Feasibility Study on Disaster Management with Hybrid Network of LTE and Satellite Links

TL;DR

This paper explores integrating LTE and satellite networks into a hybrid system to enhance disaster management communications, ensuring reliable coverage and resilience even when terrestrial infrastructure is compromised.

Contribution

It proposes a hybrid LTE-satellite network architecture for PPDR, demonstrating its potential to improve coverage, capacity, and resilience in disaster scenarios.

Findings

Hybrid network provides guaranteed coverage during infrastructure failure

Simulation shows improved capacity and resilience

Hybrid approach enhances disaster communication reliability

Abstract

We are highly vulnerable to either natural or artificial catastrophes and therefore, Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) operators need reliable wireless communications for successful operations especially in critical rescue missions. PPDR dedicated or commercial terrestrial networks have always been used which at most times lead to unsuccessful operations. This is due to the fact these networks are all infrastructure-based which can be destroyed, fail to deliver the required service or the networks are not able to support and sustain the sudden traffic surge. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is earmarked as the future candidate technology for PPDR purpose and so much have been put into it in terms of research, perhaps suitable architecture that will meet mission-critical requirements can be developed. This can only work if terrestrial networks will always be available. Unfortunately, in worst case scenarios, infrastructures might get damaged totally or might be destroyed by subsequent disasters. As a result, adequate guarantees can only be possible in the hypothesis of very high financial involvement. Fortunately, considering availability, coverage ubiquity and reliability, satellite technologies have lately proven good. So, to maximize the high channel performance of terrestrial networks and the availability and reliability of non-terrestrial networks, the solution lies in a hybrid system. It is on this ground that this work deals with the integration of LTE and satellite networks in both infrastructure-based and infrastructure-less topologies for PPDR purpose. It is aim at providing people trapped in disaster and field operators with a transparent accessibility and guaranteed coverage even when infrastructures are damaged. The requirements are defined and the model simulated. The network is able to provide network coverage, enhanced capacity and promised greater resilience.