A new and faster way to communicate during emergencies is being planned by the Utah Section of the ARRL® Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) group, which serves Salt Lake County, the most populous area in Utah.

ARRL Utah Section Public Information Coordinator Scott Rosenbush, K7HSR, said that discussion and planning for mesh networks using AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network) technology is on the drawing board.

A recent meeting and presentation by Brett Pruitt, K7BDP, Utah Section Emergency Coordinator, was attended by a large group of ARES amateur radio operators. More than a dozen Salt Lake County hams have already invested in AREDN technology with an interest in helping to create and support an emergency mesh network in the county. Southern Utah ARES groups have already created a five-county mesh network that can be used for emergency communications.

“We hope to ultimately connect to STARLINK and run the mesh network over that,” said Pruitt. “On November 2, we will have an exercise with hospitals in the northern and southern Utah ARES groups using the regular internet. After that, if STARLINK is more readily available, we will run the drill again without the internet to fully test the new technology.” Pruitt said the goal is to have everything working by early 2025.

“The needs of participating agencies have evolved to require more than analog voice and low-speed data modes,” said Rosenbush. High-speed mesh networks using AREDN software will allow amateur radio to play a larger role in supporting these agencies in emergencies.”

The Utah Section is working to extend this technology, said Rosenbush. “Our hope is to bring this technology to other parts of the state to increase the communications capability and value of amateur radio to partner agencies.”