09.07.2009
ANCOM has completed the assessment of the providers’ manner of implementing the steps for the prioritization of calls to the emergency number 112 and transmitted the Ministry of Communications and Information Society a set of recommendations in view of handling the traffic congestions occurred on the telephony networks under emergency circumstances.
ANCOM’s investigation aimed to identify and evaluate the prioritization mechanisms implemented on their own networks by the operators Cosmote, Orange, RCS&RDS, Romtelecom, Telemobil, UPC and Vodafone, that together provide services to more than 99% of the telephony users in Romania. The investigation focused on the network functioning immediately after the earthquake of 25 April 2009, when the number of calls to 112 increased by 50% during the hour following this event, compared to the preceding hour.
During this investigation, the ANCOM specialists checked whether the prioritization mechanisms were in place and functioned for each relevant network segment: the access radio interface – exclusively for mobile public networks -, the internal switching and transport network, the interconnection links for call transfer to Romtelecom’s network and, as regards Romtelecom, to the Unique National System for Emergency Calls (SNUAU).
The investigation revealed that, on 25 April 2009, on the operators’ networks, there were various mechanisms and procedures implemented in order to optimize the processing of calls to 112. The operators had taken steps in view of simplifying the logic of handling emergency calls (optimising the processing time), in view of prioritizing calls to 112 among the ordinary calls as regards the allocation of resources and of reserving resources for emergency calls.
The investigation also showed that the number and the effectiveness of the implemented mechanisms varied from one provider to another, based on the network type and on the equipments used, as well as the fact that these mechanisms cannot thoroughly solve the problem of unsuccessful calls in case of network congestion due to an upsurge in the number of calls.
”For the purpose of dealing more effectively with congestions such as the one of 25 April, we have requested all the operators to implement additional prioritization procedures, to which they should have recourse only in emergency situations”, the ANCOM President, Catalin Marinescu, declared. ”Thus, we observe the principle of proportionality and avoid an unreasonable increase of the operators’ costs, which could reflect in the end-users’ invoices,” the ANCOM President added.
ANCOM will monitor the diligence the operators of electronic communications networks and services take in order to ensure the prioritized, uninterrupted transmission of emergency calls to the SNUAU. The monitoring procedure provides that the operators send the Authority regular reports regarding the traffic towards 112. These reports must specify the traffic data read on the peak day and hour established by ANCOM, taking into consideration each network’s traffic structure for the past year. Based on these data, the agreed service level, as well as the share of calls to 112 out of the total traffic amount could be calculated and ANCOM will thus be able to request adjustments on the operation parameters of the prioritization mechanisms.
ANCOM has sent the Ministry of Communications and Information Society the results of the investigation alongside its proposals, including the proposal of amending the legal provisions in force, so that the law could make a difference between the procedures applicable in case of routing the emergency calls to 112 under ordinary circumstances and the situations that may be deemed emergencies, i.e. trigger a sudden and abnormal increase of the traffic volume processed, including traffic to 112, over a short period. These cases must be clearly defined and even ranked by magnitude, while the applicable procedures must be adequate to the identified case and initiated when an emergency arises.
”Not least we intend to launch – together with the telephony operators – a campaign for educating the public on the behaviour expected from the users of communications services in emergency situations. It is essential that everybody understand the necessity of refraining from calls which are not of vital importance, in the aftermath of a catastrophe. Many calls can be delayed, but a call to 112 must reach its destination immediately” the ANCOM President emphasized.