Helpful Alternative Link Protocol
By Alexander Romero with support from Amy Wilson
When disaster strikes, reliable and easy-to-use communications become absolutely critical. Dependable communications are needed to pair those in distress with those able to provide assistance. However, recent fires, earthquakes and hurricanes have shown us that sometimes the cell networks that our society has come to rely on fail in disasters. Having both resilient cell networks and a backup option if cell carrier networks fail is critical to the safety and security of the United States. The Helpful Alternative Link Protocol (HALP) aims to improve the networks we currently have, and provides a fallback network if primary carriers fail. HALP uses LTE cellular bands for citizen-powered last mile mesh communications, so that citizens can communicate with those around them if existing cell services fail.
Click below to view various resources to navigate the Helpful Alternative Link Protocol, including an educational website to illustrate the solution.
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