Practical Transceiver Recovery Extension (T-REX) for Post-Disaster Recovery Networks

In this paper, we propose a practical design of a mobile emergency base station for post-disaster recovery networks using open-source software. The Transceiver Recovery Extension (T-REX) is designed to be practical for the rescuer. Therefore, we propose the T-REX system consisting of a power system, Software Defined Radio (SDR), repeater, and antennas arranged in a backpack. We perform an experiment in the laboratory and the real field of blank spot area in rural Bandung, Indonesia. The results show that the T-REX has successfully provided Short Message Service (SMS) and Voice call services to all victims connected to the network with coverage of 40 m using the Private Cellular Networks Mode and 1.8 km using the Repeater Mode. We also provide the business aspect of the proposed T-REX in this paper. The practical results of this paper are expected to contribute to the development of cheap and simple technologies for disaster recovery networks.