Australia public safety poised to advance with shared-network mobile broadband

Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Tuesday, 16 August, 2022


Australia public safety poised to advance with shared-network mobile broadband

From September 2019 through March 2020, Australia had one of the worst bush fire seasons in its recorded history, leading to the deaths of at least 33 people and over three billion animals. That was followed by cyclones and widespread floods in 2020 and 2021, with significant loss of life. Total economic losses have risen into the tens of billions of dollars.

These events have brought into sharp relief the urgent need for advanced public safety communications for Australia and other countries around the world. Public Safety Agencies (PSAs) today often rely on legacy LMR/PMR networks, together with mobile network operators (MNOs) for their voice and data communications. This has resulted in a significant capability gap between the networks used by PSAs and those used by citizens:

  • Command and control centres are unable to share real-time images, video, and other critical situational awareness information with first responders.
  • First responders are unable to share and analyze situational awareness information among themselves to support safer and more effective operations.
     

Additionally, power and network outages during emergencies impact connectivity, while expanding reliable coverage to priority areas is becoming more difficult.

In short, legacy LMR networks are inadequate to meet the challenges of today and the future. That’s why PSAs globally are increasingly migrating to public safety mobile broadband (PSMB). In Australia’s case, a recent proof-of-concept trial demonstrated the advantages of a shared-network PSMB model in which the government operates the core network and applications while utilizing the radio access networks of two commercial service providers (CSPs) to extend reach, resilience and reliability.

“There are many ways in which to deploy and engage existing commercial carriers in the public safety arena,” says Jonathan Brine, head of government and cities, Nokia Enterprise, Oceania. “Globally we’re seeing the intent to create mission-critical capability with a dedicated core infrastructure where the public safety entity can either obtain or has their own spectrum, as well as enabling multi-carrier roaming into that core network — and that’s where the commercial carriers can play.”

The shared-network approach offers many benefits, including real-time video and analytics for enhanced situational awareness and aligning the communication between all jurisdictions for better, more informed decision making. It also provides enhanced coverage and reliability thanks to seamless roaming between the PSMB core and carrier networks; preserved optionality for all RAN deployment models — including dedicated spectrum; and a future-proof public safety core network which is 5G-ready. Notably, this model also preserves past investment by supporting interoperability of new mission-critical push-to-talk over LTE (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo) and mission-critical data (MCData) with existing legacy P25 based service through an interworking gateway.

Making multi-carrier PSMB a reality

Australia’s national multi-carrier PSMB proof of concept (POC) initiative effectively began in April 2021 when Nokia and two CSPs, TPGT Telecom and Optus, signed a contract with the New South Wales Telco Authority to deliver a public safety mobile broadband proof of concept (PoC) trial for replacing current narrowband critical communications networks that can’t support heavy data traffic and web-based applications. The PoC’s architecture was designed to utilize PSMB-owned cores while preserving optionality for all RAN deployment models — including dedicated PSMB spectrum. Taking advantage of the CSPs’ radio access networks through a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) deployment model, the trial exhaustively tested the multi-operator service delivery model and successfully proved this approach could provide critical communications support for frontline staff during emergencies.

For the trial’s test delivery models, Nokia provided a 5G-ready core network for the public safety agencies, MCPTT and an interworking gateway with the legacy P25 system. The successful PoC will drive the requirements for a national public safety mobile broadband network, and provide a future-proof solution as public safety core network running on LTE and 5G-ready. All Australian jurisdictions have agreed to participate in its development.

Although the shared network model already has been adopted by public safety authorities in the US (FirstNet), the UK (ESN) and Finland (Virve2), each of those projects use only one CSP. Australia’s use of two CSPs in the PoC is unprecedented, creating a new level of resilience and reach for large territories.

Key considerations for shared-network PSMB rollouts

Success with a PSMB rollout requires the orchestration of technology, architecture, spectrum and numerous other factors. In cases where dedicated spectrum is not available or deployed, MNOs can provide PSAs access to the capacity they seek on the network through a combination of software-based features, including prioritization, open-standard mechanisms to prioritize data streams between user devices and applications; ruthless pre-emption, where authorized first responders can pre-empt data flows between non-first responder devices during emergencies, when commercial networks can become congested; and reclassification of public safety user/application prioritization and pre-emption levels based on incident response requirements. All of these requirements were met in the New South Wales PoC.

Open 3GPP standards are key. “The open-standards approach ensures that you’re not limited within a particular technology framework, and that it drives lower costs and complexity,” Brine notes. “Standards also ensure interoperability between one vendor and another, whether you’re talking about networks, handsets, or deployables that can be hooked up to a back of a truck, aerial solutions such as aircraft and drones, or other equipment. The whole ecosystem is absolutely critical to ensure the desired result.”

Aside from the technology, any kind of large-scale initiative also requires a dedicated overseeing organization and clear ownership to be able to support that framework and that capability. “You need clear guidance from the federal government and program ownership to be able to deliver,” says Brine. “Who is articulating the goals to the strategy team, and who is taking ownership? That can be one of the biggest learning curves out there.”

Creating the PSMB transformation

Australia’s PSMB PoC is a testament to the partnership approach for driving mission-critical communications, effectively demonstrating the viability of a PSMB shared network with multiple CSPs. The checklist for success includes:

  • Create a national entity that represents the communication needs of PSMB agencies to oversee the PSMB project.
  • Dedicate a block of spectrum below 1 GHz to the PSMB network, licensed to an authority that represents all PSAs.
  • Directly engage all public safety agencies and users in the planning, evolution, and governance of the network.
  • Develop a multi-year plan with defined coverage and capability milestones.
  • Allocate funding sufficient for the initial network build and operation.
  • Attract other partners to share in the costs and benefits.
  • Encourage participation by multiple MNOs.
  • Ensure that only high-volume, open-standard technologies supported by a diverse ecosystem of companies are used in the PSMB initiative.
     

Once those elements are in place, you can achieve your own public safety communications transformation utilizing the next-generation capabilities of mobile broadband — aided in many cases by the shared network model now proven in Australia. “We have clearly demonstrated the capabilities of this shared-network proof of concept for PSMB,” Brine states. “Now, it’s about how we take it to the next level and turn it from concept to production. In an era of unprecedented floods, fires and other disasters, the ultimate goal is enabling end users of emergency services to do their jobs better and safer.”

For more information, join Nokia at Comms Connect Melbourne 2022 or visit our website: nokia.ly/publicsafety

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