Using EGNOS-enhanced accurate positioning integrated with the telecom network and the emergency control centre application, the service improves the speed and efficiency of the rescue, increases the team safety and optimizes the resources needed for overall incident management.

This emergency management solution has been developed in the scope of the European Research and Development project SCORE (Service of Coordinated Operational Emergency & Rescue using EGNOS). As prime contractor of SCORE, Alcatel Alenia Space is leading a consortium of 8 European companies dedicated to establish solutions for emergency call positioning (E112) and rescue force guidance during accidents or natural disasters.

This public emergency service demonstration, which will take place with the Portuguese National Service for Fire and Civil Protection (SNBPC), demonstrates the fast and accurate location identification of people in distress as well as that of intervention vehicles and personnel. It provides an integrated solution with the coordination of fire brigade vehicles, resources and individual fire fighters during difficult interventions.

Nicolas de-Ledinghen, Vice President of Alcatel Alenia Space's navigation activities said: "Within the next three years, up to 50% of mobile phone users in Western Europe are anticipated to use a handset with highly accurate positioning features. This radical new scenario will bring new opportunities to more efficiently coordinate emergency services. This solution, based on EGNOS and later on Galileo, is faster and more robust than standalone GPS solutions and more efficient than GSM-based positioning."

Nicolas de-Ledinghen added: "This emergency management solution provides great precision, indoor coverage, instantaneous location identification and is high availabile in most environments. This is the ideal service for rescue teams, is easy to integrate with existing infrastructure and enables the optimization of resources, thus speeding up the rescue process."

Launched in February 2004, SCORE is managed by the GJU (Galileo Joint Undertaking) and publicly funded under the 6th Framework Program of the European Commission, with partners coming from Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

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