Earthquake detection for SK Telecom base stations

Earthquakes are a significant problem for South Korea, which typically experiences around 70 seismic events per year, last year recording 88. Just three years ago the country experienced the largest quake in its modern history, measuring magnitude 5.4 on the moment magnitude scale. The event injured 82 people and caused millions of dollars of property damage.

 

Naturally, when it comes to natural disasters of this scale, early detection is quite literally a life saver. 

 

Now, SK Telecom has announced that it will be using its base stations to host earthquake detection sensors, effectively turning its infrastructure network into an early warning system.

 

Around 8,000 sensors are being deployed nationwide, not only in the base stations but also in schools, police stations, and shops. 

 

Sensitive vibrational data gathered from these small 220V plug sensors will then be sent instantly to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), which hopes to improve its early warning response time, currently at between 7 to 25 seconds. The data gathered will also be used to measure earthquake severity more effectively. 

 

The sensor network is expected to come into action in 2021.

 

Using IoT sensors alongside telco infrastructure to help monitor the natural world is becoming an increasingly exciting prospect. From smart fibre cables being installed into sewers, to sensors being built into subsea cables spanning thousands of miles, the IoT is opening the door for monitoring in realtime, providing data for analysis on a scale which has never been seen before. The IoT revolution will surely have a lot to teach us about the natural world.