Global mobile group supports disaster response program

CLARK FREEPORT — Smart Communications and Nokia have announced that they have received funding from the GSMA, the organization representing mobile operators globally, for a disaster response drone system.

The Nokia Saving Lives drone project, which will operate on Smart’s frequencies during times of emergency, has been selected as a grantee by the GSMA Disaster Response Innovation Fund.

The Nokia Saving Lives program seeks to provide communications technology and technical assistance to emergency response teams. In the Philippines, Smart will provide high-speed connectivity for a drone-based system to help boost the disaster response efforts of the Philippine Red Cross.

The system consists of drones, a portable data center, a mobile broadband network, and applications like video streaming, gas sensing, mapping, and analytics, which can help Red Cross responders

— Chris Navarro SAVING LIVES. (L-R) Darwin Flores, Head Community Partnership of Smart Communication Inc.; Christina Cabrera, Head of Nokia Technology Center Philippines and Ana Villar Mariquina, Head of Disaster and Risk Reduction Unit Disaster Management Services...