Analysis of emergency call tracking in a 4G/LTE mobile network

Abstract

The eCall (emergency Call) service is already widely used by 3G networks, however with the 4G/LTE network’s evolution, it is natural for a service migration to this more efficient architecture. For migration to take place correctly, there are three important steps to be followed: source code development that allows the eCall call to use the IMS (IP-Multimedia Subsystem) network nodes on mobile devices; an existing PSAP (Public-Safety Answering Point) with packet based connectivity and the validation through battery of tests using a 4G/LTE mobile network setup. The purpose of this article is to analyze and describe an eCall flow in a real time testbed using both the IMS and the 4G/LTE mobile networks. In addition, the development of source code to allow emergency services and laboratory testbeds were done. Furthermore, based on TS 23.167 standard, this scientific paper presents procedures needed to provide the eCall service by performing bench testing for different categories of emergency numbers and demonstrating the importance of stable operation between IMS network nodes and the LTE/4G core network.