By Jorma Hämäläinen
Chairman of the working group on the Crisis Management Network Operator (CMO) Concept Background

The use of the latest information and communications technology has expanded rapidly within crisis response organizations. Naturally, each individual organization uses whatever system it has previously adopted in order to carry out its mandate in the field. Collectively, however, this has resulted in interoperability problems. Current systems used by civilian field organizations lack not only a number of important features, but also interoperability between different organizations’ systems. Less than adequate information security also hinders the effectiveness of the field operations.

The Information Technology and Crisis Management (ITCM) project aims at enhancing the interoperability of information and communication systems between organisations involved in crisis response, humanitarian emergencies and peace support operations. ITCM provides for a distributed command, control, and information system based on open standards and commercially available products. In order to be able to further develop and enhance co-operative management practices in the operation, and information sharing inside and between organizations, it is vital to have the basic communications network structure in place.

As a part of the ITCM project, an expert working group on International Crisis Management Telecommunication Network Operator (CMO) was set up in May 2002. The working group held numerous working sessions, interviewed experts, and participated in several seminars and workshops on the topic. At the end of 2002, the working group delivered its final report, containing a concept for an international network operator.

Network Operator and Services 

Not only are all crisis response operations different, but also the requirements for the communications infrastructure evolve as the crisis phase and operation unfolds.

The CMO concept seeks to address the commonly identified need for more robust and efficient communication systems to support large-scale, multi-organizational crisis management field operations.

CMO is a concept for an international telecommunications operator providing a comprehensive communications and data transmission solution for the organizations in a crisis area from day one. The CMO concept is designed to provide a communication solution from the immediate emergency situation to a continuous presence in the mission area with the same gradually expanding system. The CMO solution is based on scalable modules that, together with the rapid reaction infrastructure, enable very rapid deployment of the system whenever a crisis breaks out. The initial field implementation tailored for emergency rescue teams can be expanded up to a full-blown professional mobile radio and telecommunications network if needed. The modules of the system are:

1. Rapid Reaction,
2. Fast Enlargement,
3. Continuous Presence, and
4. Standalone Network.

CMO delivers its solutions on a turnkey basis including planning, procurement, configuration, deployment, training and maintenance, as well as operation of the network systems and end-user terminals.

Benefits for Crisis Management Organizations 

The CMO system provides high quality, field-proven communications infrastructure for the employing organization at reasonable costs. As a commercial telecommunications service provider, it is better positioned than crisis response organizations to invest in appropriate infrastructure and facilitate splitting the cost among multiple organizations. The outsourcing of communications infrastructure to CMO enables the crisis response organizations to focus on their core mission.

The key advantages of the Crisis Management Telecommunication Network Operator (CMO) are:

• Enhanced security and safety of the mission personnel and equipment due to increased situation awareness in the field and a high level of information security,
• Interoperability between organizations enables comprehensive, strategic co-operation between different actors in the field,
• Improved cost-efficiency results from more effective and focused execution of operations and the avoidance of investments in several parallel, non-interoperable networks, and
• Advanced features which are designed for emergency and crisis situations and which are unavailable with the current infrastructure.

Instead of organizations building several parallel networks in a crisis area, CMO operates a single physical network infrastructure, which is divided into separate, organization-specific virtual networks. These virtual networks are secured by strong encryption. In addition to basic communications and data transmission infrastructure, CMO provides a platform for accessing both local and remote databases and other value-added services. These services can be developed and operated in-house, by third parties or the CMO- company.

The network ownership and operations can be handed over to local authorities at the time of withdrawal from the area, thus, providing them with a basic communications infrastructure.

The Way Forward 

In order to demonstrate the benefits and usability of the CMO concept, there will be a pilot implementation within one of the ongoing or upcoming crisis management operations during 2004. This could be facilitated by the formation of a partnership between crisis management organizations, telecommunications companies, and national governments. Within the coalition, the crisis management organizations would commit themselves to using CMO services for a jointly-selected pilot mission.

During the start-up phase, public funding is required to establish the network operator and introduce it to the crisis management organizations as a trusted partner. We are looking at the possibility of financing the start-up phase of the network operator as part of the contribution to international crisis management and peace support operations. In the long run, the crisis management network operator would be able to operate partly on the basis of the client revenue from crisis response organizations.

About the Author 

Jorma Hämäläinen, Vice President, TeliaSonera, is Chairman of the working group on the Crisis Management Network Operator (CMO) concept. He has led the development and marketing of special communications services at the former Telecom Finland, subsequently Sonera and currently TeliaSonera. He has has served as business unit director with total business responsibility in charge of the production of radio and communications networks and services targeted at special user groups. In addition, Mr. Hämäläinen’s tasks have included the production of maritime distress and safety networks and services for Finnish maritime organizations as well as responsibility for international commercial maritime mobile operations. For roughly 15 years, Mr Hämäläinen’s duties have included international and national mobile and fixed-network satellite operations and development. He is responsible at TeliaSonera for the implementation and operation of communications concepts offered to peacekeeping forces, for example the Finnish troops operating in Kosovo and Afghanistan. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About the Symposium 

Toward an International System Model in Emergency Management is presented as a public service of the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI), 11350 Random Hills Rd., Suite 210, Fairfax, VA 22030. Web: www.riskinstitute.org.

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