Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate recently published a whitepaper on disaster response communications in the COVID-19 era. During his career at FEMA, Fugate heralded the use of mobile technology and social media as more and more communities — and their first responders — relied on wireless cellular

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous strain on the economy, public safety, and the healthcare system. It’s also put a strain on cell networks.  Remote workers have been flooding our information gateways en masse. Telehealth, virtual educational classes, and remote meetings on Zoom are all necessary, but also eat

Communications are the ultimate lifeline for emergency responders — but mission-critical cell, wifi, radio, and satellite networks are often the first casualty of a natural or man-made disaster. As emergency response teams face potentially record-breaking secondary disasters in addition to the global COVID-19 pandemic, communications capabilities will become even more

In many of the world’s developing nations, there is a vast ecosystem of non-governmental organizations (NGO) working feverishly to help improve the quality of life. Operating in these places can be dangerous, as access to secure communications can be limited or inconsistent. After a career in the U.S. Marine Corps,

In 2014, I was serving as the Senior Strategic Homeland Security Planner for the Brazos Valley Region in East Texas, and tasked with coordinating the Ebola response in the 7,320-square-miles surrounding the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area. Acting as a federal liaison between hospitals, public safety, and state government officials, many

The global COVID-19 pandemic has left many state and local governments, hospitals and first responders scrambling to find the medical equipment, hospital beds and resources they need to keep up with the incredible influx of sick patients. With so many new cases and hospitalizations, these organizations are turning to temporary

In my last article on The Last Mile, I looked at the unique communications challenges that exist at the northern border between the U.S. and Canada, which is increasingly important right now with the border closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s not the only border in need of

Earlier this month, in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19, the United States and Canada took the unprecedented step of shutting down the border between the two countries. While this sounds like a reasonable and rational step towards stemming the spread of a disease that has —

As government agencies across the United States respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are several new and existing sources of funding to support these rapidly evolving, multi-agency efforts where communications will undoubtedly play a key role.  Earlier this week, the Senate passed a new emergency funding package totaling $340 billion,

The arrival of dedicated public safety broadband networks like FirstNet means that the adoption of mobile technology can begin in earnest. Nearly 9,000 public safety agencies across the country have already signed on to FirstNet, and more than 750,000 mobile devices are now connected to these networks. With smartphones and