Use Case 1 

Dynamic Incident Area Network 

with No Existing Coverage or Backhaul 

This use case represents an unplanned scenario in an environment where there is no 

terrestrial LTE coverage or access to the existing PSBN. This type of scenario could be a 

result of geographical factors such as remote isolation (e.g., the terrestrial network does not 

reach the area where the incident is occurring), and/or terrain-based isolation (e.g., the 

response occurs in an area of austere terrain or dense foliage which limits useful line of 

sight communications from a fixed network). The denial of access could also be caused by 

an environment in which a man-made or natural disaster disables terrestrial coverage from 

the PSBN. In either case, it is assumed that there is no interference from, or possibility of 

interaction with, an existing network. 

For this use case, it is also assumed that there is no (or extremely limited) backhaul to an 

existing network such as the nationwide core of the PSBN or the public internet. All of the 

applications and information required for supporting incident operations must be stored 

locally on the deployed network. It is feasible to assume that the various components of the 

highly mobile network were able to access public networks and the PSBN core leading up to 

the disaster. For example, equipment would likely be stored and maintained in an area 

which has established connectivity so that databases, software, images, etc. can be updated 

and cached locally prior to leaving their home base and forward deploying to the incident 

site. 

Finally, it should be assumed that multiple agencies with their agency-owned and 

maintained deployable systems may be working in the same incident and will therefore need 

to interconnect to share information and to have their users interact with other users in the 

incident. For this interaction to happen, users will have to establish a roaming arrangement 

on other agencies’ networks, and some form of handovers should be possible, despite the 

networks having no prior coordination with other networks. 

For this use case to be successful, the following technologies need to be 

implemented or developed: 

• A reliable and open standard internetwork mesh connection must exist so that 

individual networks can connect with other networks in an ad hoc mesh network 

manner. This should be an open protocol, ideally leveraging unlicensed spectrum, 

but it is recommended that it not use a common protocol such as 802.11 due to 

robustness and interference concerns. 

• There must be a way for two cores to establish an “ad hoc roaming” relationship 

where a device from another network can attempt to authenticate on its non-home 

network. The non-home core can either request authentication from the home 

network, or there can be temporary additions to the non-home network. 

1 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• There must be edge-based instances of the needed applications, and those 

applications must be able to cache all pertinent information when connected. For 

example, if there is a situational awareness toolkit, maps must be cached prior to 

being deployed, and the server must still retain all functionality when it is being used 

locally. Furthermore, if two or more systems maintain the same applications with the 

same types of databases, those systems should be able to synchronize their 

information with one another so that all systems on the network have the most upto-date information available. 

• There must be an offline identity, credential, and access management (ICAM) 

solution so that users can access different levels of data without having to be 

authenticated from a central ICAM service. This offline solution will allow for multiple 

levels of information classification to be collected, archived, and consumed at the 

edge. 

• The system must be rapidly deployable and should be able to integrate into any 

equipment or onto a remotely controlled vehicle (airborne or otherwise) so that the 

network delivery can take place without significant logistical challenges. 

• The individual networks must be able to share their locations and radio frequency 

(RF) transmission parameters with other networks in the environment so that 

parameters such as effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) and directivity can be 

modified to avoid interference with one another. 

2