End-to-End Operational Evaluation of a Resilient Emergency Communication Architecture over LEO Satellite Networks

Abstract

In disaster scenarios, terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure may fail, severely affecting coordination among emergency services and communication between authorities and the affected population. This paper presents the design, implementation, and end-to-end experimental validation of a proposed resilient communication architecture based on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Voice over IP (VoIP), and cloud services. The architecture consists of a distributed platform with autonomous power support, comprising an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and a deployable Mobile Emergency Node (MEN). Both nodes are designed as resilient communication units interconnected through independent satellite links and supported by local energy backup mechanisms. As a case study, a VoIP communication system was implemented using a software-based Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and a SIP trunk, enabling both internal and external communications across the architecture. The experimental evaluation included end-to-end latency measurements, UDP throughput, jitter, packet loss, operational validation of the VoIP service, and energy autonomy tests under representative operating conditions. The results demonstrate that the evaluated LEO link maintains a stable operating region up to approximately 25 Mbps of offered UDP traffic, corresponding to an estimated capacity of approximately 248 equivalent simultaneous VoIP calls under the evaluated conditions. The battery-only operational autonomy was experimentally measured at 2.664 h, while the extended operational autonomy provided by generator-based battery recharging was estimated at approximately 34.37 h. The main contribution of this work is the experimental validation of a resilient architecture that integrates communication performance and energy resilience within a reproducible methodology for critical emergency communication services.