Citing lessons learned from Verizon Communications' attempts to re-establish communications in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, Ken Anderson, the senior director of technology for Bechtel Telecommunications, suggested Free Space Optical (FSO) as a recommended solution in a disaster-recovery situation. FSO is a wireless technology that uses lasers to transmit broadband data. It depends on line-of-sight transmitters and receivers.

"Restoration of mobile communications is the number one priority in a disaster recovery," said Anderson, who noted at the Wireless Communications Association International event that cellular towers proved too prone to interference after Sept. 11 to be effective. "What's needed is a non-interfering, non-licensed technology. Free Space Optical is a good, logical choice."

Anderson noted that in addition to being easy and inexpensive to deploy, FSO boasts a high capacity for data transmission (1 megabyte per second) and is very secure, with a low probability of intentional or unintentional interference. He said both Verizon and the Defense Department have plans to deploy FSO in disaster situations.

Similarly, Marine Corps Capts. David Joseforsky and Gilbert Garcia of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., described recent tests using wireless broadband technologies for battlefield communications use.

"The ultimate goal is to bring more bandwidth to the tactical battlefield," Garcia said. He said that in the tactical battlefield the Marines get roughly 19 kilobytes of data, or the equivalent of two people sharing a dial-up Internet connection. "Bottom line, it stinks," he said. "We cannot tactically fight in a digital world like this."

The tests, conducted by the Marines and General Dynamics during the first week of January, looked at using a combination of FSO, the Wi-Fi and WiMAX wireless standards, microwave link and satellite to establish a secure network.

Joseforsky said a wireless network in the battlefield has a high capacity for transmitting and receiving data, fast set-up and tear-down times, smaller and lighter equipment, less potential for line damage, and greater flexibility. In addition, he noted that a wireless network could help limit battlefield casualties because troops would not be as exposed to dangers from landmines and enemy personnel as they would if laying cable.

Garcia said one possible concern with FSO for the Marines is its dependence on a line of sight in order to establish communications. However, panelist Michael Corcoran, senior vice president of sales and marketing for fSONA Communications, which sells FSO technology, claimed that even during the worst sandstorms in Iraq, his company's FSO networks lost no data. "We have proven ourselves in those types of environments," he said.