If I remember the original request from ARRL one of the things they were looking for was HF operators who could use the data modes that exist in the ham world t

If I remember the original request from ARRL one of the things they were looking for was HF operators who could use the data modes that exist in the ham world to allow communication to insurance company internet resources based in the mainland. I thought this request was intriguing but wondered why they weren't able to deploy BGAN for this purpose. A surgeon friend of mine said that after Katrina sat phones were of minimal utility because the broadcast networks had contracts that were consuming virtually all of the bandwidth. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who can comment on this. Some of the most interesting amateur radio technologies today are hybrid modes like DMR that leverage the internet along with traditional amateur radio technologies. With DMR it I have been able to speak from NYC to Malta with crystal clear signal from an HT. While this is fun and I like DMR, in some ways it is like a worldwide cellular party line. It would not be a go to solution for a situation like Puerto Rico.