Emergency Telecommunications Failure
Primary reference(s)
ITU, 2007. . Accessed 30 November 2019.
Additional scientific description
Emergency telecommunications failure is closely linked to service restoration. Service restoration is described as a set of automated or manual methods, invoked after a network failure, to enhance the ability of successful communications reroute and completion around the failed network element(s) (ITU, 2007).
All forms of communications traffic are expected to be carried by next generation networks – control plane traffic (e.g., routing and signalling messages), emergency telecommunications, real-time voice and video services, data services, virtual private network (VPN) services, as well as traditional ‘Best effort’ traffic. In such an environment, it is important to assign priority classifications and establish rules for service restoration such that critical services (e.g., control plane traffic and emergency telecommunications) are recognised and restored over other services in case of network overloads or failures. As service flows can be expected to traverse multiple network domains, priority classification is an important step in the development of the necessary signalling protocol extensions as well as of the mechanisms for enabling preferential restoration of critical services (ITU, 2007).
The priority level classification is based on the following premise: “under reduced bandwidth conditions resulting from network failure, the critical issue for next generation network is the ability to recognize and restore higher priority traffic flows over others” (ITU, 2007).
The priority level recommendations proposed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) strictly relate to the relative importance of traffic classes from this perspective (ITU, 2007).
Metrics and numeric limits
The ITU is currently developing global guidelines for countries to develop National Emergency Telecommunications Plans (NETS) to be used for early warning and in times of emergency. The framework seeks to address a country’s exposure to natural hazards and disasters prior to developing emergency data and communication systems (ITU, 2019).
Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty
The Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations was established in 2005. This international treaty allows countries to remove regulatory issues to immediately provide emergency telecommunications where a disaster has occurred (United Nations Treaty Collection, 1998).
Examples of drivers, outcomes and risk management
Emergency telecommunications are critical when a disaster occurs, to enable emergency and disaster response teams, government ministries, departments and agencies, as well as humanitarian agencies to coordinate and deliver disaster response and recovery efforts.
Drivers include natural hazards and disasters that can destroy telecommunications infrastructure and cause severe network disruptions. Electrical power is essential for these emergency communication systems to operate and power outages are directly linked to the drivers of this hazard (Townsend and Moss, 2005; Chang et al., 2007).
The ITU’s NETS framework can be used across all stages of the disaster management cycle and provides guidelines for a country to establish robust Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) systems before, during and after a disaster (ITU, 2019).
References
Chang, S.E, T.L. Mc Daniels, J. Mikawoz and K. Peterson, 2007. Infrastructure failure interdependencies in extreme events: power outage consequences in the 1998 Ice Storm. Natural Hazards, 41:337-358.
ITU, 2007. . Accessed 30 November 2019.
ITU, 2019. . Accessed 26 November 2019.
Townsend, A.M. and M.L. Moss, 2005. Telecommunications infrastructure in disasters: Preparing cities for crisis communications. Accessed 26 November 2019.
United Nations Treaty Collection, 1998. . Accessed 26 November 2019.