Overview#
A hurricane makes landfall and takes out the regional fibre backbone. Within minutes, the primary ESInet link at the PSAP goes dark. Automatically, the Satellite Mesh domain fails over to the secondary satellite channel, and 911 calls keep routing without the operator touching a single configuration. If the satellite link degrades later, the system falls back to the tertiary mesh network of local nodes. When the fibre comes back, communications migrate back to the primary path just as gracefully. This is the core promise of the Satellite Mesh domain: emergency communications that survive infrastructure failure through automatic, layered failover.
Key Features#
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Multi-Layer Communication: Operate across three network tiers (primary ESInet, secondary satellite, and tertiary mesh) with seamless transitions between layers based on real-time health monitoring.
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Automatic Failover: Detect network degradation or failure and automatically route communications through the next available layer without manual intervention, minimising downtime during critical operations.
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Layer Health Monitoring: Continuously assess the operational status of each communication layer including latency, bandwidth, packet loss, and connection stability to make informed routing decisions.
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Satellite Messaging: Send and receive messages through satellite communication channels when terrestrial networks are unavailable, maintaining connectivity in disaster scenarios or remote locations.
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Mesh Network Management: Deploy and manage mesh network nodes that create resilient local area connectivity, supporting operations in areas where traditional infrastructure is damaged or absent.
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Provider Routing: Intelligently route communications through available providers based on current network conditions, cost, and priority to optimise reliability and performance.
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Recovery Handling: Automatically detect when higher-priority layers recover and gracefully transition communications back to the preferred network path.
Use Cases#
Resilient multi-layer communications are essential wherever infrastructure failure cannot be allowed to stop critical operations. Key industries include public safety and emergency services, defence and military, and critical national infrastructure.
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Disaster Response: Maintain emergency communications when natural disasters damage primary network infrastructure, ensuring 911 and dispatch operations continue uninterrupted.
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Remote Operations: Support field operations in areas with limited or no terrestrial network coverage through satellite and mesh network fallback.
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Network Resilience: Provide defence-in-depth for critical communications by maintaining multiple independent network paths that can compensate for any single point of failure.
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Infrastructure Recovery: During extended outages, progressively restore communications through available layers while monitoring primary infrastructure recovery.
Communication Layers#
| Layer | Role | Technology |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Default communication path | ESInet (IP-based emergency network) |
| Secondary | First failover option | Satellite connectivity |
| Tertiary | Last resort backup | Mesh network |
Integration#
The Satellite Mesh domain supports resilient communications across the platform:
- Dispatch Operations: Ensures dispatch communications remain available during infrastructure failures
- Unified Command: Multi-agency coordination continues through failover networks
- Alert System: Critical alerts are routed through available communication layers
- Incident Management: Incident communications are maintained regardless of network conditions
Open Standards#
- NENA i3 (NENA-STA-010): The primary communication layer is an ESInet, the IP-based emergency services network defined by the NENA i3 architecture, making NENA i3 the foundational interoperability standard for the highest-priority path.
- Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD): The secondary satellite transport integrates with the Iridium SBD protocol for store-and-forward satellite messaging when terrestrial and ESInet links are unavailable.
- WGS-84: Mesh network node positions and satellite message sender co-ordinates are recorded as decimal-degree latitude, longitude, and altitude in the WGS-84 geodetic reference frame used by GNSS receivers.
- GraphQL (June 2018 specification): All queries and mutations for communication layer status, satellite message dispatch, mesh node management, and failover events are exposed through a GraphQL API implemented with the Strawberry library.
- OAuth 2.0 / JWT (RFC 6749 / RFC 7519): Every GraphQL operation requires a valid JWT bearer token issued by the platform's OAuth 2.0 authorisation server, enforced via the IsAuthenticated permission class on all queries and mutations.
- JSON (RFC 8259): Node configuration, message metadata, and failover event payloads are stored and exchanged as JSON, including JSONB columns in PostgreSQL for extensible structured data.
Last Reviewed: 2026-02-09 Last Updated: 2026-04-14