'Operators need to be committed to strengthening their capability to respond to disasters'
Since most people these days carry a mobile phone, the device can be the best medium for saving lives during disasters. If a major earthquake hits Nepal, mobile communications too could be disrupted. The issue of disaster preparedness in the mobile industry has also become a global issue. Ramesh Shrestha of The Himalayan Times spoke to Kyle Reid, GSM Association’s Head of Disaster Preparedness, about the international practices, Nepal’s shortcomings, and the role of operators and government, among others, during her recent visit to Nepal for a disaster preparedness workshop.
As an official of GSM Association, could you share how telecom firms in other countries are prepared for effective communication during times of disaster?
There are a number of strategies that mobile operators around the world are prioritising to make sure that their networks are more resilient to cope with shocks of disaster. They are also ensuring that their organisations have the capacity to be able to manage and train their staff to respond properly and quickly. Depending on the particular risk profile of their country, their priorities are different and typically we are seeing a lot of investment in business continuity management and disaster preparedness plans. There has also been a lot of investment in upgrading networks in really vulnerable areas and where possible by developing partnership with new actors. Traditionally, mobile operators have not been as engaged with humanitarian organisations. We are seeing increasing partnership and coordination with international and local groups who help provide content and support to subscribers affected by crisis.
You might have also interacted with local telecom companies here. How do you evaluate Nepal’s disaster preparedness?
From what we have gathered here, there has been a huge amount of effort put in by the operators in the country and also increasingly by Nepal Telecommunications Authority. We have noticed that their resilience plan and business continuity practices have been focused. I think everyone understands the risks and has identified where the vulnerabilities and gaps are. So now it is about strengthening these plans based on lessons from other countries which is what we focused on during the workshop here. So looking at what worked in markets like in Turkey and the Philippines and tracking the existing plans here we worked on building new processes. What we expect to see in the next phase is execution and strengthening of this plan. But certainly, operators need to be more committed to strengthening their capability to respond to disasters.
We have had a bad experience of network congestion in mobile network a few years ago after an earthquake shock. So to get rid of this type of problem what should operators do?
I think it is not only a question of network management and design but also the issue of customer engagement and subscriber education. So, of course the first thing everyone wants to do after such an incident is to make a call. But if you text instead of making a call, it helps reduce the load on the network. I think if there is some public awareness like using text message during disasters then we can overcome problems of congestion. We have seen innovation in countries like Japan where they have developed packet network which works when core network is congested. I think there are different network management strategies that operators have to handle congestion. But the reality is that you cannot necessarily design a network to cope with a very unique peak traffic so we are seeing different methods of re-routing and innovations to try to combat that. I think part of it is also public awareness on what the alternative means of communications are. Also, mobile operators need to communicate with the community and what is happening with the network so that people realise what is being done to overcome the challenges.
After disasters like earthquakes, tracking of mobile phones can be best way to rescue and save human lives. What kind of system can Nepali telecom firms install or adopt to make available this facility?
The technology is already there. It is often a matter of privacy, regulation and capabilities. We have had discussions with a group called Flowminder which has pioneered the use of call data records from mobile operators in earthquake response to identify where people are going and where people might be trapped. They are having discussions with Ncell on what could be done in Nepal. I think it would be a good idea if we can make use of the data that the operators already have but by ensuring the privacy of subscribers.
What should telecom companies do to make sure that their mobile towers are safe and work well during disasters. A study conducted earlier had concluded that a majority of towers in Kathmandu Valley are risky?
I think there is a lot of inter dependency regarding the resiliency of any network. Towers that are vulnerable are those that are in buildings that may not have been built according to the building code. The towers may be built to code and be retrofitted but the building may be weak. The first step I think should be the identification of that weakness. We also have to consider that networks also depend on power and transport access, among others. Operators here have also been looking into international practices in trying to understand how it is possible to provide back-up power to the most vulnerable sites. They are also looking at alternative ways of configuring network that will provide appropriate back-up.
As power supply is likely to get disrupted during disasters, don’t you think the government or operators should provide stations where people can recharge their mobiles during emergencies?
A lot of mobile operators provide this service. There are examples where operators in some countries have provided charging facilities and top-up credit to subscribers. Operators in many countries have not only been focusing on restoring their network which is obviously the first priority but also ensuring that once the network starts working subscribers can charge their phones and can access service for free or subsidised top-up in affected areas.
Finally, what was the outcome of the workshop and what is GSM Association’s next plan regarding Nepal?
The workshop was conducted basically to share expertise from other countries and to learn from experiences in preparing and responding to disasters. And also for people to understand the best practices from a global perspective. We hope that the government here reviews its existing plans and integrates some new practices that are globally prevalent. GSM Association will work to support that.
Source: THT
