Global Humanitarian Relief Experts Gather in San Diego to Demonstrate Disaster Response Innovations

An inspirational example of mission-critical communication/collaboration -- Strong Angel III: 

The situation is grim. A pandemic has swept across the globe. Simultaneously, a terrorist network begins systematic cyber attacks, disabling communications throughout the United States. Now, local governments must provide humanitarian relief without an established telecommunications infrastructure. This is the scenario facing the participants of Strong Angel III, a collaborative demonstration of civil and military cooperation and communication capabilities put together by a partnership of private companies, government agencies, humanitarian and relief agencies, and universities. Hosted by San Diego State University and taking place in San Diego August 21-26, Strong Angel III will field test effective means of delivering life-saving humanitarian relief and rapidly deployable communication systems in the wake of major disasters.

Another interesting dimension:

Major sponsors and event participants include Microsoft, Bell Canada, Save the Children, Cisco Systems, Sprint Nextel, Google, the Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Department of Defense and CommsFirst.

More details on ZDNet and the event web site.  The list of 49 SAIII Objectives is fascinating...

Source: Global Humanitarian Relief Experts Gather in San Diego to Demonstrate Disaster Response Innovations