​A Ukrainian refugee lost in the mountains of Suceava was rescued last year after calling 112 with a non-EU SIM card and no internet, and STS’s handling of the call was awarded on Thursday at the European 112 ceremony .the location was done using AML technology, urgently introduced in 2020 after the Caracal case, a technology that allows smartphones to automatically send an SMS with location data when you call 112, without a data connection.

The 112 European Gala was organized on Wednesday, April 19, by the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and STS received the “AML & Rescue Award” for receiving and handling an emergency call from a Ukrainian refugee who got lost in the Sučavsky Mountains district

Specialists from European countries highly appreciated the introduction of advanced technical localization functions, which allowed receiving information about AML for calls made from a non-EU SIM card and in the absence of the Internet, as well as the fact that the conversation was conducted entirely in the Ukrainian language, introducing into the conference a remote operator 112, and emergency teams were able to quickly reach the person in danger.

How was the rescue operation in Suceava county, EENA awards

In October last year, a Ukrainian refugee got to Romania and got lost in the mountainous area of ​​Suceava county in the dark, rain and poor visibility. Scared of wild animals in the forest, the man called 112, where he said that he could not give any information about his location, STS reports.

Since the caller did not know a foreign language, the call was taken over by the STS remote operator, who conducted the initial conversation in Ukrainian and acted as an intermediary in the communication between the deceased and the rescuers.

The refugee called 112 from a smartphone with a non-EU SIM card and no Internet access. However, the call was accompanied by the location of the AML and the coordinates were sent in DataSMS format.

The operation of the AML location in Romania, in roaming and in the absence of the Internet, became possible thanks to the technical adjustments made by STS with the help of mobile operators and Google in the spring of 2020.

In the absence of mobile data, computer system 112 receives data packets with geographic coordinates via SMS.

The technical implementation of the “112” system and operational procedures for receiving calls in foreign languages ​​led, in this case, to the rescue of a person.

How emergency AML technology works after the Caracal affair

The implementation of anti-money laundering technology, which provides a location accuracy of 5-50 m, was introduced by the Emergency Decree after the Caracal case.

AML is a solution that allows the transmission of geographic coordinates available on mobile phones running Android or iOS and uses their built-in localization capabilities. It is important to note that AML is not a program that needs to be downloaded and installed.

AML technology involves a compatible smartphone that recognizes when an emergency call is being made and activates the phone’s capabilities to collect information about the caller’s location, with the geographic coordinates of the location automatically sent to the 112 system operated by STS.

What AML/ELS technology does:

• when an emergency call is initiated, smart mobile phones equipped with AML/ELS functionality send an SMS message to emergency call centers 112 containing information about the location of the mobile phone user, information based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, WiFi and Cell ID with an accuracy of 5-50m. It also checks the battery level of the phone, it should be min. 5% before activating the GNSS and WiFi capabilities of the mobile terminal. The solution does not require a data connection, installation of any application on the phone, or any other intervention by the mobile phone user.
• the transmission of SMS with location information will be carried out automatically, without the intervention of the subscriber, to the number 114, the provision is also introduced by this Decree on emergency situations.
• Mobile communication providers are obliged to bear both the costs determined by the transmission to the number 114 of short standardized technical messages containing information about the location obtained on the basis of the terminal equipment, and the costs related to the traffic created on the connection data by transmission location information obtained from the terminal equipment.

Read more: DPS finally starts implementing anti-money laundering technology in the 112 system: Calls from Android phones should be better localized in Bucharest and Ilfov