5G • 5G-Advanced (Rel-18)
5GC Disaster Roaming
Emergency Public Cellular Roaming During Critical Outages
Emergency framework allowing subscribers of a collapsed cellular network to roam automatically onto competing operators' surviving towers without roaming fees.
Technical Explanation
When natural disasters (wildfires, tsunamis) destroy Operator A's cell towers, affected subscribers are left without 911 or family contact even if Operator B's tower is standing nearby. Rel-18 Disaster Roaming establishes automated national roaming triggers: the regulator or operator activates Disaster Roaming mode, allowing all citizen devices to register on any surviving network.
Key Functions
- Enables automatic national roaming onto competing mobile networks during natural disasters
- Activated via government emergency broadcast or automated core network trigger protocols
- Allows affected citizens to make emergency calls and receive disaster evacuation alerts
- Prevents core network authentication overload using streamlined disaster credential verification
Specifications
3GPP TS 22.261, TS 23.501 (Rel-18)
Interfaces
N32 (PRX/SEPP)N8 (UDM)N1 (AMF)
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