As we emerge from 2022’s fire and hurricane season and focus on recovering from devastating events such as Hurricane Ian, preparing for next year’s weather-prone seasons seems like a distant goal. But the reality is, the right time to prepare for disaster season is never when the threat is imminent. While efforts to combat extreme weather will take years to yield results, T-Mobile is looking ahead to the next fire and hurricane season by harnessing the power of 5G to offer advances towards detecting natural weather-related threats, protecting first responders, and providing communities with services in their aftermath.

With faster speeds, massive bandwidth and low latency, T-Mobile’s 5G is able to power transformative capabilities that offer enhanced situational awareness and help bring better information to the front lines. For example, an innovative partnership with Pano AI is proving the value of 5G with technology that detects the first signs of wildfires, buying time for first responders to react and control the fire, saving lives and infrastructure.

5G is also proving to be critical to helping humans safely work in hazardous conditions, such as Sarcos Robotics’ remote-controlled Guardian XT robot which performs tasks such as lifting heavy materials or using power tools at significant heights in the aftermath of a disaster. Industrial drones deployed by InDro Robotics are enabling missions with a high degree of complexity piloted remotely by an operator with a computer.