Efficient and Flexible Emergency Communications in Next Generation Mobile Network

In recent years, the frequency of disaster occurrence significantly increases. Although the information technology is advanced as well, the advantage of leveraging information technology on disaster prevention and recovery has not been effectively utilized yet. Undoubtedly, natural disasters have already exposed the deficiency of existing emergency communications system. In this system, disaster warning subsystem is built upon conventional TV and radio broadcasting, while the rescue mission relied on basic GSM and satellite communications. These traditional technologies can not satisfy the critical timing requirements of disaster warning and emergency medical service. In this paper, we describe an efficient and flexible methodology to develop emergency communications system in next generation mobile networks. We also propose a proof-of-concept prototype to show the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed methodology.