CNMI Consultation Highlights Need for Hardened Communications in Remote Areas, FirstNet Says
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has unique geographic considerations and a high number of historic sites that need to be considered in deploying FirstNet, the network said in a blog post. The territory and FirstNet held a…
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smaller initial consultation meeting than originally planned, and on Guam, because of lingering effects of a typhoon in August last year, it said. That discussion focused on the public safety benefits of a dedicated and hardened broadband network for the territory, it said Wednesday. CNMI is served by an underwater fiber-optic communications cable, which was cut in early July due to a storm surge, leaving the entire territory with only a few satellite phones and a damaged microwave radio system to communicate with Guam and beyond, the post said. The break has since been repaired, it said. CNMI officials shared examples of when commercial data networks became congested and failed public safety -- including during Typhoon Champi in October 2015 -- and how a mass texting capability would have helped, FirstNet said.