SKT, Nokia develop communications tech for disaster rescue

By Kang Seung-woo

The nation’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom and tech giant Nokia of Finland have jointly developed a next-generation communications technology that is expected to make emergency rescue more effective in the event of massive disasters.

According to SK Telecom, Monday, the two companies have created the “mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT)” solution ― for the first time in the world ― for voice over long-term evolution (VoLTE), a technology offering voice calls via the fourth-generation network.

The operator already demonstrated the solution, which will enable efficient communication among hundreds of rescue workers by using a dedicated channel at massive disasters, at Nokia’s research and development center in Poland.

Currently, the IP-based push-to-talk is used among rescuers, but they have complained that it was heavily affected by the number of users on the same network, but SK Telecom believes that the new communications technology will live up to higher expectations among disaster managing institutions.

“The MCPTT ensures high-quality communications as it uses the VoLTE network and supports a stable group communications service ― even when there is a surge in uses,” the company said in a statement.

In that respect, emergency service organizations such as police and fire fighting agencies in countries such as Korea, the United States and Britain have demanded the development of the MCPTT.

As a result, the technology was standardized in March 2016 by the third generation partnership project, a global association among groups of mobile carriers and telecommunications companies.

SK Telecom plans to use the MCPTT solution in myriad areas here first, while expecting to enter global markets, including the U.S. and Britain that are currently promoting the public safety network projects.

“For the first time in the world, SK Telecom and Nokia have successfully developed the MCPTT, the core solution for public safety networks,” said SK Telecom’s network business division head Shim Sang-soo.

“SK Telecom will continue to contribute to the successful completion of the public safety network project in Korea, while actively seeking new business opportunities in the global market.”