2019-06-07

Rohill Partner C3 Finalist in International Critical Communications Awards 2019

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

Rohill and partner C3 have been nominated for the International Critical Communications Awards 2019 in the category “Best use of Mission-Critical Communications During a Major Event”.

The C3 TETRA network, formerly known as the ChuChubi network, using Tetranode, is operational since 2004 and was modernised in the summer of 2017 to continue secure mission-critical communications for the public safety sector in the Dutch Caribbean. The redundant network is designed and built to operate under heavy conditions, during power failures, storms, flooding and extreme high usage.

On September 6th, 2017, the islands of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba were devastated by Irma, a category-5 hurricane with winds of 182-mph. This left St. Maarten with only 40% of its communication capabilities and about 90% of the island without electricity. Two weeks later, a second category-5 hurricane followed, bearing the name Maria. Essential communication on the island was hampered by lack of power, back-up batteries that ran out and generators needing to be refuelled under difficult circumstances. The devastation and chaos had shocked the community, which made it hard for authorities to maintain safety and order.

Three hours after Irma the government gave C3 clearance to go outside to re-establish all communication as soon as possible. C3 took immediate action and successfully enabled emergency services to communicate without interruption. This helped the entities to coordinate their actions, deal with urgent situations, maintain law & order in the face of trauma, vandalism, and even save lives.

The annual International Critical Communications Awards are organised by MA Exhibitions, in association with the TCCA. The 2019 Awards will be presented during a ceremony held in the MITEC, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday 18th June.