SK Telecom announced on the 2nd that it is developing emergency communication technology that combines satellites and small base stations to strengthen social safety nets in response to major disasters such as forest fires.
SKT is participating in the national project conducted by the Korea Forest Service titled ‘Research on the Use of Low Earth Orbit Satellites for Prevention of Accidents and Disaster Response in Forest Fire Areas’, aiming to establish a foundation that minimizes damage to forest resources due to communication failures when disasters occur and to enable rapid human rescue.
This research includes teams from SKT, SK Telink, Professor Baek Min-ho’s research team from the Department of Fire Safety and Prevention at Gangwon University, Contele, UR Information Technology, FM Works, and Seorak E&C, and plans to present two types of satellite-based communication services: vehicle-type and backpack-type.
SK Telink will provide low Earth orbit satellite links as the official partner of Starlink, a global satellite internet service provider, in this research.
Through this research, SKT expects to quickly secure emergency communication networks in mountainous areas where communication networks have been lost due to large-scale forest fires.
If the capacity of existing wired network backhaul is supplemented with satellite communication-based wireless backhaul, it will enable communication in areas such as mountainous regions where it is difficult to establish mobile communication infrastructure, helping to protect valuable forest resources and ensure the safety of the public.
This technology can be continuously used by the Korea Forest Service for effective command in forest fire responses even in disaster environments, and it is expected to expand service areas for the approximately 17,000 smart devices used by forest fire watchers nationwide, as well as to interconnect with disaster safety communication network terminals for effective prevention and response to forest fires.
SKT will also demonstrate precise positioning technology in forest areas using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) in this research.
In collaboration with Swift Navigation in the U.S., SKT plans to connect surveying equipment with ground communication networks to correct GNSS positioning errors. Previously, it was challenging to correct errors in surveying equipment due to poor communication quality in areas affected by topographical factors. This research is expected to lay the technical foundation for not only disaster response but also accurate forest surveying and forest road design.
SK Telecom is advancing various satellite communication technologies to provide customers with fast and reliable communication services anytime, anywhere. They are developing technologies to enhance satellite communication capacity and optimize the integration of satellite networks with ground networks, aiming to incorporate these pioneering satellite communication technologies into their mobile communication infrastructure.
In collaboration with SK Telink, full-scale demonstrations will be conducted after Starlink Korea obtains frequency usage permission in the future.
Ha Cheol-se, head of infrastructure business at SK Telecom, stated, “Through this research and development of emergency communication technology, we aim to alleviate communication shadow areas in forest regions, contributing to the protection of valuable forest resources and ensuring the safety of those working in forest areas.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr