The charitable arm of mobile network Vodafone has revealed its mobile network in a backpack, which will enable aid workers to send calls and texts to provide crucial information following a disaster.

The Vodafone Foundation Instant Network Mini is an 11kg backpack which can provide up to five concurrent calls within a 100-metre radius and enable text messages to be sent to thousands of people.

The Vodafone Foundation’s director, Andrew Dunnett, said: “The Vodafone Foundation Instant Network has enabled thousands of people to reconnect with their loved ones.

“Vodafone Foundation Instant Network Mini is simple and quick to deploy and will be particularly valuable to those humanitarian workers without any other means of communication.”

The backpack can be deployed in just ten minutes by non-technical staff and can be carried as hand luggage on commercial flights.

The network in a backpack is a successor to Vodafone’s original Instant Network which was deployed in the Philippines within 24 hours of Typhoon Haiyan. The equipment enabled 1.4 million text messages and 443,288 calls to be made in 29 days following the November 2013 typhoon.

The original portable network was a lot heavier, comprising of four suitcases weighing in at 100kg, but with an operating radius of up to 5km.