RFC 3689 (rfc3689) - Page 2 of 10
General Requirements for Emergency Telecommunication Service (ETS)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 3689 ETS General Requirements February 2004
1.1. Terminology
Label:
The term label has been used for a number of years in various IETF
protocols. It is simply an identifier. It can be manifested in
the form of a numeric, alphanumeric value, or a specific bit
pattern, within a field of a packet header. The exact form is
dependent on the protocol in which it is used.
An example of a label can be found in RFC 3031; the Multiprotocol
Label Switching Architecture. Another example can be found in RFC
2597 (and updated by RFC 3260); a bit pattern for the Assured
Forwarding PHB group. This latter case is a type of label that
does not involve routing. Note that specification of labels is
outside the scope of this document. Further comments on labels
are discussed below in section 3.
1.2. Existing Emergency Related Standards
The following are standards from other organizations that are
specifically aimed at supporting emergency communications. Most
of these standards specify telephony mechanisms or define
telephony related labels.
Standard / Organization
--------------------------
1) T1.631 / ANSI
2) E.106 / ITU
3) F.706 / ITU
4) H.460.4 / ITU
5) I.255.3 / ITU
The first specifies an indicator for SS7 networks that signals the
need for a High Probability of Completion (HPC) service. This
indicator is termed National Security / Emergency Preparedness
(NS/EP) The T1.631 standard [2] is the basis for the U.S. Government
Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) [7].
The second standard describes functional capabilities for the Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to support International Emergency
Preparedness System (IEPS) [3]. From the PSTN perspective, one can
view NS/EP as a standard with national boundaries, while IEPS is an
extension to international boundaries for telephony.
The third standard extends IEPS beyond the scope of telephony into
other forms that encompass multimedia [4].
Carlberg, et al. Informational