Over the last few years, significant advancements have been made to the U.S.'s public safety networks, and for good reason. FirstNet, a U.S. government agency designed to support first responder communications, was tasked with standardizing the design process for its new, LTE-based public safety network. With the help of InfoVista's network planning technology, FirstNet is able to securely share project data and better collaborate with stakeholders, ensuring the resulting network delivers high network performance and robust coverage.
To ensure that the FirstNet project is executed successfully, State and Local Implementation Grant Programs (SLIGP) have been developed to provide resources and funding that assists government entities with implementation. Among other priorities, SLIGP grantees must develop extensive plans, ranging from the identification of public safety users to the usage of existing infrastructure that has been chosen by FirstNet to build, operate and maintain a public safety network. This is no small task.
InfoVista has partnered with Signals Analytics LCC, a resource for the first responder community, to help stakeholders get a handle on these plans, particularly around the time that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and FirstNet are expected to release the second phase of SGLIP funding. To further educate, we will host a webinar on February 26th to explain which standardized assets need to be documented for national public safety broadband networks.
For example, SGLIP grantees must establish their broadband coverage and capacity needs, and plan LTE networks in collaboration with FirstNet. Webinar attendees will learn the kind of network planning solution that is required in order to address every stage of the mobile network lifecycle — from strategic planning to network design and management.
Navigating the realm of public safety networks is not easy, and to further educate stakeholders in their effort to ensure accurate coverage and meet network planning needs, InfoVista will also be taking part in two panels at IWCE. InfoVista Senior Software Engineer Darren Hart will present on the panel, “Modeling LTE and LMR: An Analysis of Coverage, System Design and Testing.” Alongside other panelists, Darren will answer questions like, “What's the difference between Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system coverage and LTE system coverage?” and, “Which modeling metrics and techniques should be used when evaluating coverage of LMR and LTE systems?”
IWCE attendees that also attend the panel, “The Deadline Approaches for Positive Train Control,” will hear myself, with the support of members from the Positive Train Control (PTC) 220 executive team, provide history of the project, current initiatives and future plans as the PTC deadline approaches. Armed with case study examples and real-world technology advice, professionals will not only walk away from this presentation with the knowledge to prepare their systems ahead of the deadline, but will understand the overall PTC RAN architecture that enabled the railroad engineering teams, subcontractors and governing agencies to effectively design, manage and optimize their individual portions of the project. All of this, while coordinating necessary shared information with each other, similar to the collaborative efforts that will be reqired by the states and FirstNet in the deployment of the Nationwide Public Broadband Network.
Interested in learning more about how network planning can improve the rollout of today's public safety networks? Find more details about each of the events I've mentioned, below. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn to chat about these topics further!
- InfoVista and Signals Analytics webinar, Intelligent Network Design: Proven Radio Frequency and Financial Network Modeling for SLIGP Grantees, on February 26th at 11:00 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET
- IWCE panel, The Deadline Approaches for Positive Train Control, on Wednesday, March 18th at 2:45 p.m. PT
- IWCE panel, Modeling LTE and LMR: An Analysis of Coverage, System Design and Testing, on Wednesday, March 18th at 2:45 p.m. PT
- Stop by InfoVista's booth (#1969) at IWCE to receive a personal demonstration of our Public Safety Solutions and sign-up for Planet LTE certification courses designed with current LTE public safety standards
