The Information Technology Agency (ITA) will create an emergency executive mesh network that will allow the City's elected officials, general managers, and supporting staff to communicate, coordinate response and recovery efforts, and to disseminate information to City residents independent of all other communications infrastructure that may be compromised in the event of a major disaster.
A mesh network is a data network that creates multiple paths between any two nodes which provide low-cost emergency communications methods consisting of voice, video, and other data needed while infrastructure is being restored. ITA will work with the Emergency Management Department (EMD) to determine which City executives will have access to the network. According to ITA, the emergency executive mesh network will be a closed network that is password protected and encrypted.