Disaster preparedness and response have always been complex, requiring seamless communication, collaboration, and coordination across public and private sectors. However, in today’s world, where severe weather events are becoming more frequent and intense, the challenges first responders face on the frontlines of emergency response efforts are greater than ever. Despite these challenges, one thing remains constant: reliable connectivity and advanced technology are essential for effective preparedness and response.
During a natural or human-caused disaster, first responders need to stay connected, share real-time information, and coordinate effectively in rapidly changing and often hazardous conditions. As such, a fast, secure, reliable, and resilient communications network must be a foundational element of any successful disaster response strategy.
Deploying Connectivity
For first responders, access to a reliable communications network is a must. Verizon Frontline’s 2024 public safety communications survey revealed that nearly 70% of responding public safety professionals considered it the most important factor in their day-to-day and emergency operations. In emergency situations, communication is not a luxury but a lifeline. Whether used to provide critical situational awareness, detail evacuation routes, coordinate search and rescue efforts, or monitor ongoing response operations, dependable connectivity helps ensure that vital, potentially life-saving information flows where and when it is needed.
Natural disasters, though, often damage the infrastructure that provides connectivity. Extreme weather events, for example, can destroy cell towers and topple utility poles, leaving communities without communication capabilities. This is when deployable communication assets become critical. These powerful tools are designed to help first responders achieve their missions under the most austere conditions.
These assets can be deployed wherever they are needed—from the air to the ground—often serving as strategic hubs to support needs such as mission-critical push-to-talk, land mobile radio, computer-aided dispatch systems, private networks, and more. Beyond typical trucks, recreational vehicles, trailers, and other ground-based deployable assets, an array of new equipment is capable of extending deployables’ capabilities even further, including drones, generators, portable satellite assets, network extenders—the list goes on.
Some of the more recognizable deployables – such as portable cell sites – are familiar to many first responders involved in emergency response operations, but advances in technology are leading to some new developments in deployables and public safety operations as a whole.
Technology-Enhancing Response and Prediction
Public safety professionals are more willing than ever to take advantage of the innovative technology that 5G connectivity provides. Advanced technologies like drones, robotics, and augmented and virtual reality training applications are helping transform disaster response and preparedness and allow first responders to perform their jobs more safely and efficiently.
Beyond these advances, a growing number of people recognize the need for timely, actionable intelligence distilled from the massive amounts of data available to first responders in a connected world. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a growing role in making sense of this data and helping public safety professionals leverage information in the most effective way. Adoption is slowly increasing, and many believe AI will be crucial in the future—nearly 75% of respondents in the above survey. AI can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, identify patterns, and provide insights that enhance incident response and help predict the impact of potential threats, including severe weather events such as wildfires and hurricanes.
The importance of 5G also continues to grow. The survey indicates that public safety professionals value 5G for its reliability, security, and speed. 5G networks can help enable more advanced connectivity solutions, including the deployable assets mentioned earlier that can operate in remote environments. In a crisis, the focus is not just on having more data, but on having the right answers. AI and 5G help provide those answers, turning data into insights that can aid in response efforts.
Preparing for the Future
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events necessitates hardened infrastructure and redundancy. Investing in generator and battery backups for cell sites, redundant fiber paths, and infrastructure designed to withstand severe weather is essential. These measures help ensure that networks remain resilient even in the face of severe weather.
The challenges of disaster response are growing, but so too are the technologies available to meet those challenges. Reliable connectivity and advanced technology like AI and 5G are no longer optional. They are proving to be essential tools for effective disaster preparedness and response. By prioritizing investments in these areas, first responders can have the resources they need to prepare for and respond to any threats to communities.
Cory Davis
Cory Davis is the vice president of Verizon Frontline. His organization has over three decades of experience working side by side with first responders and public safety agencies at Verizon. With more than 20 years of advanced wireless industry experience, and nearly a decade supporting public safety communications, he and his team are dedicated to ensuring first responders have the network and solutions they need to meet their unique and evolving needs. Cory is responsible for the overall Verizon Frontline public safety strategy, operations, crisis/disaster response and the customer experience for more than 40 thousand public safety agencies across the nation, helping enable them to accomplish the mission under both routine and extreme conditions. Cory and the entire Verizon Frontline team remain committed to the first responder community, ensuring that the mission-critical communication needs of public safety professionals are met. Cory also sits on the board of directors for the National Sheriffs Association IGNITE Program. Cory received a B.S. in geographic information systems from the University of Wyoming and has led high-performance teams for both the Verizon Consumer and Business groups.
