Enhancing Community Safety through Duplicate Communication Systems
Julie Song, headed up at Advance RF Technologies (ADRF), takes charge of overseeing the company's global operations in all aspects. In time-sensitive situations, people usually focus on the speed of first responders arriving, overlooking the crucial steps that make this process swift and efficient. Crucial to this process is dependable, secure, and uninterrupted public safety communications, which enable responders to collaborate efficiently and save lives.
Typically, before any direct response, you'll have to dial 911. Per a recent study from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), over 80% of 911 calls in emergencies originate from cell phones, providing a snapshot that the majority of primary alerts come from civilians.
This increasing reliance on personal devices during emergencies emphasizes the need for connectivity for both citizens and first responders within buildings. This multi-layered approach, which combines commercial and public safety frequencies, marks a significant upgrade over systems that rely solely on traditional public safety radio frequencies (RF) like PS 700/800MHz and UHF/VHF using land mobile radio (LMR) technology.
The Transforming Panorama of Public Safety Communications
Historically, LMRs were the chief devices for public safety communication. Two-way radios have been vital for delivering uninterruptible, instant communication in challenging conditions. They work exclusively on dedicated public safety bands, such as UHF (380-512 MHz), VHF (138-174 MHz), as well as Public Safety 700 and 800 MHz.
While LMR systems have been iteratively improved over time to enhance their reliability and compatibility with newer communication platforms, they still pose constraints. For instance, they seldom support multimedia content, which could be advantageous in emergencies, and they usually don't operate inter-state because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocates LMR frequencies based on geographical regions. Factors such as population density, geography, and public safety agency requirements influence frequency allocations in each state or region.
Consequently, in 2017, the federal government, collaborating with AT&T, launched FirstNet – the first public-private nationwide public safety network. FirstNet operates on Band 14, a highly-desired swath of spectrum in the 700MHz frequency band, used exclusively by responders on FirstNet-compatible smartphones. This kicked off a series of events accelerating smartphones' popularity as primary communication tools for first responders.
Verizon and T-Mobile soon followed suit, introducing Frontline and Connecting Heroes, respectively. All three networks strive to provide emergency responders, including firefighters, law enforcement officers, military personnel, National Guard members, and even teachers, with a secure and dependable communication platform. This enables them to communicate with priority access over the general public in an emergency.
Supporting LTE and 5G in some cases, these networks offer advanced features like telemetry data, live streaming, GPS tracking, and communication exceeding traditional two-way push-to-talk radios. For example, during the recent Los Angeles wildfires, mobile carriers gave first priority to ensure first responders were able to communicate even during peak demand. Additionally, they sometimes deployed portable cell sites and satellite devices to preserve connectivity in areas with damaged infrastructure.
However, these nationwide networks are not free of breakdowns. In 2023, for instance, AT&T's outage caused disruptions in critical communication services for the public and first responders, revealing vulnerabilities in systems designed to enhance emergency readiness.
The outages serve as a reminder of the dangers of relying on a single communication network for public safety, particularly during emergencies when interruption-free communication is most critical.
The Advent of Redundancy
Equipping buildings with emergency responder communication upgrade systems (ERCES) that support LMR public safety bands and nationwide networks that leverage smartphones creates a powerful redundancy system. This system helps mitigate downtime in emergencies, especially for public safety matters. More communication options mean more resilience during crises, so these nationwide networks serve as complements to traditional public safety and should never replace them. The same concept can be extended to commercial wireless communication, which also plays a pivotal role in public safety since citizens often serve as the first responders.
While some might consider the development of nationwide public safety networks as the new way for first responders to communicate, the reality is that it represents another option. More redundancy options always ensure dependable communication throughout disasters. When one system falters, others stepping in to prevent the chaos from escalating any further.
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- Julie Song, the head at Advance RF Technologies (ADRF), acknowledges the crucial role of dependable, secure, and uninterrupted public safety communications during emergencies, as these enable responders to collaborate efficiently.
- Over 80% of 911 calls originate from cell phones, highlighting the increasing reliance on personal devices during emergencies and emphasizing the need for connectivity for both citizens and first responders within buildings.
- In 2017, as a response to these needs, the federal government, collaborating with AT&T, launched FirstNet – a public-private nationwide public safety network operating on Band 14 in the 700MHz frequency band, used exclusively by responders on FirstNet-compatible smartphones.
