Backpack Base Station

[Anchor Lead]

A portable base station has been developed to enable communication even when the conventional network is damaged due to a disaster or accident. The new backpack-type device is expected to be of great help when it comes to search and rescue missions.

[Pkg]

During the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, search and rescue missions were hampered by damaged communications networks.

[Soundbite] Survivor of 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake : "I was worried because the phones were down."

This portable base station in the shape of a backpack enables a technician to build an independent communication network even when a base station is destroyed. When the backpack base station is turned on, a mobile phone which previously had been offline begins to detect an LTE signal. Linking a special device used by firefighters to the portable base station enables photo transmissions and video calls, even in areas where communications had been impossible.

[Soundbite] "Currently on the B4 floor. The heat is intense. (Sent a blueprint from the command vehicle. Please confirm.)"

[Soundbite] Seo Jeong-dae(Firefighter, Jongno Fire Station) : "Since video images can be transmitted in real time, we can assess the on-site situation more accurately."

This backpack station weighs only five kilograms. But 400 people can access it simultaneously within a radius of 5 kilometers.

[Soundbite] Lee Byeong-seok(SKT Nat’l Safety Network Technology Team) : "When linked with the relay station technology, service can be expanded to 10 or 20 km, or even up to 75 kilometers at sea."

Starting next year, this compact base station will be utilized in applications such as a project to build a disaster safety communication network.