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Jeff Pulver, WA2BOT, and Internet Voice over IP pioneer, suggests starting an Internet tradition akin to amateur radio Field Day. Jeff describes Internet Field Day “as an annual activity that would bring together members of the Internet Community who wish to become better skilled at Post-Disaster Communications together with a community of people who have a history of being active in the space, the worldwide ham radio community.”

Traditional amateur radio Field Day exists as a annual event to prepare and exercise portable communications systems for a day we hope never comes: natural or manmade disaster. Once a year as a community activity, hams pack up their gear and operate in the field for 24 hours under power off-the-grid. Practice makes perfect – systems and procedures undergo hardware- and bit-rot unless they are exercised and used. Jeff’s idea being that emergency ad-hoc Internet data networks, which obviously can also bear voice traffic, can participate in this off-the-grid drilling and field exercise.

Nice job, Jeff.

[tags]disaster communications, disaster preparedness, ham radio, emergency communications[/tags]