The need for communications during times of disaster is often incredibly important. In particular, internet services are especially vulnerable to destruction in the face of fires, floods and other natural disasters.
Disrupted internet services could routinely take weeks or longer to fix in the past. Now, thanks to a new Telstra initiative, ADSL and other fixed line services will be able to remain connected, even after disaster has struck the local exchange.
MEOW - the portable ADSL2+ backup solution
The mobile exchange on wheels or MEOW, as it is creatively known - might look like an ordinary trailer from the outside, but inside - it's a fully functioning telephone exchange. The three-tonne unit can be easily pulled behind a 4WD or light truck and into critical areas of need without delay.
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| Inside the MEOW: Mobile Exchange on Wheels |
Speaking with David Piltz, who is the Executive Director of Integrated Network Planning for Telstra, the portable exchange can be operated by just two technicians, both of whom are in charge of activating and setting up the device.
The heavy-use trailer is DC powered, has its own air con system to cool the equipment and comes with an additional power generator for longer periods off-site.
The MEOW can provide up to 450 fixed line telephone services and over 300 ADSL2+ broadband services, at speeds of up to 20Mbps. Mr Piltz told us that they can usually get ADSL services back on the air within hours of the trailer's deployment.
When not in use, the MEOW is always ready for duty. It's parked in 'hot standby mode', where it remains connected to the network at Telstra's Croyden offices in Melbourne. There, it can be deployed within 30mins of a disaster occuring.
While the internet serves as a critical communication tool in the aftermath of disasters, the MEOW trailer is sure to play a big part of the clean-up process, during the reconstruction phase.
By comparison, when a physical exchange is badly damaged during a disaster, it can take up to a week to deploy spare equipment and have fixed line services running again from the area. However, the MEOW manages to plug that vital reconstruction delay gap by getting the job done in a few hours.
The mobile exchange, which is valued at more than $200,000 - is a country first. Telstra spokesperson Martin Barr told us that the idea came to engineers out of the recent black Saturday fires tragedy that struck Victorian towns earlier this year.
The mobile exchange will also compliment another portable Telstra disaster helper - the COW. In another animal related acronym for the company, the COW (cell on wheels) serves as a portable mobile signal tower and is currently being deployed to bushfire areas in rural Victoria who lost mobile service during the fires.
During any given year, Australia is often at the mercy of bush fires, floods and cyclones. The MEOW project is likely to benefit a number of these disaster areas in the near future. According to Mr Piltz, 60% of country telephone exchanges throughout rural Australia can be solved with a MEOW.
For now, there is only one MEOW in existence. However, Telstra might be working on other solutions to combat exchange problems in the interim. "We've got some other ideas up our sleeve", Piltz said.
In a Melbourne Herald Sun report, Australia is likely to experience another busy fire season this year, which means the MEOW could see its fair share of action on the front lines this summer.