South Korean mobile operators and Samsung completed the rollout of a nationwide public safety LTE network which interconnects with existing maritime and rail infrastructure to provide a unified platform ensuring interoperability among various agencies.

Samsung stated the network offers reliable connectivity to personnel across more than 330 public safety organisations including police, firefighters, emergency medical services and the military.

The 3GPP-compliant system runs on the 700MHz band, and offers Samsung’s PTT feature and multimedia broadcast capabilities, known as evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service.

Kim Seung-il, head of Korea business at Samsung’s Networks business, said a “reliable network is critical for real-time communication among multiple institutions in case of emergencies”.

Samsung plans to bolster the network with further innovations for the sector moving forward, the executive added.

The vendor was selected to provide the equipment for the project in early 2016, but the government only finalised funding in June 2018.