Subject: WG ACTION: Internet Emergency Preparedness (ieprep)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 18:48:21 -0500

A new working group has been formed in the Transport Area of the IETF.
For additional information, contact the Area Directors
or the WG Chair.

Internet Emergency Preparedness (ieprep)
----------------------------------------
 
 Charter 
 
 Current Status: Active Working Group
 
 Chair(s):
     Fred Baker <[email-masked]>
 
 Transport Area Director(s): 
     Scott Bradner  <[email-masked]>
     Allison Mankin  <[email-masked]>
 
 Transport Area Advisor: 
     Scott Bradner  <[email-masked]>
 
 Mailing Lists: 
     General Discussion:[email-masked]
     To Subscribe:      [email-masked]
         In Body:       subscribe ieprep
     Archive:           ftp://ftp.ietf.org/ietf-mail-archive/ieprep/
 
Description of Working Group:
 
Effective telecommunications capabilities are imperative to facilitate
immediate recovery operations for serious disaster events, such as,
hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks. Disasters can
happen any time, any place, unexpectedly. Quick response for recovery
operations requires immediate access to any public telecommunications
capabilities at hand. These capabilities include: conventional
telephone, cellular phones, and Internet access via online terminals, 
IP telephones, and wireless PDAs. The commercial telecommunications
infrastructure is rapidly evolving to Internet-based technology.
Therefore, the Internet community needs to consider how it can best
support emergency management and recovery operations.

Three examples of emergency communications include:

1. Conveying information about the priority of specific phone calls
   that originate in a VoIP environment through gateways to the PSTN.

2. Access and transport for database and information distribution
   applications relevant to managing the crisis. One example of this
   is the I am Alive (IAA) system that can be used by people in a
   disaster zone to register the fact that they are alive so that
   their friends and family can check on their health.

3. Interpersonal communication among crisis management personnel using
   electronic mail and instant messaging.

Initial documents will describe the problem space and its salient
characteristics. In particular the working group will devlop a
Requirements for Internet Emergency Preparedness in the Internet RFC
which will detail the specific functions and technologies needed to
provide support for Emergency Preparedness systems in the Internet. The
working group may also develop a Framework for Supporting Internet
Emergency Preparedness in IP Telephony RFC if it is determined that IP
telephony requires special treatment above what would be in the
requirements document.

The international community needs advice as to what standards to rely
on, in the form of a BCP. This BCP needs to identify mechanisms to
provide deterministic behavior of applications, mechanisms for
authentication and authorization, and recommendations for application
design with existing protocols. In the IETF considerations for
treatment and security of emergency communications stretch across a 
number of Areas and Working Groups, notably including the various 
telephony signaling working groups, Differentiated Services, Protocol 
for carrying Authentication for Network Access (pana), and various 
operational groups, so the IEPREP working group will have to cooperate 
closely with these groups and with groups outside of the IETF such as 
various ITU-T study groups.

The working group will develop a BCP RFC or set of RFCs, regarding
operational implementation of services for Emergency Preparedness using
existing Internet protocols. The RFC may include identification of gaps
in existing protocols and requirements for use in new protocol or
protocol feature design. It is out of scope for this working group to
do protocol or protocol feature development. The working group will
not focus on particular national regulations.

Deliverables

Best Current Practice:
  IETF Recommendations for the Emergency Telecommunications Service
  using existing protocols - what can be done with existing protcols
  and what can not be done.

Informationals:
  Requirements for Internet Emergency Preparedness in the Internet.
  Framework for Supporting Internet Emergency Preparedness in IP
  Telephony.
 
 Goals and Milestones: 
 
   Mar 02       Submit initial I-D of Requirements                             

   Mar 02       Submit initial I-D of Framework                                

   Mar 02       Submit initial I-D of Recommendations BCP                      

   Aug 02       Submit Requirements I-D to IESG for publication as an 
                Informational RFC.                                             

   Aug 02       Submit Framework I-D to IESG for publication as an 
                Informational RFC.                                             

   Aug 02       Submit Recommendations I-D to IESG for publication as a BCP.