Emergency Base Station
Pilot Run

When your product answers a need from a community, it is important to ensure it is working without any glitches. Quality testing is a practice done by many companies before launching their product, and continues regularly on even after.

Entropy Solution, a leader in delivering cutting edge innovations for telecommunications and enterprise, together with the Search And Rescue Unit Foundation Inc. (SARUF), teamed up to test the eReach Rapid Deployment pack in Talim Island, Cardona, Rizal last April 29, 2017.

The eReach Rapid Deployment pack is a practical and portable solution in instances when communication is down during emergency situations. These include devastated towns and cities after typhoons, or rural areas that are cut off from LGUs and government agencies that can extend help to the affected communities.

The propagation and field testing was done by Jayson Escobar and Justin Repollo of Entropy Solution, and the SARUF team lead by Jerry Carual.

The setup and activation of the eReach Rapid Deployment pack can be done in 30 minutes and provides a complete cellular network, including antenna, radio equipment, and AC-DC power supply. It can detect and active SIMs within a 2 kilometer radius regardless of the telecom provider, and assigns temporary numbers to activate them. With its simple interface, no special training is needed to run and operate eReach.

The test was a practical application of how eReach works in emergency situations. Talim Island is the largest island in Laguna de Bay, and despite its nearness to Metro Manila, cellular signal is intermittent on a regular basis. The island is also no stranger to emergency situations brought about by typhoons.

To test, Entropy sent out a message to the residents of the nearby barangays informing them of a disaster preparedness training to be conducted by SARUF. The system was activated in the evening and was left open until the next day. During the training, the Entropy Solution team and eReach were introduced, and received a positive interest and feedback from the barangay residents.

On a separate occasion, Entropy Solution ran an internal testing in Pangasinan. This was to test the hardware and amplifier. With a 2.2 kilometer reach, the test focused mainly on making sure that calls can go through. SARUF also extended their support by providing equipment, including the antenna base where the device can be mounted.

Call quality was clear, ensuring that anyone who connects to the network will be able to communicate when needed. As SMS messages travel on the same network, no further tests were done.