A quick trip back down memory lane, or nightmare alley for some people, to 2012 and Hurricane Sally. A dangerous hurricane the likes of which hadn’t ever been seen in some parts of the country, and it took down over a third of the affected areas’ cell towers and power stations.
Fast forward to October 2023 in Texas, and a communications test where goTenna showcased how low-cost mobile mesh networks increase interoperability and connectivity in multi-agency disaster response situations, ultimately creating safer and more effective operations.
Multi-Agency Communications are Essential in Disaster Response
During the demonstration, goTenna and the Air Force’s 147th ASOS simulated a disaster response in Austin, Texas. This test event assumed power outages and degraded cellular connectivity, similar to what is experienced during hurricane, flood, and wildland firefighting responses. Multiple organizations gathered to rapidly construct an ad-hoc, off-grid network for interoperable communications and critical coordination of multi-agency responses. The event involved a compilation of six different federal, state, and civilian responders building a 61 linear-mile network covering 2,500 square miles in under 3 hours. Additionally, the event showcased two rotary wing assets’ integration with ground teams, enhancing situational awareness from the tactical operator to an operations center. With the assistance of two rotary wing aerial assets and two fixed goTenna Edge Relays, the network covered over 26,000 square miles.
Lone Operator Relaying Information on goTenna’s Network
Fast forward again to January 2024 when Mattermost, Inc., the leading secure collaboration platform for technical teams, announced that it has been awarded an Air Force SBIR Phase II contract in partnership with goTenna, the world’s leading mobile mesh networking platform. This award enables Mattermost Government Solutions and goTenna to work closely with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Information Directorate (RI) and the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) Product Center (TPC) to improve distributed collaboration and enhance warfighter efficiency, safety, and accuracy.
The Mattermost secure collaboration platform enables federal civilian agencies and organizations across the Department of Defense to exchange mission-critical information through its highly customizable environment. Mattermost’s open-source nature supports public cloud, private cloud, on-prem, and “data-center-in-a-box” deployments while offering full data control and custody to maintain the required level of communications security (COMSEC).
Working closely with goTenna, Mattermost will also create transmission layer integrations for data passage within TAK, delivering a proof-of-concept leveraging goTenna’s mesh radios in low-bandwidth environments. Successful adoption of the Mattermost plugin for TAK will empower thousands of airmen and TAK users across sectors to coordinate mission-critical information effectively and securely.
This Was only in the Movies, Until Now
So, who is goTenna? In short, a communications company who is advancing universal access to connectivity by building the world’s most intelligent and scalable mobile mesh networks. goTenna is the world’s leading mobile mesh networking company, providing off-grid connectivity solutions for smartphones and other devices, as well as augmenting traditional communications networks. This technology enables mobile, long-range connectivity without cell, wifi, or satellite connectivity.
goTenna’s products are currently used by over 300 law enforcement, military, and public safety agencies worldwide and they will be at SOF Week in Tampa this coming May. We can’t wait!
Garfield out.
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