Next Generation Emergency Communication Systems via Software Defined Networks

The existing Emergency Communication System (ECS) infrastructure is becoming increasingly outdated with many members of the pubic moving away from landline based telecommunications and broadcast television in favor of cellular telephones and internet-based streaming entertainment services. Current systems for public services such as E911 and Emergency Alert System broadcasts are no longer a reliable means for reaching the public. In addition, both wired and wireless telecommunications systems can become overwhelmed, as was the case following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the World Trade Center disaster in 2001, and in fact, when communications are needed most urgently, the difficulty of maintaining effective communication increases exponentially. While the use of Internet based alternatives could resolve some of these problems, existing Internet infrastructure offers no dedicated or priority bandwidth to the user for emergency communications (e.g. E911 or Emergency Alert System). The current Internet capacity can also be overloaded due to high volume network data streams. Under these conditions, emergency communications (e.g. inbound and outbound communications reporting catastrophic or emergency events) may have their packets dropped resulting in incomplete and/or delayed communications. To alleviate these problems, this paper presents a novel framework for ECS using network virtualization via Software Defined Networks (SDN). A table top demonstration of ECS using SDN was developed at the University of Idaho, Idaho Falls. This paper details the foundational technologies and overviews the steps taken at the University of Idaho to develop ECS suing SDN.