Samsung has announced that its MCPTX (Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk) technology is powering the world's first 3GPP-compliant nationwide public safety network that has been deployed in South Korea. The company collaborated with the leading mobile network operators in the country for the launch of the network.
The network is based on LTE and operates on the 700MHz spectrum. It offers fast and reliable network connectivity to first responders, including emergency medical services, firefighters, military, and police. Thanks to Samsung Network's eMBMS (evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) technology integrated into MCPTX, the PS-LTE network is also capable of multimedia services like sending messages, videos, and video calling. Samsung claims that the PS-LTE network can service up to 2,500 devices per cell, double than what was possible in previous-generation public safety networks.
South Korea's PS-LTE network was also connected with LTE-M (Maritime LTE network) and LTE-Railway networks that were already deployed on the 700MHz spectrum in the country. This network will serve as a unified platform and ensure interoperability between various public safety institutions in emergencies. Samsung was chosen as the provider of end-to-end PS-LTE solutions in 2018, and the deployment was completed in March 2021.
Seungil Kim, the Vice President and Head of Korea Business at Samsung Networks, said, “Samsung is proud to take part in building the world’s first nationwide PS-LTE network based on 3GPP standards in Korea, leveraging our end-to-end PS-LTE solutions. A reliable network is critical for real-time communication among multiple institutions in case of emergencies. We will continue to offer advanced PS-LTE solutions to bolster Korea’s PS-LTE network, meeting the highest standards for reliability, performance, and security.”
Samsung's MCPTX solution can be deployed on the cloud, such as AWS, and the company is also working on the standardization of the technology with 5G networks. The company's network business saw a boom with 5G and the ban on Huawei's network business due to the fear of security issues.
