Over the past few years, new trends in mission critical communications (MCC) have led to the steady integration of IP-based broadband technologies with narrowband legacy land mobile networks (LMNs), such as TETRA and P25, which focused primarily on voice-centric services like push-to-talk (PTT). The growing need for situational awareness and the proliferation of the Internet of Life Saving Things (IoLST) has accelerated the adoption of LTE, 5G and cellular LPWAN technologies. These advancements connect first responder teams, control and command centers, and cloud systems during accidents, crimes, medical emergencies, fires and natural disasters. These technologies are complemented by fiber optics, satellite and microwave networks that connect endpoints, edge networks and the cloud, supporting a plethora of MCC-related services such as 5G broadcast, drone-based deliveries, 24/7 video surveillance and real-time V2X communications.
The rise of interoperable, heterogeneous networks introduces new networking complexities, creating a pressing need for greater visibility and control over assets, traffic flows, and network subscribers. Technologies such as deep packet inspection (DPI) effectively address this challenge. DPI engines, such as R&S®PACE 2 and R&S®vPACE by ipoque, enable high-performance, yet efficient, traffic filtering capabilities that can be embedded in network gateways and aggregation points. This ensures that public safety organizations and critical infrastructure (CI) operators have deep insights into their endpoints and data flows, as well as the applications and infrastructure layers that facilitate time-critical emergency responses.
DPI-driven intelligence can identify traffic management issues at any point along the data transmission pathway. DPI analytics on connection quality or data transfer rates easily identify congestion at an LTE node or disruptions in small cell transmissions. This information helps a mobile network operator to alert public safety organizations of potential network instability, for example, during large-scale riots that can result in network congestion or massive flooding that can cause network equipment to be submerged. During these times, DPI analytics can be used to dynamically reallocate bandwidth or offload traffic to alternative networks, including public Wi-Fi nodes.
DPI also addresses concerns relating to shared broadband infrastructure. It enables continuous monitoring of network QoS, allowing even the minutest degradation in service quality to be detected before it affects critical operations. This helps operators identify issues such as poor resource availability, wear and tear on network equipment or physical links, and obstructions on the ground or in the air. Armed with DPI analysis, public safety organizations can continuously optimize their resources, enhance their network architectures and infrastructure, and where possible, introduce automation for greater efficiencies.
With DPI, performance monitoring can be extended to the asset layer by analyzing communication patterns of connected endpoints, such as freight load sensors in rail or current sensors in electricity grids. Beyond endpoints, IT assets also benefit from DPI. For example, the VPP-based R&S®vPACE provides real-time traffic visibility in cloud computing environments. This ensures that issues such as DDoS attacks, runtime errors, memory leaks and storage bottlenecks are detected and mitigated before they impact services, specifically latency-sensitive applications like automated emergency response systems or UAV fleet management applications.
One of the biggest selling points of DPI is its ability to differentiate applications, protocols and content types. DPI engines like R&S®PACE 2 and R&S®vPACE employ advanced behavioral, heuristic, and statistical analysis to detect and classify applications, even in the presence of encryption, anonymization, and obfuscation. Both engines are embedded with encrypted traffic intelligence (ETI) to cut through stringent data protection techniques such as TLS 1.3, QUIC, ESNI, VPNs and CDNs. In addition to applications, the engines can accurately identify protocols and content types, allowing for fine-grained insights into MCC traffic.
The implications for MCC networks are numerous. First, it allows for the differentiation between regular traffic and mission-critical traffic. This supports dynamic traffic prioritization and flexible allocation of network resources during emergencies, eliminating downtime and ensuring consistently high SLAs. It also enables field personnel devices to be used for both critical and non-critical communications, as traffic flows can be easily split into different routes. In 5G networks, traffic classification forms the basis for network slicing. For example, MCC applications such as bodycams, CCTV feeds, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems can be assigned to the eMBB slice for sufficient bandwidth, while traffic from UAVs or drones dispatched to a crime scene can be allocated the URLLC slice for lowest latencies.
Critical infrastructure, such as railways, ports, and energy grids, relies on MCC to maintain uninterrupted operations, uphold high safety standards and ensure a secure environment. These networks consist of many vital components—sensors, surveillance cameras, data networks, and cloud applications—all of which are vulnerable to both physical tampering and cyber threats such as DDoS, data infiltration or man-in-the-middle attacks. By deploying DPI across critical data pathways, critical infrastructure operators can swiftly detect anomalous, suspicious, or malicious traffic, and pinpoint affected devices and sessions, helping authorities to mitigate threats and avert potential disasters. This information can also help enforce advanced security measures, such as zero-trust policies.
In first responder services, threat intelligence gathered through DPI can be used to monitor both offline and online security risks. For example, anomalies in patrol car locations (detected through cell tower IDs), unusual data usage by personnel devices, or irregular access behavior in cloud applications can alert emergency response units of asset theft, account hijacking, or rogue devices. DPI can also flag system tampering that may precede premeditated attacks, such as bombings or mass shootings.
DPI adds tremendous value to MCCs, as they evolve beyond traditional goals of reliability and resilience to support data-intensive services (e.g., digital twins) running on shared, interoperable, and highly programmable networks. With DPI-driven insights and analysis, critical infrastructure operators and first responder units can ensure that important information reaches the right target at the right time—as they work tirelessly to protect the nation and its people in the hour of need.
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) is redefining what's possible in mission critical communication — delivering greater visibility, faster response times, and more resilient network operations when it matters most.
Interested in how DPI can enhance your emergency communication systems? Talk to our experts and discover how to future-proof your mission critical infrastructure.
Sebastian is a passionate DPI thought leader guiding a cross-functional team to build the networks of the future with leading traffic analytics capabilities. He has over 15 years of dedicated experience in the telecom and cybersecurity domain, providing him with deep understanding of market requirements and customer needs. When he’s not at work, you can either find him on his road bike or hiking in the mountains.
