Connectivity brings many great benefits to our society — for instance, easy and real-time communication across large distances, and access to myriad sources of information and educational materials. But, among these use cases, public safety communications is truly the most valuable to our safety and well-being. When there is a fire, natural disaster or other crisis, first responders need to be able to communicate with one another to address the threat and to stay safe. The networks delivering that connectivity must, therefore, be flawless.
At IWCE 2015, my colleague Darren Hart and I caught up with RCR Wireless News to discuss the requirements for delivering on this mandate for first responders and others in the public safety field.
First, I explained Infovista's involvement in the ongoing FirstNet initiative by the U.S. government to transition the existing land mobile radio (LMR) public safety network to LTE. With Infovista's network planning technology, FirstNet can securely share project data and ensure improved collaboration among stakeholders to ultimately deliver high LTE network performance for first responders and public safety officials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xKfB5GQiSs
Darren also shared insights about the transition from LMR to LTE. He explained that LTE is very different than the voice-focused narrowband networks that it will complement with broadband data services. Network Planning of LTE thus, requires higher resolution data sets and models to ensure coverage also inside buildings. Infovista's products allow first responders to look at the coverage of LMR and LTE within the same platform, allowing FirstNet as well as state and regional public safety network initiatives to cost-efficiently plan and deploy broadband networks that meet the requirements for robust interoperable emergency communications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGaRjj19vT8
For more information about how Infovista's network planning technology is improving public safety networks, I invite you to access the below resources. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn to chat about these topics further!
