Healthcare
Large Hospital:
The Cell-Over-Satellite solution for a large hospital or a healthcare campus kicks in when incoming calls to the facility fail for any number of reasons. If the failure is upstream of the facility normally there would be nothing the hospital could do. Callers would either get a fast busy or a network recording. The problem could be with the phone company, a backhoe accident, water damage, infrastructure damage, or simply human error. Whichever the cause, the result is the same, people can’t reach the hospital.
With Cell-Over-Satellite (option 4), all incoming calls on each of the hospital’s published telephone numbers (usually between 5-100 numbers) are answered in the cloud and delivered to the hospital’s telephone system over a secure satellite connection. Incoming calls are delivered to the exact desk phone in the hospital that would normally receive the call. The solution is completely seamless for the caller and the hospital employees.
If the problem lies with the hospital’s internal telephone system, calls are answered in the cloud by the virtual attendant and delivered to the person’s cell phone that is in the department the caller requested. A dial-by-name directory is also a simple option to use.
If cellular service ever fails at the hospital or suffers from network congestion, each of the selected hospital employee’s cell phones becomes a sophisticated satellite phone. All they need to do is switch to the Cell-Over-Satellite Wi-Fi network at the hospital and turn on Wi-Fi calling on their device.
The process for re-directing all incoming calls away from the failed system at the hospital to the cloud and satellite connection is simple. You simply dial a particular telephone number from a phone on the satellite Wi-Fi network and enter two passwords. It usually takes less than one minute to re-direct hundreds of telephone numbers to the cloud and have calls answered again by your people.
In the event of an evacuation, the re-directing of all telephone numbers can be done remotely. If an evacuation occurs management determines where incoming calls are answered. They may be answered by the same department in a sister facility or answered by hospital employees who have relocated to other facilities or at home. The system can also record and play messages to provide the caller with critical information as needed.
Small Hospital or Large Clinic:
For a small hospital or large clinic Cell-Over-Satellite’s option 3 is effective. With this option, incoming calls are answered in the cloud and sent to the people in the requested department on their mobile devices or a dial-by-name option is provided. If cellular service is disrupted employees with the right permissions can convert their cell phones into satellite phones the same as in large hospitals.
Both the re-directing of incoming calls and facility evacuations are the same as the large hospital option. One of the reasons option 3 may be a better fit for a smaller facility is that this solution requires far less on-site equipment thus requiring less resources to maintain.
Clinic:
Cell-Over-Satellite’s Option1 product is ideal for a small-medium clinic. This solution only converts existing on-site cell phones into sophisticated satellite phones.
The recommendations above for each size healthcare facility are based on our experience with healthcare facilities over the years. Obviously, the clinic option is better for a large hospital complex than no satellite connectivity at all. Satellite connectivity to a different part of the country to access the public switched telephone network and the public internet is the key to any communication recovery.
Public Safety
911 Center:
911 Centers (PSAPs, Public Service Answering Points) need Cell-Over-Satellite services more than any other organization. The reason is obvious. Most 911 centers have a government sponsored service from AT&T called FirstNet. See www.firstnet.com — Nationwide Broadband For First Responders & Public Safety
FirstNet service is fantastic, it saves lives, period. But there are two basic underlying problems that FirstNet cannot address. The first, is that FirstNet still requires a working infrastructure. If a community’s infrastructure is damaged, FirstNet will NOT help first responders reach other first responders. Secondly, FirstNet is for licensed first responders and registered affiliates ONLY. If you call 911 and the infrastructure is damaged between you and the 911 center, your call will never reach the 911 operator and FirstNet will not help you to connect your 911 call.
If a 911 Center has Cell-Over-Satellite’s “option 4” service, where the 911 operators and their equipment are connected to the nation's communication infrastructure via satellite, the communication infrastructure could fail all around the 911 center but 911 calls could still reach the 911 center over the satellite connection. It is possible that the infrastructure around a 911 center could fail, but the surrounding infrastructure two or twenty miles away could be working fine. In this case, a 911 center can not be reached to answer 911 calls.
Some of the largest 911 Centers in the country have cell-over-satellite services for the reasons mentioned above.
Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
Many EOCs around the country have Cell-Over-Satellite services. The reason again is obvious. How can any group recover from an incident or disaster if their is no communication infrastructure? Many of the EOCs we service are hardened facilities, where community leaders go if there is a major event or disaster. When an authorized leader in a community enters an EOC where communications are backed up by Cell-Over-Satellite, his/her cell phone instantly becomes a satellite phone, connected to the nations communication infrastructure in another part of the country.
Education
University:
A college/university has several options to remain connected to the rest of the world in the event of disaster, major event or just a congested communication network. With Cell-Over-Satellite’s option 4 service, any incoming calls to the school are re-routed over satellite and answered on the schools existing telephone equipment in place at several major universities in the U.S.
With option 3 service, incoming calls to the school are answered in the cloud by a virtual receptionist, then forwarded to the cell/satellite phone of the person or group the caller wants to reach. A dial-by-name directory is also a popular option. Included with option 3 and 4 is the ability to turn any/every cell phone on campus into a satellite phone. Although only 30-50 simultaneous cell phone voice conversations can occur at a single point in time, thousands of text messages/email can also be sent/received at the same time.
A college/university may also opt to have a two dish cell-over-satellite system where one wireless network is for students and one wireless network for the administration.
Elementary, Middle, and High School:
The most popular system for public and private schools K-12 is the basic cell-over-satellite option 1 service, where every cell phone within the reach of the school's Wi-Fi network is transformed into a satellite phone by simply changing to a different wireless network in the phone settings and turning on Wi-Fi calling on the device.
Government
Large Municipality:
A large municipality may have several locations and may opt for different services at different locations. For example, a primary city, country or state complex may choose to have Cell-Over-Satellite’s option 4 service, which allows all incoming and outgoing calls on existing telephone equipment to be transported over satellite at headquarters. For secondary locations the basic Cell-Over-Satellite’s option 1, which converts all cell phones to satellite phones could be sufficient.
Medium Municipality:
In the event of equipment failure, network failure or infrastructure failure, an organization may select to have all incoming calls to the organization answered in the cloud by a virtual receptionist. Then calls would be forwarded to individual cell/satellite phones in the organization. Calls can also be sent to groups of individuals or off-site to another location.
Small/Medium Municipality:
In the event of network congestion, infrastructure failure, or a disaster, every individual on site with a cell phone will be able to make/receive cell phone calls/texts/email. They will also be able to run the existing apps on their mobile device.
Office Building
Building management can select to have Cell-Over-Satellite’s option 1 service available to all occupants in an office building or complex free of charge or they can charge the occupants in the complex an additional fee for service. What makes office buildings unique is that they can offer option 1 to all building occupants then offer one or more tenants option 3, where calls are answered in the cloud and other tenants option 4 service where calls come in over satellite and are answered on the tenant's existing telephone equipment. Any option of this solution can provide building management with additional revenue.
Hospitality
One hundred rooms or one thousand rooms, any hospitality has a responsibility to keep their guests safe. Today, it would be easy to argue that ones safety consists of one’s peace of mind. In a major event or disaster, allowing your guests to communicate with family and friends anywhere in the world will add to their safety and security.
In any major incident or event, communication is critical. People need to be in touch with their organizations, especially during an incident.
Business
The loss of communications to a business can be very costly. Decisions are always being made that affect other people and organizations. The loss of the communication infrastructure anywhere between cell towers, fiber routes or central offices can cause harm and not just financial harm.
With today's technology, the cost is minimal to have all your organization's incoming calls answered in the cloud by a virtual receptionist then forwarded on to the right group, individual, location or handled in any number of ways.
Benjamin Franklin said “Failing to plan is planning to fail”.
Residential Communities
With Covid, the residential landscape has changed, probably forever. People need to always be connected, no one orders landlines any more, everyone requires and expects mobile or cellular service. We all require smart devices. If a car accident takes down a cell tower or a flood disrupts the terrestrial infrastructure, its all the same. We can not connect to our jobs, families and other things we need and require. Everyone takes the communication infrastructure for granted until it fails.
With the low cost to provide a backup communication infrastructure, why doesn’t every organization ensure their people can always be connected?. The main reason is that we don’t think about it or plan ahead. Emergency preparedness and business continuity are area of expertise that very few pay attention to.
