Samsung Electronics today announced that it will provide telecommunications infrastructure and devices for the Korean Public Safety network using LTE technology (PS-LTE). It is the first live PS-LTE network in the world using the 3GPP telecommunications standard. PS-LTE enables more effective communication by sharing precise emergency information in the form of real-time video streaming and high quality images, unlike other safety networks.

Samsung will deploy the initial PS-LTE network in Seoul, where the main control center and core equipment are located, and in Gangwon province in early 2016. Coverage of the network will then be expanded in stages, until it provides a nationwide PS-LTE service by 2017.

“It is delightful to see how our 4G technology leadership can help society to function better. The demand for effective public safety communications has increased dramatically, so it’s important that our technology is able to serve that need,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We will accelerate the process to implement cutting-edge standard-based PS-LTE solutions for accurate and timely decision-making in critical situations.” he added.

Samsung is the only vendor delivering end-to-end solutions, from infrastructure to devices. Samsung’s infrastructure offerings include not only base stations but also core equipment such as an IP-Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), virtualized EPC (vEPC) for flexible operation and Push-To-Talk (PTT) server, which is an essential feature of PS-LTE solutions. In addition, Samsung introduces a rugged-type smartphones for PS-LTE service.

All these offerings support 700MHz, which was recently identified as a PPDR (Public Protection and Disaster Relief) spectrum by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is expected to be adopted by public safety networks globally.

Each component of Samsung's PS-LTE solution is based on the 3GPP Release 12 standard, and ready to provide the key features of Release 13 via a simple software upgrade. Functionality such as Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), will be enabled when Release 13 is scheduled to be announced in the first quarter of 2016.

Samsung will also complete a PS-LTE interoperability test, to make sure that emergency calls are always available across the different types of network. It includes an interoperability test with legacy technologies such as TETRA and VHF/UHF which will be co-located with PS-LTE for several years. It also includes other safety networks such as LTE-Railways, LTE-Marine and even commercial LTE networks for roaming purposes.

Samsung’s PS-LTE solutions will be exhibited at the Exhibit Hall 2 Stand 2M10 during Mobile World Congress 2016, February 22-25 in Barcelona, Spain.