(Yicai) Aug. 4 -- China Mobile and China Unicom, two of the country’s major telecoms carriers, have deployed drones, aerial base stations, and other technologies in the northern regions of China affected by typhoon Doksuri to help restore communications.

China Mobile’s Baoding branch in Hebei province is using a mid-sized emergency drone communications system in stricken areas, Lu Gang, its deputy general manager, told Yicai. It can provide a network connection to 200 users in an area of more than 30 square kilometers, he said.

The unmanned aerial vehicle has low take-off requirements and can be used after natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes or under difficult topographic conditions, including mountains, valleys, and highlands.

Communications in the worst-affected areas of North China have not yet been restored. More than 1,440 base stations were out of service in Baoding as of 4 p.m. on Aug. 2, with 278 located in Zhuozhou, People’s Posts and Telecommunications News reported.

China Unicom built makeshift communications platforms using UAVs, aerial base stations, and satellite backhaul links. In some areas of Baoding and Beijing’s Mentougou district, the firm is using drones to repair optical fiber cables.

Meanwhile, the Hebei branch of China Telecom, the country’s other major mobile network operator, had sent 452 staff, 361 specialized vehicles, 159 power generators, and 32 satellite phones to Zhuozhou as of Aug. 2 to ensure emergency communications for the flooded city.

Editor: Futura Costaglione