The client is a triage unit of the Federal Emergency Deployment Team Member (FEDTM) programme, deployed to Asheville, North Carolina, in September 2024 after Hurricane Helene. The team provided critical medical care to displaced veterans and residents, working 24- to 48-hour shifts over a two-week deployment and coordinating with the local VA hospital, civilian hospitals and other emergency response teams.

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville, North Carolina, causing historic flooding, widespread power outages and major disruption to communication networks. The FEDTM triage unit was deployed on site to provide critical medical care to displaced veterans and residents.

The team ran into severe communication problems almost immediately. Cellular networks were congested or down, which made phone calls and data access unreliable. Wireless service for medical tablets, laptops and operational systems was limited. Patient data transmission was disrupted, which slowed emergency response coordination.

With traditional phone services failing, the triage team needed a fast, stable and secure internet connection. It had to manage patient records, coordinate with other emergency response teams and communicate with the local VA hospital and civilian hospitals, all while staff worked 24- to 48-hour shifts in the field.

The triage unit deployed the Solis Lite hotspot powered by Infinite Wireless, which the team referred to as the orange puck. The device allowed the unit to connect up to 10 critical devices at once, including tablets, laptops and medical equipment, with no setup beyond keeping it charged.

Rather than depending on a single congested carrier, the hotspot accessed multiple available LTE carriers, so the team could bypass overloaded cell networks and hold a working connection when individual cell phones could not. Over that link, the unit securely transmitted patient care details to local VA hospitals, civilian hospitals and other emergency response teams.

Infinite Wireless positioned the hotspot as a field tool for exactly this situation: traditional wireless phone services were unavailable, and the team needed field operations to continue without interruption. During the two-week deployment the puck kept 10 devices connected and operational at all times, according to the team member quoted in the case study.

• Patient care details were transmitted in real time, supporting accurate and timely treatment despite network outages
• Up to 10 tablets, laptops and medical systems stayed connected and operational throughout the two-week deployment
• The unit kept direct contact with the VA hospital, local hospitals and local emergency personnel
• The Solis Lite hotspot became a standard emergency response tool for FEDTM field teams