Instant network rises in hard-hit Davao Oriental

MANILA, Philippines - Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) has teamed up with international NGO Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) and the Vodafone Foundation to provide emergency  communications support to ongoing disaster relief efforts in the province of Davao
Oriental, which was hard-hit by Typhoon Pablo.


The Vodafone Foundation and TSF have deployed an “ultra-portable” mobile phone network — the Vodafone Instant Network – developed in collaboration with Huawei.  The equipment fits into four large suit cases and weighs slightly over a hundred kilos.

This was set up in the municipality of Baganga, where relief agencies have set up their operations base, and was connected via satellite and the public internet to Smart cellular network.  The connection from Baganga to Smart’s network is all-IP, a capability that was made
possible by the telco’s advanced and modernized network.

The engineers from Smart fast tracked network adjustments that enabled the Vodafone Foundation Instant Network to operate seamlessly with Smart’s mobile phone network. This link-up is vital for the end-user because it guarantees the stability of the connection and frees users
from paying for costly satellite-based GSM services. The portable mobile network is now up and running in Baganga and it took the joint team less than 24 hours to activate it.

The portable communications network can provide cellular coverage to an area of 3- to 5-kilometer radius. Up to 12,000 people can register for the service and send text messages while 80 calls can be made simultaneously.

Vodafone is one of the world’s largest mobile operators and TSF, which is based in France, specializes in providing emergency communications services.

Smart has also provided 30 mobile phones for the use of relief agencies and local governments in conducting their operations.  Some of these phones will also be used to provide residents with free calls.

Communications lines in this province facing the Pacific Ocean were cut when Typhoon Pablo hit the province on Dec. 4, flattening many buildings and damaging cell sites and telecoms transmission facilities.

Previously, the same technology was used in Kaikor, Northern Kenya to provide communications support in the drought-prone area until a permanent mobile network site was installed.


“We are very happy to collaborate with the Vodafone Foundation and Telecoms Sans Frontieres to respond to the extraordinary challenges posed by Typhoon Pablo,” said Smart Public Affairs Head Ramon Isberto.

“This will complement very well our stepped up efforts to fully restore communications services in parts of the province where typhoon damage has been severe.”

“This is the first time that the Vodafone Foundation has deployed this technology in a country in which Vodafone does not operate. The Vodafone Foundation’s Instant Network was previously deployed in response to a humanitarian situation earlier this year, when it provided communications during severe droughts in Kaikor, Northern Kenya,” said Oisin Walton, Instant Network program manager for Vodafone Foundation.