The Vodafone
Foundation 'Instant Network' team will be assisting local mobile operators in
the Caribbean. The foundation will be cooperating with the NGO Télécoms Sans
Frontières to restore mobile telecommunications, enabling rescue workers to
communicate during the humanitarian relief operation and people to contact
their loved ones after the devastating hurricane. Last week every effort was
made, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs and the
Red Cross to get the 'Instant Network' team on a military flight of the French
army from Guadeloupe to the Dutch part of Saint Martin. Last night, the team
arrived there safely.
The Vodafone
Foundation has a team of volunteers, all Vodafone employees, on standby to
deploy: Instant Network 3G, a mobile network in four suitcases with 3G
connectivity which can be taken on a commercial flight; two Instant Charge
devices - an outdoor mobile charging station which provides 66 charging points;
and Instant Classroom Xtra, the Vodafone Foundation's 'digital school in a
box', which is being repurposed to create an emergency cybercafé to enable
communities to contact their loved ones and to support the humanitarian relief
programme; and Instant Wi-Fi, a 'Wi-Fi network in a suitcase' developed by
VodafoneZiggo. The victims of Hurricane Irma will be able to use the emergency
cybercafé to borrow tablets, charge their phones for free and connect to free
Wi-Fi.
This will be the
eleventh emergency response mission for the Vodafone Foundation Instant Network
team. The Instant Network was deployed in Nepal during the 2015 earthquake and
in the Philippines in November 2013 during Typhoon Haiyan, where over 443,000
calls were made and 1.4 million SMS were sent. A total of 2.9 million calls
were made using Instant Network in the Philippines, Kenya and South Sudan.
