The role of 6G NTN in emergency and crisis management

The forthcoming generation of communication networks, known as 6G, aims to establish a 3D multi-layered network, composed of Non-Terrestrial and Terrestrial nodes, capable of delivering high throughput, low latency, and reliable services with global coverage and enhanced system availability, scalability, and resilience. Such a network offers the opportunity to revise the way organizations from Public Safety and various other Verticals provision their network connectivity to make sure they can serve anywhere, anytime, reliable and efficient communications to respond to Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) events as well as temporary unplanned events, in which the user traffic demand is expected to surge at some point in time, and exceed the capacity offered by the default terrestrial infrastructure. In this paper, we present an advanced PPDR deployment scenario based on an integrated 6G NTN architecture along with the enabling technologies that empower the 6G NTN architecture to effectively meet the requirements associated with PPDR operations. In particular, we propose a novel distributed architecture for 6G NTN networks, developed within the EC-funded project 6G-NTN. Finally, we discuss business, economical, regulatory, and governmental aspects that highly constrain the proposed architecture.