LG Uplus has launched a priority network access service that provides firefighters with more stable communications at fire and disaster sites, the company said Wednesday. The service aims to reduce inconvenience caused by network congestion during disaster response and to improve the efficiency and safety of on-site operations.
At fire stations, a sudden concentration of general-user traffic when a disaster occurs can cause delays in connecting calls or instability in data use. To address this, LG Uplus designed the service so that firefighters' calls and data use can take place in a relatively stable environment even when networks become congested during disasters. The burden caused by degraded communications quality is reduced across the disaster response process, including on-site command, situation reporting, and collaboration among personnel.
This marks the first time the telecommunications industry has pursued the establishment of a priority communications system in cooperation with the Korea Fire Agency. LG Uplus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Fire Agency in October last year to strengthen public safety, and the initiative was subsequently pursued jointly by the country's three carriers. The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) also conducted policy support and institutional reviews to strengthen communications quality in the disaster and safety sector, while the Korea Fire Agency cooperated to ensure the service would help in actual response environments by reflecting on-site demand.
Since May, LG Uplus has been replacing the USIM cards used at fire sites, starting with the Changwon Fire Headquarters in South Gyeongsang Province. Firefighters on the scene can experience communications stability from the dispatch stage through on-site response to the conclusion of a situation.
LG Uplus plans to further strengthen the role of communications in the disaster and safety sector and to fulfill its social responsibility through cooperation with the public sector.
"At a disaster site, communications is the basic infrastructure for on-site response," said Park Kyung-jung, executive in charge of external cooperation at LG Uplus. "Through cooperation with relevant ministries, we are now able to support firefighters in focusing on their missions in a more stable communications environment." He added, "We will continue to expand communications services that can contribute to public safety and the creation of social value."
