The Problem

Emergency Communication - Made More Difficult Without Cellular Service

Cellular service is now the primary communications method for many Americans. In fact, nearly half of the world's Internet traffic originates from a mobile device. Americans are foregoing wired connections — such as wired internet connections and landline telephones — at home and are instead relying on wireless services. These wireless services are provided by a limited number of cellular telecommunications companies.

As wired communications are being dropped in favor of wireless options, emergency communications for those affected by a disaster, such as radios, cable service, and over-the-air TV, are rapidly being replaced in favor of mobile applications with a high dependence on cellular connectivity. Cellular networks rely on a more centralized infrastructure than wired systems. As such, there is a greater risk of failure as the collapse of one single point could bring down an entire cellular system. These single-point failures can occur for a variety of reasons— a natural disaster, a botched system update, or a cut communication line.

Often a cell phone is the only communications device people have on them when a disaster strikes. Yet the connectivity of that phone is uncertain during that disaster. Our HALP protocol solves this problem and improves cell connectivity in emergency situations using existing technology we own today.