EMTEL - Emergency communications

An emergency can be anything from everyday incidents like traffic accidents or assault, to major incidents like aeroplane crashes or forest fires, to major disasters such as earthquakes or large-scale terrorist attacks. Emergency Communications - EMTEL - addresses a broad spectrum of aspects related to the use of telecom services in emergency situations.

Both public and private services benefit from the EMTEL work. These include emergency call services, caller location enhanced emergency services, telemedicine, the car industry, and specific public safety communication systems - to mention but a few examples.

ETSI is currently defining the user requirements for the four main areas of emergency communications:

• communication from citizens to authorities/organizations (emergency calls)
• communication between authorities/organizations (public safety comms)
• communication from authorities/organizations to citizens (warning systems)
• communication amongst citizens during emergencies

These user requirements will influence the development of the standards adopted by the ETSI members.

SC EMTEL Officials:
David Williams (Qualcomm UK), EMTEL Chairman
Peter Sanders (one2many) and Lars Olsson (MSB), EMTEL Vice Chairmen
Chantal Bonardi (ETSI), EMTEL Secretary

Ian Harris - A tribute