NITK offers alternative to mobile network during emergency, links schools and colleges in coastal Karnataka through HAM radio network

NITK's HAM radio project enhances emergency communication and education across schools and colleges in coastal Karnataka, promoting community resilience.

The National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal has built an emergency communication network using HAM radio across parts of coastal Karnataka to train students on how amateur radio can support basic communication needs during emergencies. 

The network has been developed under a CSR-funded project titled ‘Enabling Multi-disciplinary and Broader Radio Applications for Community Empowerment (EMBRACE)’. The project, implemented at the NITK, combines disaster communication, technical education and community outreach using amateur, or HAM radio, wireless communication system that does not rely on mobile phone networks or internet connectivity.  

The technology, as per the project coordinators, becomes relevant during floods, cyclones or power outages, when conventional communication systems are often disrupted.  

As part of the project, a fully functional amateur radio facility was established on the NITK campus in Surathkal in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The facility served as the central hub for training programmes, demonstrations, simulated emergency exercises, and coordination of outreach activities.  

To extend the initiative beyond NITK, five HAM radio nodal centres were set up in selected schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu and Uttara Kannada districts. These centres, as per the institute, were made operational through structured training of students and teachers, supervised by licensed HAM radio operators.

Over time, the institutions began functioning as local learning and practice points for amateur radio and emergency communication.