KT and Samsung Electronics open int’l standard for national disaster safety communication network including land and sea
KT made an announcement on April 26 that it has opened a national disaster safety communication network with Samsung Electronics for the first time in the world.
Disaster safety communication network is a next-generation wireless network led by the government to efficiently prevent and respond to various major and medium-sized disasters, including natural disasters.
This national disaster safety communication network is aligned with the PS-LTE Standard established by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), an international cooperation organization for wireless communication.
It is the world's first national disaster safety communication network that encompasses national land and sea. In six years since its launch in 2015, 333 national wireless communication networks in eight major fields, including police, fire, defense, railways and local governments, have been integrated into one.
Multi-communication network structure and technology have been applied to support rescue activities even in the worst disaster situations. The network control center is also triadized into Seoul, Daegu, and Jeju, and each center's equipment is composed of two, allowing non-disruptive operation through other equipment even if certain equipment fails.
Even in situations where traffic increases due to disasters, eMBMS technology is applied to facilitate communication between field personnel, enabling real-time communication between up to 2,500 terminals. This is more than twice as much as the previous TETRA method, which had a limit of 1,200 devices.
It also supports direct communication between terminals, enabling communication between field personnel in deep mountainous areas or areas where it is difficult to connect wireless base stations such as underground.
KT is planning to continue to develop disaster safety networks such as intelligent disaster monitoring systems using the Internet of Things (IoT) and telemedicine and recovery activities using 5G technology.
"The introduction of a disaster safety communication network will greatly contribute to protecting the lives and property of the people by supporting faster, more accurate and more effective recovery activities based on data," said Kim Seung-il, managing director of Samsung Electronics' network division.
"We will actively support digital transformation (DX) and innovation in public affairs such as government disaster rescue and security," said Kim Joon-ho, head of KT Enterprise's public/financial customer division.
