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It's still a trauma.
In October 2021, in the middle of storm Alex, the valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes find themselves cut off from everything.
“We have been forgotten by the world
, recalls Jean-Pierre Vassallo, mayor of Tende.
People didn't even know if we existed anymore.
Impossible to telephone, impossible to move, impossible to give the slightest sign of life.
“We could never have imagined being so cut off from everything in our time.
We are able to communicate with the moon, and there, we could not do anything
, ”adds the city councilor, still marked by these events.
“We were no longer able to alert the outside
, complete Sébastien Olharan, the elected representative of Breil-sur-Roya.
No one was aware of what we were going through, not even the prefecture, not even the Prime Minister.
To avoid such disarray, the telecommunications company Orange experimented this week with a “safety case” in the Roya, Vésubie and Tinée valleys.
This box must allow, in the event of a meteorological incident, an emergency connection for the inhabitants.
They can thus find the Internet thanks to “
a connectivity bubble
”.
Breil-sur-Roya, Tende, Venanson and Valdeblore tested this solution for a day.
The tests were conclusive.
A wifi connection works at high speed and
“allows you to use the various messaging services and even to make videoconferences
, confirms Sébastien Olharan.
The experiment went exceedingly well.”
Ten hours of battery life
This large briefcase with the false airs of R2D2 which weighs nearly 70 kilos, is connected to a satellite and has a ten-hour autonomy.
The network is captured within a radius of 100 meters.
The project manager, Grégory Roger, took more than a year to design this emergency telecommunications technology.
Inside there are also about ten radios so that the inhabitants continue to communicate with each other in the event of a crisis.
This experiment, the first of its kind in France, was deployed in the Alpes-Maritimes.
After storm Alex, elected officials had already implemented their own solutions.
In Breil-sur-Roya, a hertzian telecommunications network can be used in the event of a cut.
But it does not allow trading beyond the village.
In Tende, a relay antenna was installed at Mont Chajol to use radios.
The mayor has correspondents by zone to recover them in the event of a general cut.
This suitcase of Orange appears for them as a new security to be able to prevent the various emergency services.
"That's what we asked for
," emphasizes Jean-Pierre Vassallo.
And that reassures us, we no longer feel isolated.
“Obviously, this is the guarantee of no longer being cut off from the world
, insists Sébastien Olharan.
It's a reason for peace of mind."
Obviously, this is the guarantee of no longer being cut off from the world.
Sébastien Olharan, mayor of Breil-sur-Roya
If this is only the trial phase, and Orange has not yet launched the production of several “safety cases”, these municipalities will however be interested in acquiring them.
At what price ?
Impossible to say at this stage, but it will require subsidies.
"I hope we can rent it or pay for it, it all depends on what will be decided
," adds Jean-Pierre Vassallo.
The fears of being cut off from everything would dissipate a little more for the inhabitants of the hinterland.
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