Communications: Comparison Chart

Household

Street

Neighborhood

Community

Purpose

• Keep household members informed about incidents.

• Communicate with out-of-state contact to provide status.

• Maintain basic communications (radios, backup power for phones).

• Support immediate neighbors with tech needs. 

• Identify injured/ disconnected members of Street

• Deploy Disaster Hub connectivity (satellite internet, mesh wifi); provide tech support for neighborhood command operations. 

• Coordinate support for disconnected or injured neighbors.

• Serve as citywide communications backbone

• Communicate with County

• Support all Hubs Maintain cybersecurity and data systems

• Serve technology needs of Public Information Officer

Equipment

• Home cell chargers

• Jackery or other small solar/rechargeable generator

• Satellite phone

• Satellite texting devices

• Newer model Android or Apple phones with satellite capabilities

• Handheld radios

• NOAA weather radio

• Emergency contact list

• Walkie-talkies

• Runners or bikers

• Ham radio setup

• +5 Watt handheld radio

• Dual band radio

• Optional: supplies to set up a die pole at someone’s house or in the neighborhood

• FRS/GMRS radios

• Battery/solar power banks

At Disaster Hub:

• Communications Box for each HUB

• Ham radio setup

• Dual-band radio

• Die pole radio or radio antenna

• Satellite internet terminals (Starlink)

• Mesh wifi equipment

• Portable generators

• Communication kits for Hubs

At Emergency Operations Center:

• Generator

• Backup fuel 

• Satellite communications 

• Cell chargers

• Local radio broadcast tower

• High-power radio tower

• Mobile command centers

• Advanced satellite arrays

• Cybersecurity hardware

• Drones

• Community-wide network infrastructure

Personnel

Household members with some training

Individual households or street-level volunteers with basic tech skills. Include people of all skill levels. Identify skills.

Small tech teams (2-4 people) supporting Hub operations and multiple streets.

Organized TechOps teams with specialized roles; coordinated deployment across city under Incident Command System (ICS).

Training

Practice using Walkie-Talkies

• Ham radio

• Basic radio operation 

• Emergency power management

• Ham radio

• Satellite/mesh network deployment 

• Hub operations certification

• Ham radio

• Specialized technical training

•  ICS leadership roles 

• Drone operations (FAA Part 107) Cybersecurity protocols

Incident response

Turn on NOAA radio and keep cell on to hear emergency alerts.

Turn on Ham radio and wait for information. 

Set up Disaster Hub and activate ham radio. 

Activate the EOC and ham radio.