Modern messengers in action: on the day of the terrorist attacks the Brussels police communicated on WhatsApp
Nowadays, people can communicate without problems. Despite the distance, you can exchange information at any time: if you don’t call, then talk on Skype, if not on Skype, then send a message to WhatsApp. Moreover, such channels of communication are increasingly used not only by ordinary people, but also by representatives of the authorities.
For example, the Belgian police had to use WhatsApp instead of the usual ASTRID system after the Islamists committed terrorist attacks at the airport of the capital of Belgium and one of the Brussels underground stations. As it turned out, the usual GSM-connection after the attacks did not work, so there was nothing left but to establish communication within the framework of the infrastructure of the popular messenger.
After the problem became known, the Commissioner of the Belgian Federal Police, Catherine De Bolle, commissioned an inspection of the specialized network of ASTRID and the cellular network of the capital.
As you know, the attacks were committed in Brussels on March 22. First, the explosions thundered at the airport, and then at the Maalbek metro station. After the incident, the mobile network was overloaded, because too many subscribers tried to contact relatives, acquaintances or friends. “It was a hopeless situation. We did not receive orders, and no one knew what was going on. The cellular network did not work, ”said a representative of the Brussels police who took part in the aftermath of the attacks.
“Fortunately, WhatsApp worked. Without the application, we would not be able to communicate with each other, ”he continued.
“The ASTRID radio network worked within the country, but there were problems in Brussels - the network was too busy. Almost immediately after the attacks, the nearby ASTRID towers were overloaded, after which problems were observed for several hours, ”ASTRID representatives said. Now the network is trying to optimize its infrastructure in order to prevent the recurrence of such problems.
For example, the Belgian police had to use WhatsApp instead of the usual ASTRID system after the Islamists committed terrorist attacks at the airport of the capital of Belgium and one of the Brussels underground stations. As it turned out, the usual GSM-connection after the attacks did not work, so there was nothing left but to establish communication within the framework of the infrastructure of the popular messenger.
After the problem became known, the Commissioner of the Belgian Federal Police, Catherine De Bolle, commissioned an inspection of the specialized network of ASTRID and the cellular network of the capital.
As you know, the attacks were committed in Brussels on March 22. First, the explosions thundered at the airport, and then at the Maalbek metro station. After the incident, the mobile network was overloaded, because too many subscribers tried to contact relatives, acquaintances or friends. “It was a hopeless situation. We did not receive orders, and no one knew what was going on. The cellular network did not work, ”said a representative of the Brussels police who took part in the aftermath of the attacks.
“Fortunately, WhatsApp worked. Without the application, we would not be able to communicate with each other, ”he continued.
“The ASTRID radio network worked within the country, but there were problems in Brussels - the network was too busy. Almost immediately after the attacks, the nearby ASTRID towers were overloaded, after which problems were observed for several hours, ”ASTRID representatives said. Now the network is trying to optimize its infrastructure in order to prevent the recurrence of such problems.