What happens if public cellular networks fail during an emergency?

Smartphones and tablets have become a key technology for many first responders, but these devices offer little value if they fail during an emergency. Critical cellular networks must continue to operate even in emergency situations.

As mobile networks mature, congestion management has essentially become a question of economics. Each network provider must make its own business decision about how much spare capacity needs to be allocated to cater for peak loads. However, providers understandably struggle to deal with unexpected peaks of unknown magnitude in unplanned locations. This is exactly what happens in times of disaster.

As public networks become clogged with loved ones trying to call each other, network modelling goes out the window. If emergency workers are sharing the same mobile network as the general public, all these carefully procured advanced capabilities slowly grind to a stop.

Given Australia’s vast distances and the frequency of natural disasters, there are some particularly complex and unique issues to consider. Fulfilling an earlier election promise, the Australian federal government has initiated a formal cost‑benefit analysis of allocating spectrum to a dedicated national emergency services network.

Globally, each nation is considering its options. With the experience of 9/11 still resonating in the minds of government planners, the US Government has already opted for an ambitious solution based on a separately constructed network. This is a massive project that will take until 2022 to deliver. FirstNet is essentially a completely separate (4G LTE) wireless broadband network covering all US states and territories, running separately from the commercial mobile broadband across the country. FirstNet also owns a valuable piece of mobile spectrum real estate with 20 MHz within the 700 MHz band.

In Australia, three possible alternatives have emerged in industry submissions:

1. A dedicated first responder network based on exclusive spectrum, similar to the US solution.

2. Exclusive spectrum allocation, which could be leased back from a commercial provider through what is essentially an outsourced arrangement.

3. Telstra’s LANES solution, which is essentially a spectrum-as-a-service offering. Spectrum can be either dedicated or dynamically allocated based on changing requirements. Recently, LANES was successfully deployed for the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit.

However, it would be a mistake to only consider mobile spectrum allocation in terms of the direct needs of emergency workers.

In times of emergency, reliable public mobile facilities not only provide a valuable channel for government to inform the community, but also a valuable channel for the community to inform government. Today, emergency services agencies receive better intelligence because they have ready access to first-hand observation from members of the community. Mobile apps are also driving greater community resilience in new and unexpected ways.

Public network communication is now core business, not an optional extra. The challenge for contemporary government is to find new ways of engaging with an increasingly sophisticated and digital society. First responders have legitimate requirements for priority infrastructure and these must be addressed. However, consideration must also take account of the community at large, rather than just facilities for the public sector vertical.

Kevin Noonan is a Research Director in Ovum’s Australian government practice and author of a recent report - Priority Mobile Broadband for Police and Emergency Services. Prior to joining Ovum, Kevin was Head of Consulting at an industry research firm, working with executives from more than half the top 100 IT companies. Before moving to the private sector, he spent more than 28 years in various government management roles.