Ahr Valley First Responders Use Perle IRG LTE Routers in Flood Response & Recovery Efforts
Summary
With the destruction of roads, bridges, infrastructure, and homes, it was the worst flooding disaster in living memory for the people in the Ahr Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.Roland Beuge, an experienced First Responder, and local to the area, comments, “The devastation was unimaginable. We recently took delivery of 24 tons of building material to facilitate the rebuild.”Reliable communication and access to information form the basis for an efficient response and recovery operation. This single box functions as an LTE Router, a four-port 10/100/1000 Ethernet Switch, and Wi-Fi Access Point.With local roads severely damaged and impassable after the floods, delivering supplies to the most cut-off areas is only possible by Disaster Recovery Vehicle or quadbike. Ruggedized with shock and vibration resistance certifications, and a die-cast aluminium IP54 enclosure for dust and water ingress, the IRG5500 LTE Router serves as the main connectivity hub in creating a Vehicle Area Network (VAN). While in the flood zones the Wi-Fi is used to provide free internet access to volunteers, recovery personnel, and homeowners in the area.And, the built-in battery charge protection, with no requirement for external power conditioning, safeguards vehicle operation.