drones or balloons can provide temporary network coverage from above, which is particularly useful in remote or hard-to-access areas.
Battery and power solutions:
Backup generators and batteries: In affected zones, autonomous generators and backup batteries can temporarily power network equipment.
Solar panels: In certain cases, operators deploy solar-powered stations, ensuring sustainable and resilient power without relying on external fuel supply.
Implementation of ad hoc and mesh networks:
Mesh networks: Quickly deployable for local coverage without relying on central infrastructure, allowing users to share a connection even if the main infrastructure is damaged.
Disaster management software and proactive maintenance:
Disaster prediction software: Using AI and machine learning, these solutions predict risk zones based on weather and environmental data, helping operators anticipate impacts and prepare temporary infrastructure.
Detection and monitoring systems: Tools for detecting moisture, flooding, and vibrations monitor sites in real time to assess disaster impacts, automatically triggering emergency responses (e.g., deployment of temporary sites).
Network sharing partnerships and agreements:
Operators can collaborate to share infrastructure during disasters, ensuring broader coverage and minimizing downtime. These agreements allow basic connectivity for users even if a specific operator is severely impacted.