(from my blog, WirelessCowboys.com)
It is now 5 years since Katrina hit New Orleans and changed the face of
the Gulf Coast forever. One of the good things that came out of this
disaster was the outstanding effort by wireless ISPs that came together
to provide Internet and phone services to thousands of refugees from the
storm. Mac Dearman stood at the center of that effort.
I called Mac the day after Katrina hit to check in on him and see how
bad off he had it. Other than a little damage, his network was in good
shape. I called a couple of days later, and he told me stories about
the refugees of the storm, churches and makeshift shelters filled to
overflowing with people that had nothing more than the clothes on the
backs. He and his employees had been working non-stop to put in
Internet connections and voip phones at the shelters so that the people
there would be able to contact their loved ones and start the process of
applying for federal help. I could tell from the tone in his voice
that he was completely worn out, but could not stop because this work
had to be done.
I got on a plane the next morning and headed down to help in any way
that I could.
Within two days after I arrived, there were at least 30 people camped
out at Mac's farm near Rayville, Louisiana and semi loads of donated
equipment had arrived that allowed us to put Internet, VOIP phones and
computers at nearly every shelter in Mac's service area. I had to
leave after a week, but Mac took his volunteer army of WISPs down to the
Bay St. Louis and Gulfport areas along the coast and kept going until
the next spring.
It was truly an amazing effort, done with no government support, purely
with volunteer help and donated equipment. The campaign to help people
after Katrina was a pinnacle moment of the infant WISP industry, and a
perfect illustration of the ability of WISPs to provide critical
services quickly, efficiently and professionally.
Thank you Mac, and thanks to all of the volunteers that were able to
take the time to help him out. WISPs everywhere owe you a debt of
gratitude.
More reading:
http://www.redherring.com/Home/15053
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/10/03/mac.dearman/
Matt Larsen
Vistabeam.com
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