Abstract
This paper examines emergency communication systems aimed at ensuring safety and supporting search and rescue operations on mountain tourist routes. The study focuses on the comparative modeling of LoRaWAN, LTE, and 5G NR technologies. The relevance of the research is driven by the need to select efficient wireless communication technologies for emergency response systems in mountainous areas, where complex terrain significantly increases the time required to locate victims. The modeling results demonstrate that LoRaWAN outperforms LTE and 5G NR, maintaining a positive power margin of 16.8 dB at distances up to 10 km, whereas for LTE and 5G NR this parameter becomes negative already at distances of 1–2 km. The packet delivery probability for LoRaWAN at 10 km reaches 65%, which significantly exceeds the corresponding values for LTE (5%) and 5G NR (1%). This advantage is attributed to the high receiver sensitivity of LoRaWAN and the use of lower operating frequencies, which provide more favorable propagation conditions in non-line-of-sight environments. These include improved obstacle diffraction and lower path loss compared to high-frequency broadband networks. Low power consumption (tracker lifetime exceeds 14 months on a single charge) and the ability to transmit data over long distances under complex terrain and non-line-of-sight conditions make LoRaWAN an optimal technology for building reliable emergency communication infrastructure. The results of this study can be applied to the deployment of hybrid monitoring networks on mountain routes (e.g., in the Trans-Ili Alatau and Altai regions) for the rapid transmission of SOS messages and tourists’ biometric data to emergency services.