National Preparedness Month: Build a Backup Communication Plan Before You Need It

September is National Preparedness Month, making it a good time to the question: if the power went out and your normal phone service stopped working tomorrow, how would you communicate?

Emergency preparedness isn't only about stocking food, water, flashlights and first-aid supplies. Communication matters too.

Hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, severe storms and prolonged power outages can all disrupt the infrastructure we normally take for granted. Cell towers can lose power or become overloaded. Home internet can disappear. Electricity may be unavailable for hours or even days.

Ready.gov recommends preparing in advance by understanding the risks where you live, creating an emergency plan and building an emergency supply kit. A good plan should also consider how your household will communicate if your normal methods aren't available.

For National Preparedness Month, here are some practical ways to make your emergency communications plan more resilient.

1. Start With the Emergencies Most Likely to Affect You

Preparing for every imaginable scenario isn't realistic. Start with what could genuinely happen where you live.

Depending on your location in the United States, that could include:

• Hurricanes and tropical storms

• Wildfires

• Tornadoes

• Flooding

• Winter storms

• Earthquakes

• Extended power outages

• Local communications outages

• Evacuation from your home or community

Know your local evacuation routes and identify somewhere your household can meet if you become separated.

You should also sign up for local emergency alerts and keep more than one way of receiving important information. The FEMA App, for example, can provide weather and emergency alerts for multiple locations.

The important principle is redundancy. Don't make your entire emergency plan dependent on one phone, one network or one source of power.

2. Make a Family Emergency Communication Plan

Think beyond simply saving everyone's phone numbers. Decide in advance:

• Who will everyone contact during an emergency?

• What happens if family members are in different locations?

• Where will you meet if you have to evacuate?

• Who is your out-of-area emergency contact?

• Which important numbers should be stored offline?

• How will you communicate if cellular networks are unavailable?

• Does everyone know how to use your emergency equipment?

Ready.gov recommends identifying an out-of-state contact as part of a family emergency communications plan, giving family members another person through whom information can be shared if local communication is disrupted.

Keep a written copy of important numbers in your emergency kit as well. A dead phone shouldn't mean losing access to every number you need.

3. Build Your Emergency Kit, Then Think About Communication

Food and water rightly receive a lot of attention when people build an emergency kit, but there are other essentials worth considering.

Ready.gov's emergency supply guidance includes items such as water, non-perishable food, medication, a flashlight, spare batteries, a first-aid kit, radio and alternative ways to charge a phone.

Your own kit might also contain:

• Portable power banks

• Vehicle chargers

• Spare charging cables

• Battery or hand-crank radio

• Waterproof copies of important documents

• Local maps

• Emergency contact details

• Flashlights and spare batteries

• A satellite communication device

That final item isn't necessary for every household. But if you live in an area vulnerable to major storms, wildfires, or lengthy infrastructure outages, having a communications option independent of local cell towers can add another useful layer to your plan.

4. Consider a Satellite Phone for Backup Voice Communication

Sometimes a message isn't enough.

If you need the ability to speak directly with family members, colleagues, emergency contacts or other organizations, a satellite phone is one of the most straightforward backup communications options.

Unlike a normal cell phone, a satellite phone communicates with a satellite network rather than relying on the nearest terrestrial cell tower.

That can make satellite phones particularly useful for emergency plans involving remote properties, hurricane-prone areas, evacuation travel, rural communities, businesses and locations where terrestrial communications are vulnerable.

OSAT offers a range of satellite phones for different coverage and communication requirements.

A strong emergency option: Iridium Extreme

The Iridium Extreme satellite phone combines global satellite voice communication with SMS, GPS positioning, location tracking and a programmable SOS button.

It operates over the Iridium satellite network and is designed for demanding environments, with an IP65-rated rugged enclosure.

For preparedness, the biggest advantage is simple: you have another way to make a voice call when cellular infrastructure isn't available.

Like any satellite device, however, it isn't magic. Satellite phones generally perform best outdoors with a clear view of the sky, so learning how to use your handset before an emergency is important.

Don't leave it sealed in a box for three years and expect the first call you ever make to be during a hurricane.

Charge it. Activate the required service. Make a test call. Show other members of your household how it works.

5. Satellite Communicators Can Be an Excellent Middle Ground

Not everybody needs a full satellite phone.

If your priority is being able to send messages, share your location and request emergency assistance, a compact satellite communicator may make more sense.

The Garmin inReach Mini 3 is a good example.

Small enough to keep in a go-bag, vehicle or backpack, it provides two-way satellite messaging, location-sharing features and interactive SOS functionality over the Iridium satellite network. An SOS can connect the user with Garmin Response, its 24/7 emergency coordination center.

That makes a communicator useful for more than wilderness adventures.

It could be valuable if you're:

• Evacuating through areas with unreliable coverage

• Checking on property after a major storm

• Traveling between rural locations

• Keeping in touch with relatives during an outage

• Maintaining another communications method in an emergency kit

You can explore OSAT's wider range of satellite trackers and communicators, including Garmin, SPOT and other satellite-based devices.

6. Don't Overlook Simple Check-Ins and Location Tracking

During an emergency, communication doesn't always need to be a long conversation.

Sometimes your family just needs to know:

I'm OK.

I've reached the evacuation point.

This is my current location.

That is where a simple satellite tracker can be extremely useful.

The SPOT Gen4 Satellite Tracker can send pre-defined check-in, help and custom messages along with GPS coordinates. It can also automatically transmit location points at configured intervals and includes an SOS function for emergencies.

Because the messages can be configured beforehand, you don't need to compose a detailed explanation every time.

A simple predefined message such as “I'm safe and this is my current location” can be surprisingly valuable when family members are trying to account for one another.

7. Think About the Whole Household, Not Just One Person

One emergency device sitting in a drawer isn't automatically an emergency communications plan.

Ask:

Who carries it if we evacuate?

Does everybody know how to use it?

What happens if we split into two vehicles?

Who receives our check-in messages?

Where are the charging accessories stored?

When was the equipment last tested?

For larger households, teams or locations where several people may require connectivity, a satellite hotspot can also be worth considering.

Devices such as the Iridium GO! and GO! exec create a local connection for compatible phones, tablets and other devices using the Iridium satellite network. Depending on the equipment and service, this can support functions such as messaging, email, weather information and supported voice communications without relying on conventional cellular infrastructure.

Explore OSAT's range of satellite hotspots if your preparedness requirements extend beyond a single handheld device.

8. Power Is Part of Your Communication Plan

Your emergency communications equipment isn't much help with a dead battery. Ready.gov specifically recommends considering alternative charging options for phones during power outages.

For any electronic equipment in your emergency kit:

• Charge it regularly

• Check battery condition

• Store the correct charging cables alongside it

• Keep a charged power bank available

• Consider vehicle charging

• Replace disposable batteries before they expire

• Review stored equipment every few months

If your satellite device requires an active service plan, subscription or airtime, check that too.

A device can be fully charged and still be useless if the service required to communicate hasn't been activated.

9. Test Your Emergency Communications Before the Emergency

This is one of the easiest preparedness steps to overlook.

Once you've created your plan, practice it. Try making a test call with your satellite phone from outside. Send a test check-in from your tracker. Confirm the right people receive your messages. Make sure family members understand what your predefined messages mean. Check your batteries and chargers. Review your emergency contacts.

If you use a satellite device, learn what it looks like when it has successfully connected to the satellite network.

Five minutes of practice on a normal Saturday is considerably better than trying to learn everything while a storm is approaching and the power has already gone out.

Should You Buy or Rent Satellite Equipment for Emergency Preparedness?

That depends on the type of risk you're preparing for. For a permanent household, business, ranch, remote property or year-round emergency kit, owning your equipment generally makes the most sense because it is available whenever an unexpected incident occurs.

There are situations where renting can be useful too.

For example, you may want additional communications equipment temporarily ahead of a hurricane, during an extended remote project, or while putting a short-term contingency plan in place.

OSAT offers satellite equipment rentals including satellite phones, communicators and satellite hotspots. US rental orders are fulfilled through OSAT's sister company, Outfitter Satellite.

There's also a dedicated guide to Iridium satellite phones for emergency preparedness if voice communication is your main requirement.

If you're preparing for a predictable event such as hurricane season, arrange equipment before conditions deteriorate. That gives you time to receive it, charge it and learn how to use it.

Preparedness Isn't About Expecting the Worst

Emergency preparedness doesn't need to mean filling a bunker with equipment. It's simply about identifying the things you depend on every day and asking what you'll do if they're temporarily unavailable.

National Preparedness Month is a useful reminder to spend a little time checking those fundamentals. Start with the basics recommended by Ready.gov: understand your risks, make an emergency plan and build appropriate supplies for your household. Then look for weak points. If your entire communication plan currently depends on a cellular phone having signal, power and an operational network, adding another independent method of communication may be worth considering.

Because the best time to work out how you'll communicate during an emergency is before the emergency begins.

Find the Right Emergency Communication Equipment

OSAT supplies satellite phones, personal satellite communicators, GPS trackers and portable satellite connectivity equipment for customers who need another way to stay connected beyond conventional cellular networks.

Explore our:

• Satellite Phones

• Trackers & Communicators

• Satellite Hotspots

• Satellite Equipment Rentals

Not sure which type of device belongs in your emergency plan? Speak to the OSAT team and we'll help you understand the differences between satellite phones, trackers, communicators and portable satellite connectivity.