"Firefighter Calls to Be Prioritized in Disasters"... Three Major Telecoms Launch Service from the 10th

Emergency Rescue Communication on Commercial Networks
Securing the National Fire Agency’s Golden Time with Priority Transmission

The "Emergency Rescue Communication Priority Transmission Service," which prioritizes calls between on-site firefighters and general users during large-scale disaster situations, will begin today.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on June 10 that the emergency rescue communication priority transmission service, proposed by the National Fire Agency and telecommunications companies, has met the requirements for special services under the "Network Neutrality Guidelines" and has now been launched.

The core of this service is to ensure that communication between on-site firefighters and general users is prioritized in situations where communication demand surges, such as large-scale fires or complex disasters. As a result, calls between general users reporting emergencies and firefighters, as well as calls with emergency medical guidance doctors for first aid, are expected to be carried out more reliably to support emergency rescue operations.

The three major telecommunications companies have applied dedicated USIM cards, which are distinguishable from those of general subscribers, to firefighters' devices to ensure that firefighters' signals are prioritized even when network traffic is congested.

LG Uplus announced on the 10th that it has launched the 'Priority Connection Service for Firefighters,' which more reliably supports firefighters' communication usage at fire and disaster sites. The photo shows (from left) Kyungjung Park, Head of External Cooperation at LG Uplus, and Younggeun Hong, Chief of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, attending the launch ceremony of the Priority Connection Service for Firefighters held the previous afternoon at the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Provided by LG Uplus. Photo by LG Uplus

This service was initially proposed by LG Uplus to the National Fire Agency based on on-site demand, and later, SK Telecom and KT joined in, making it a joint initiative of the three major telecommunications companies. After technical verification, the three companies are now officially launching the service.

The current "Network Neutrality Guidelines" stipulate that Internet traffic should be treated equally as a principle, but allow for priority transmission and other measures when certain requirements, such as limited usage and separate quality management, are met and classified as special services.

This case is the first since the establishment of the guidelines in 2011 to be recognized as meeting the requirements for a special service. It will be operated in a way that guarantees stable communication quality only for the limited use of emergency rescue. Major advanced countries such as the United States, Germany, and Japan have already adopted similar "emergency rescue priority transmission" systems in the public safety sector, ensuring high-quality communication for emergency responders.

This service is distinct from the Public Safety LTE (PS-LTE) disaster safety communication network, which has been built and is actively used by the government. While the disaster safety communication network supports rapid and effective communication among personnel of disaster safety agencies such as the National Fire Agency, the new priority transmission service is differentiated by supporting calls between firefighters and general users (such as reporters and doctors). Major countries also utilize both systems in parallel to enhance the efficiency of emergency response.

Furthermore, once the three telecommunications companies complete the deployment of their 5G Standalone (SA) networks by the end of this year, it will be possible to efficiently provide customized quality guarantees for each organization and user. This is expected to further advance various types of public safety communication services, including emergency rescue communication.

Nam Seok, Director of Communications Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "This emergency rescue communication priority transmission service is the first case of applying the special service requirements under the 'Network Neutrality Guidelines' to the public safety sector. Even in disaster situations, it will help ensure more stable communication between firefighters and general users, thereby contributing to the protection of people's lives and safety."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.