How the COMET AERO Can Create Wide-Area Mesh Connectivity
When Ground Infrastructure Isn’t an Option
The Urgent Issue
When incidents, disasters, or remote operations disrupt ground-based infrastructure,
connectivity often disappears across wide areas—not just at a single site. After major
events, 30–50% of impacted regions experience temporary communications outages,
particularly in rural or terrain-challenged environments.¹
Traditional recovery options—towers, fiber repairs, or portable ground assets—can take
days or weeks to restore wide-area coverage. In these moments, organizations need a
solution that can rapidly re-establish resilient, secure connectivity across large
geographic areas—not just at a single point.
Why Ground-Based Infrastructure Can’t Respond Fast Enough
Permanent and temporary ground infrastructure is critical, but it is often constrained by:
- Tower permitting and zoning timelines of 3–12 months²
- Fiber repair or extension timelines commonly exceeding 90–180 days³
- Terrain, debris, or access limitations following storms or disasters
- Coverage gaps when a single portable site cannot reach dispersed users
These limitations make it difficult to restore wide-area communications
quickly—especially when crews, responders, or assets are spread across miles.
Why Aerial Private 5G Mesh Changes the Equation
The COMET AERO Private 5G Network uses tethered aerial platforms to elevate radios
and create a mesh-enabled private 5G network in the sky. By combining altitude,
persistent power, and secure backhaul, COMET AERO enables rapid coverage
expansion without relying on fixed ground structures.
Field studies and propagation models show that elevated platforms can:
- Extend effective coverage radius by 2–4× compared to ground-based sites⁴
- Reduce the number of required ground nodes by 30–60%⁵
- Restore connectivity across multiple square miles with fewer deployment points
Unlike single-site solutions, COMET AERO nodes can mesh, creating a wide-area
private 5G network that adapts to terrain, obstructions, and operational needs.
What a COMET AERO Mesh Network Enables
Wide-Area Incident Response
- Extend private 5G coverage across disaster zones, wildfires, or large incidents
- Maintain connectivity for command, crews, and sensors across dispersed locations
Utilities & Infrastructure Restoration
- Support field crews operating miles apart during storm recovery
- Provide connectivity around substations, transmission corridors, and work zones
Remote & Temporary Operations
- Construction, energy, mining, and critical infrastructure projects
- Temporary operations requiring secure, carrier-independent connectivity Public Safety & Government Operations
- Establish sovereign, private communications without relying on public networks
- Deploy rapidly without permanent structures or long approvals
How COMET AERO Delivers Private 5G—Fast
COMET AERO is designed as a deployable private 5G mesh platform, not a single
aerial asset.
Key capabilities include:
- Rapid deployment, often under 60 minutes per node, depending on conditions⁶
- Persistent aerial elevation for 5G radios, sensors, and edge devices
- Mesh networking between aerial nodes, expanding coverage dynamically
- Flexible backhaul options, including fiber, LTE/5G, microwave, or satellite
- Integration with ground-based COMET platforms for hybrid coverage
Because each aerial node is tethered, power and data remain stable—supporting
continuous operation for extended missions without battery swaps.
Designed for Real-World, Wide-Area Operations
Teltech engineered COMET AERO for environments where simplicity, safety, and
repeatability matter:
- Pre-configured deployment kits, staged and tested in advance
- Operational safety controls for extended aerial operations
- Logistics, staging, and support through Teltech’s deployment teams
- Interoperability with COMET PULSAR and other rapid-deploy platforms
This allows operators to scale from single-site coverage to multi-node aerial mesh
networks as operational demands grow.
When Ground Networks Can’t Reach—Mesh Above Them
COMET AERO is not intended to replace permanent towers or fiber. It is a high-impact
bridge solution—delivering wide-area private 5G coverage during outages, temporary
operations, or early deployment phases.
When connectivity must be restored across miles, not meters, aerial mesh networking
provides a faster path forward.
Deploy Wide-Area Private 5G—On Demand
If your organization needs to establish secure, resilient connectivity across large areas
when ground infrastructure isn’t feasible, the COMET AERO Private 5G Network can
help you deploy fast, scale quickly, and operate with confidence.
Learn more about the COMET Portfolio of Products here.
Footnotes / Sources
- FEMA After-Action Reports; FCC Disaster Communications Assessments.
- FCC Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) and local zoning timelines.
- NTIA Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Reports; DOT right-of-way case
studies. - ITU-R Line-of-Sight Propagation Models; UAV-based Communications Studies.
- IEEE Communications Magazine — Aerial Platform Coverage Optimization
Research. - Utility and public-safety UAV field deployment benchmarks and response
exercises.
