Pinoys to remain connected despite calamities

MANILA, Philippines -  Filipinos can now call, text and connect to the internet in times of calamity through “small cellular” technology, the Philippine Red Cross said.

Made possible by open source technology, the new communications equipment was unveiled before President Duterte on the sidelines of the commissioning of the humanitarian ship M/V PRC Amazing Grace, held last May 9 at the Philippine Navy headquarters in Manila.

“It is portable, and once fired up in a disaster-stricken area, is capable of connecting our first responders and people in need of help through their mobile phones within a seven-kilometer radius,” PRC chairman and Sen. Richard Gordon said, adding the equipment runs on solar power.

The self-contained cellular network taps into open source small cell technology. This connectivity is driven by global tech giants such as Facebook and Google, which lead the charge to connect the unconnected.