The demonstration, conducted at Samsung’s lab in Korea, featured a complete line-up of Samsung’s latest MCPTX solutions, which delivers a multimedia-based communications experience designed specifically for first responders and public safety officials. It used Samsung’s MCPTX service platform, as well as the Samsung Galaxy XCover FieldPro – a rugged, secure first responder smartphone, purpose-built for public safety users – to show the power of mission critical multimedia communications in the field.

Samsung’s customers for MCPTX will have the option to deploy the solution on their on-premise servers or AWS cloud platform.

New Horizons in Public Safety

MCPTX delivers powerful data and video communications capabilities surpassing Land Mobile Radio (LMR) technology, which provides traditional voice-based service. It opens a new horizon in advancing public safety, enabling first responders to be simultaneously connected with hundreds of fellow responders with easy exchange of videos, images, files and more during an emergency. This technology will help improve situational awareness and information accuracy, especially in times when public safety plays a pivotal role against local disasters or urgent threats.

Cloud-Based Benefits

The demonstration also highlights the key benefits that public cloud networks can bring to an MCPTX deployment. This approach enables rapid deployment and improves scalability and flexibility of public safety networks for operators, by reducing the time spent on in-house data center deployment and allowing them to adjust the usage of resources as needed. Also, the service can seamlessly failover to another part of the cloud as needed, increasing overall reliability.

“AWS offers a proven infrastructure with the greatest scalability, which enables network operators to offer reliable 5G services that will continue to scale, even during the greatest capacity strains.” said Amir Rao, Head of Global Solution Portfolio and Tech Alliances for Telco industry at AWS. “AWS offers a ubiquitous cloud programming model through its public availability zones and AWS Outpost services, which can be deployed at the Telco Operators data center or network edge locations. This demonstration of Samsung’s MCPTX solution on Amazon’s cloud platform brings the latest innovations to the public safety sector, and the two companies will continue to collaborate on developing technologies to provide new and reliable services to customers.”

“This demonstration showcases how Samsung’s Mission Critical Communications solutions can manage public crises and be readily deployed on public cloud platforms,” said Wonil Roh, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “It also enables us to learn and adapt to the evolving needs of service providers and end users alike. This brings a new level of broad coverage, scalability and reliability to mission critical service deployments, and we look forward to continuing our journey in the public safety sector to help keep communities safe and improve public emergency response outcomes.”

Samsung Networks has been a leader in advancing next generation technologies for the public safety arena. Its Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) solution has been operational in Korea’s Public Safety LTE (PS-LTE) network since 2018, supporting voice and text communications (Link). This solution has been also commercially deployed across six different railway lines as part of the nation’s LTE-Railway (LTE-R) network, providing communications for station staff and train crews (Link).  Additionally, Samsung’s MCPTT solution has been recognized by various governments and operators around the world for its reliability and capability. The new MCPTX solution is the upgraded version of the MCPTT with enhanced capabilities, enabled by 3GPP release 14.

The new Wonju-Gangneung line, operated by the Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA), spans 120 kilometers (75 miles) long, and will provide the public faster, easier access to the largest winter sports facilities in Korea, including PyeongChang. The LTE-R network is applied across the line’s seven stations, while the solution is interoperable with legacy Trunked Radio System (TRS), Very High Frequency (VHF) systems, and the national Public-Safety LTE (PS-LTE) network.

“We are delighted to work with Samsung to provide critical communications systems for this brand new high-speed train line,” said Yihan Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Performing Unit of KT. “The new line puts Gangneung only two hours away from Seoul, and LTE-R will make the journey for PyeongChang visitors a much safer and reliable experience.”

“Following Samsung’s first commercial deployment of LTE-R at the Busan Metro last April, this new implementation demonstrates the maturation and validation of our LTE-R solutions for high-speed trains,” said GY Seo, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Marketing Team in Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to continued collaboration with KT in the deployment of the most innovative critical-communications technologies across the country.”

LTE-R is a next-generation communications technology for smart train and metro services, enabling high-speed wireless voice and data communications inside trains, from train to ground and from train to train. In particular, LTE-R enables smooth and stable mission-critical communications – including MCPTT, group calls and VoLTE – between train personnel and control centers. In specific, Samsung has provided its radio access network operating in 700 MHz, a global band for LTE-based Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR), a dedicated core network including EPC, IMS and PTT servers deployed in two control centers, as well as rugged smartphones (SM-G888N0) for professionals.

Samsung, Korea’s leading LTE-R supplier, was elected as a supplier for all five LTE-R projects in Korea in 2015. Notably, its LTE-R solution is already in service on the 41 kilometer (26 miles)-long Busan Metro line 1 covering 40 stations in Korea’s second largest city. Launched by Samsung in April 2017, it represents the nation’s first case of LTE-R technology being used during operation of a train/metro. Samsung is also currently deploying LTE-R on the line between Incheon International Airport and Seoul Station in the center of the Capital.

This past March, for example, the company successfully showcased a multilateral call enabled by mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), a key feature of PS-LTE. In April, Samsung’s LTE-Railway (LTE-R) solution was successfully launched on a South Korean metro line. This is considered to be the first instance that Korea has utilized the technology during train operation.

Jaeseo Kim of Global Sales & Marketing Team at Samsung’s Networks Business, sat down with Samsung Newsroom to discuss some of the measures the company is taking to help public safety services operate effectively in times of crisis.

Q. In a nutshell, what is PS-LTE?

Daily digital tasks like streaming video and browsing the web on a smartphone are all possible thanks to the technological evolution of 4G LTE. While this high-speed wireless communication technology has brought many positive changes into our everyday lives, it has also benefited the public safety sector.

PS-LTE solutions make use of the advantages of LTE to enable public safety officers to easily share emergency-related information in the form of real-time video and high quality images, which is something that is not possible with other safety networks.

In other words, PS-LTE will serve as a foundation that will allow all relevant personnel to respond to disaster situations effectively by utilizing the same spectrum (700 MHz, in Korea’s case) and technology.

Q. What sets PS-LTE apart from existing public safety technologies?

The strength of a public safety network lies in its ability to provide a seamless and reliable communication service between diverse organizations and individuals.

Currently, most disaster response institutions make use of their own networks, which utilize different frequencies and technologies and make inter-organizational communication almost impossible. When responding to a fire emergency, for example, a firefighter would have to carry multiple transceivers in order to communicate with both the fire and police control centers, as the two agencies use different technologies.

PS-LTE based on 3GPP global standards, however, offers a single unified network allowing for synchronized communication and thus faster response times, and enables individual networks for each organization through virtualization technology.

Yet one of the biggest advantages of PS-LTE networks is data connectivity. While incumbent public safety networks generally only support very low data rates and voice-oriented usage, PS-LTE can transfer high volumes of data instantly. This means that high quality images and video can be transmitted, enabling the use of various applications such as live streaming during emergency situations or the use of mapping software for locating or directing mission-critical assets or concerns.

Q. In February of 2017, Samsung successfully conducted – for the first time in the world – a live multilateral video call using MCPTT technology. What is MCPTT and why is it important?

Mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) is an international standard set by 3GPP that allows public safety agencies to leverage LTE technological advancements for mission-critical communications. It enables thousands of devices to be connected at once to transfer video, images and voice simultaneously using multicast technology.

The main benefits of MCPTT technology can be summed up in three points. First off, the response time is 300 milliseconds, which is faster than LTE (600 milliseconds). Second, key figures such as the president, the authority in charge of an entire scene, as well as those responsible for reporting situations will be given priority in terms of communication. Finally, the technology will allow for a level of seamless connectivity that is unaffected by the environment. These benefits explain why MCPTT is regarded as the key technology in PS-LTE networks.

The success of the video call proved that MCPTT is a feasible technology and is also capable of providing seamless, high-resolution video calls between control centers and responders in emergency situations. The technology will help responders obtain a more accurate view of the scene than what is possible with only voice services, and will be applied to actual public safety networks beginning in early 2018.

MCPTT-based services will ensure reliable communication for multiple users through other PS-LTE key features such as GCSE (Group Call Service Enablers), LTE broadcast (eMBMS), VoLTE and D2D (Device-to-device) communication.

Samsung demonstrates a multilateral video call conducted between a central control station and public safety agencies using MCPTT technology

Q. In what other areas can PS-LTE technology be applied?

The possibilities are endless! One example is the LTE-Railroad (LTE-R) service, a high-speed, LTE-based railroad and subway wireless network that enables smooth mission-critical communications between train personnel and control centers using real-time multimedia group calls and texts on top of existing voice calls.

Since introducing the world’s first end-to-end PS-LTE portfolio based on 3GPP standards in February of 2016, we have begun to replace existing analogue wireless technology to ensure that all features concerning voice (individual, group, emergency, priority calls, and broadcast), video (video meetings and CCTV passenger monitoring), and data (control signal and large data file transfer) services can be integrated.

Samsung served as a leading participant in all five of South Korea’s LTE-R projects. Among them, the nation’s first LTE-R service, which was deployed in Line 1 of the Busan Metro in April, has enabled us to prove the reliability of our PS-LTE technology. It is also being deployed for high-speed trains that connect the cities of Wonju and Gangneung.

The trains operating on Korea’s Wonju-Gangneung line represent the world’s first case of LTE-R being applied to a high-speed train that travels as fast as 300km/h. The project marks the beginning of the commercialization of the Korea Rail Network Authority’s (KRNA) nationwide high-speed train business, which will take place in early 2018. Furthermore, Samsung aims to continue collaborating with the organization to create more innovative technologies.

Q. What would be the prospective vision for Samsung in this public safety industry?

The demand for effective, inter-organizational public safety communications has increased dramatically. It’s estimated that the worldwide PS-LTE market is expected to grow over 12 billion dollars in 2020. So, to ensure that these needs are met, Samsung is taking a leadership role as the world’s first end-to-end provider based on 3GPP standards with a virtualized core.

PS-LTE and LTE-R are just beginning to see wider use, and currently serve purely as means to handle emergency or disaster situations. Samsung, however, is setting its sights higher. Our next step will be to provide an intelligent PS-LTE solution that combines the latest developments in artificial intelligence, PS-IoT and video analytics with a unified PS-LTE network.

Our goal is for Samsung’s intelligent PS-LTE technology to eventually enable ‘intelligent disaster prevention,’ which will be possible when the technology develops to a level where it can detect elements of danger. This will be realized through the automated monitoring and analysis of natural disasters that threaten public safety, such as tsunamis, floods, forest fires and earthquakes.

Samsung Electronics announced that its LTE-Railway (LTE-R) solution successfully launched its official service today on the 41km-long Busan Metro line 1 that covers 40 stations in the region. This is nation’s first case of the LTE-R technology being used during operation of a train/metro.

The Busan Transportation Corporation(BTS), SK Telecom and Samsung collaborated to replace the existing analogue wireless technology used for mission critical railway operations with the new LTE-R solution. The parties have been testing the newly adopted communication systems since February for final safety checkup. The test drive also included an interoperability test between onboard equipment on the metro and the LTE-R mobile device installed on the railway/train.

LTE-R was developed for the next-generation of mission-critical communication which is essential for railway operation and maintenance. What sets 4G based LTE-R apart from the incumbent analogue or 2G GSM based technologies is that it can provide stable multimedia services. Compared to the one-to-one voice call service between the control center, station employee, and the train engineer that has been available so far, LTE-R technology enables multimedia-based group call/SMS services on top of the voice call service.

The technology better equips rail operators in case of an accident because it transmits real-time video of the station to the central control center. Additionally, real-time group/individual communication is made possible between the train engineer and control center. The technology can also be used for mission critical communication that depends on high speed, security and stability because it is based on LTE technology, which carries features such as latency as low as 10ms and QoS management support.

“SK Telecom has successfully replaced legacy analogue communications network into a multimedia capable LTE railway network which transforms operation procedure more intuitive and efficient,” Said Il-gyu Choi, Senior Vice President and Head of Public Business Office of SK Telecom. “With the experience for more than 30 years, SK Telecom will further extend its expertise into public safety areas.”

“Reliability and stability are critical because they are directly tied to public safety. Today’s launch of the Samsung LTE-R solution with BTS and SK Telecom is a huge milestone for the industry,” said Jinsoo Jeong, Senior Vice President and Head of Domestic Business Marketing in Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “As a leading LTE-R solution provider, we enable fast and reliable communication on high-speed trains capable of speeds as high as 300km/h, which is expected to be started early next year.”

Selected as a supplier for all five LTE-R projects in Korea since 2015, Samsung is Korea’s leading LTE-R supplier. The Korean government plans to increase the distance that the LTE-R project covers to roughly 5,600km by 2025.

In January 2016, Samsung was selected as an end-to-end solution provider for the Korean government’s PS-LTE project, which includes virtualized core solutions, radio access systems and rugged-smartphones. With these successes, Samsung is leading the integration of PS-LTE, LTE-R and LTE-Marine. Samsung also actively participates in interoperability tests to ensure seamless operation between analogue technologies such as TRS-ASTRO, TRS-TETRA, VHF and LTE-R, as well as PS-LTE.

About SK Telecom

Established in 1984, SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea by both revenue and number of subscribers. As of December 2016, the company holds around 50 percent of the market, with 29.60 million mobile subscribers including 21.1 million LTE subscribers. It has reached KRW 17.092 trillion in revenue in 2016. SK Telecom has led the advancement of mobile technologies ranging from 2G to 4G, and is currently setting important milestones in its journey to 5G. The company is not only leading innovation in the field of mobile network, but also providing IoT, media, home and platform services. SK Telecom is determined to play a significant role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by achieving innovations and promoting shared growth with other players in the industry.