Public Protection and Disaster Relief Communication System Integrity: A Radio-Flexibility and Identity-Based Cryptography Approach

This article describes the application of radio flexibility for designing public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) wireless networks (NETs) in support of PPDR special needs, primary among which is information- transport resilience. It focuses further on the central role of mobile ad hoc NETs as the ground-segment element of the total architecture since the eventual solution must support rapid, robust, secure, scalable, and connectivityoriented communications. Research challenges associated with the provision of the necessary diversity at all communication layers as a means to such robustness are identified. Security aspects are addressed through a signature scheme based on identity key cryptography. Finally, a use case based on flexible multihop mobile ad hoc network (MANET) path establishment for harsh environments is presented.