South Korea’s leading telecommunications company KT unveiled a set of plans to build a Long-Term Evolution network for emergency services and provide emergency telecom services in PyeongChang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangwon Province, Tuesday.

The public safety LTE, an emergency communications technology, allows fire, police and rescue responders to better communicate with each other using standard devices operating on the same frequencies, according to the firm.
 

Holding a showcase event of its public safety network technologies in the city, KT vowed to make efforts to safeguard the people using them.

“By utilizing KT’s LTE network capabilities, the company will contribute to making the nation safer,” said Oh Sung-mok, the company’s network division head, introducing what the company calls the “Triple GiGA Network,” which enables emergency telecommunications in three ways: terrestrial fiber optics, satellite and microwave technology.

The three telecom technologies will serve as backup measures for each other when any of them malfunction, the KT executive explained.

Also showcased at the event were the Backpack LTE, the world’s smallest and lightest transportable base station, and the Drone LTE, an unmanned aerial vehicle installed with telecom modules and video and thermal cameras.

A KT official said those two technologies can be effectively used in sea or mountain search and rescue operations.

KT signed a deal last week with the Public Procurement Service, a state-run organization that purchases goods and services for public organizations, to proceed with the pilot project for emergency network infrastructure in the PyeongChang region

During the project which will last until June next year, KT will design the emergency network systems, develop solutions for compatibility, and install base stations and control centers.

Joining hands with handset manufacturers Samsung Electronics, Pantech and small and medium-sized companies, KT will also roll out smartphones and walkie-talkies running on the public safety networks.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)