by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 17, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
We will be attending the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) trade show next week so there won’t be time to publish an issue of the Advocate. We will be back the following week and share our take on IWCE 2022.
Last September, IWCE held a “placeholder” conference. It was a good event with many great educational sessions, but the exhibit area was very small as was the crowd. Even so, IWCE 2021 was the best it could have been given the pandemic conditions at the time…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 16, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
While cybersecurity is a growing concern in this day and age, general public safety and good ol’ physical security should not fall to the wayside, as these areas will easily benefit from technological gains in the years to come.
Communications are key to public safety
Effective communication avenues are an area that is often taken for granted when it comes to public safety. Emergency services need to be able to communicate instantly and securely among teams, especially during a crisis, where frontliners need clear instruction and direction from dispatchers or their commanding officers to properly coordinate effective and strategic use of their services…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 10, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Anu Appaji, Domain Lead, Secure Information Exchange, First Responder Network Authority
It’s the beginning of a tour of duty for an officer in a typical police department.
The officer leaves the roll call briefing and checks out her equipment for the day—a radio, body-worn camera, taser, and smartphone. She proceeds to her vehicle and conducts a quick safety inspection of the exterior. As she sits down, the dispatcher announces that there are several assignments demanding immediate attention on her beat.
Unfortunately, she cannot begin her tour yet. She still has to sign on to several mobile applications on her smartphone and in-car computer before she can hit the street.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 10, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
The Webster Dictionary defines “Unified” as “Brought together as one.” Under the public-safety Incident Command (IC) structure, “Unified” means “Unified Command (UC): In incidents involving multiple jurisdictions, a single jurisdiction with multiagency involvement, or multiple jurisdictions with multiagency involvement, Unified Command allows agencies with different legal, geographic, and functional authorities and responsibilities to work together effectively.” (For more information about Incident Command see FEMA.)
Based on both meanings of “Unified,” I would like to suggest that public safety leave “interoperability” and “PTT interoperability” (Push-To-Talk interoperability) behind and replace these terms with “Unified.” This might make it easier to explain exactly what is needed by the public-safety community when it comes to push-to-talk…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 3, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
Illustration by scarysideofearth via Flickr.
Americans make at least 240 million 911 calls each year. Many of these calls result in timely professional responses to medical emergencies, fires, and serious crimes in progress.
This everyday excellence—24 hours a day, 365 days a year—is a remarkable, often life-saving accomplishment. Indeed, 911 professionals are true first responders. At the same time, America’s 911 system exhibits many opportunities for improvement.
Research shows that most 911 calls are not related to a crime in progress, yet often still elicit a police response. This results in police spending much of their time responding to low-level or non-criminal incidents that do not amount to public safety or health emergencies…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 3, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
I hear that a good time was had by all who celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the creation of FirstNet. I, on the other hand, unexpectedly spent my Tuesday in a Mayo Hospital operating room while they put final touches on a minor surgery. Still, I was able to watch some of the live stream and from what I saw, it appeared to be a professional and well-organized event.
The Celebration
Congratulations are in order for the FirstNet Authority, the management team at the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA), and members of the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA)…
