Challenges MNOs Face in Emergency SMS

Natural disasters and military conflicts; for centuries, nations sought ways to protect citizens from such threats.

One way to save more lives was to communicate. Through communication, people were able to take precautions, to organize survival and recovery. This way the losses were reduced by great margins.

In the second edition of Telecom Tomorrow, we discuss Mass-Emergency Population Warning Systems that are used in the telecom world.

We have picked three articles to discuss this topic with. Their topics range from specific challenges in emergency warning systems to establishing a general philosophy for emergency communications.

Addressing the Challenges of Emergency SMSC

SMS is a powerful tool in the hands of MNOs. But is it so easy to adapt it to emergency use?

MNOs require specific changes to their infrastructure and their approach to effectively use the SMS in emergencies. This technology is called the E-SMS, which can easily cover grounds both in hasty coverage (can reach out to millions in mere hours) and in precision (can be customized to target smaller populations or specific groups).

We discuss the challenges MNOs face in developing, deploying, and adapting the E-SMS. These arise from various factors, such as effectively selecting targets for E-SMS in times of disaster, resource constraints that arise in times of mass emergencies, regulatory frameworks slowing down the process, and optimizing the E-SMS throughputs for different situations.

Find out more about these challenges by reading "Challenges MNOs Face in Emergency SMS".

Negative Impact of Call Completion Services During Disasters

An earthquake hits your country. Everybody is in panic: people are trying to reach their loved ones on the phone, and nobody can get a response.

Everyone is trying to place calls at the same time. There's an insane amount of load on the network. Some of the calls do not go through. The failed calls trigger call-completion services like voicemail or missed-call SMS, but even these can't go through and fail: there's simply too much demand on the network.

The whole network shuts down.

How should MNOs structure their call-completion services to be more robust in times of disaster? This article discusses Defne's alternate solutions for services, such as HLR caching, which prepares network structures to withstand increased load in higher demand periods.

Such measures can be life-saving in real-life scenarios, as it has already been demonstrated in many countries. Major MNOs' networks shut down due to increased demand in the aftermath of earthquakes.

To learn more about this topic, read "Negative Impact of Call Completion Services During Disasters".

Weaknesses of US Emergency Communication Strategy in Terms of Future Threat Communication

We discuss the potential for the Emergency SMSC system to become a crucial component of the United States Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) framework.

E-SMSC can further improve its alerting capabilities by integrating with already existing systems in the US, such as the WEA. It can further increase its efficiency by synchronizing with those issued by government agencies, such as the storm surge warnings from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

This combined system can deliver more frequent and user-friendly warnings the the public, even if the hurricane's impact on their specific location is uncertain. Doing so minimizes unnecessary panic while ensuring individuals are well-informed about potential risks.

The US can apply the E-SMS in its mass-emergency population warning system by combining it with its current primary technology, the cell broadcast call (CBC). The Federal Communications Commission can reserve the CBC for mandatory evacuation warnings, while leveraging the E-SMSC for all prediction warnings, including short-term predictions like storm surge alerts.

As a result, individuals gain the invaluable advantage of receiving early risk warnings several days ahead of a hurricane or any natural disaster, significantly surpassing the limited few-hour notice previously available. This extended lead time empowers individuals to proactively plan, devise comprehensive strategies, and take essential precautions to protect themselves and their communities.

Join the discussion about emergency communications philosophy in "Weaknesses of US Emergency Communication Strategy in Terms of Future Threat Communication".

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