By Jeff Bratcher, Chief Network and Technology Officer, First Responder Network Authority
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11. In the aftermath of that tragedy, the public safety community pushed for its own dedicated network to address some of the communications challenges responders faced on that day. The community called for a nationwide network, one it could rely on to communicate and share information with each other during emergencies as well as their day-to-day operations.
This week I decided to once again discuss the urgent need for nationwide Push-To-Talk (PTT) interoperability between FirstNet, broadband, and Land Mobile Radio (LMR). Well, we no longer have to wait for vendors to finally work together. With some vendors’ capabilities, and since many agencies have already deployed their preferred flavor of push-to-talk, perhaps we should look at building nationwide interoperability starting at the agency level and working up.
[Note: None of the vendors mentioned in this article are current clients.]
Push-To-Talk Interoperability Today
Many agencies have moved ahead on their own and worked with an approved FirstNet PTT vendor. Tango Tango has not waited around for the PTT vendor community to solve the interoperability problem. It has found solutions to the problems as it has focused on the agency level…
Every second counts in emergency response. That is why real-time communications across multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions—as well as inside and outside buildings– is critical to ensure the safety of citizens. These communications vehicles are increasingly complex in a mobile environment and yet must be reliable, secure, and easy to use.
There is also a significant shift in the end user technology consumption model for emergency communications. Evolving from rotary-dial land lines to mobile phones to text and video calls. These changes will force emergency communications systems to adapt and leverage newer technologies to improve public safety systems. To that end, improving nation-wide interoperability of emergency communications is a major goal of top federal government emergency executives and their industry partners… READ MORE
The American Ambulance Association (AAA) warned House and Senate leaders the “nation’s EMS system is facing a crippling workforce shortage, a long-term problem that has been building for more than a decade. It threatens to undermine our emergency 9-1-1 infrastructure and deserves urgent attention by Congress.”
“The magnitude has really blown up over the last few months,” AAA President Shawn Baird told NBC News.
“When you take a system that was already fragile and stretched it because you didn’t have enough people entering the field, then you throw a public health emergency and all of the additional burdens that it put on our workforce, as well as the labor shortages across the entire economy, and it really has put us in a crisis mode,” Baird said... READ MORE
First of its kind ‘in person’ opportunity specifically directed to current FirstNet users to be held in Las Vegas, January 18-21, 2022.
The Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA) is your FirstNet Connection. Join us on January 18-21, 2022, as the PSBTA presents Vision 2022: FirstNet Users Summit. Learn, grow, and be inspired as public safety moves ahead in 2022 stronger than ever before.
Born from the 9/11 tragedy was FirstNet. FirstNet is America’s public safety network built for public safety. FirstNet provides reliable communication to keep your personnel and community safe. But let us remember our commitment 20 years ago to never forget. 9/11 was a defining moment for the United States as terrorists attacked America. But it also was a defining moment in our country’s response to terrorism uniting Americans… READ MORE
Emergency medical service providers across the U.S. are sounding the alarm that the shortage of medical workers has hit “crisis” levels in many areas, warning Congress that the problem is getting to the point that it is threatening the 911 system.
The American Ambulance Association sent a letter to House and Senate leadership saying the “nation’s EMS system is facing a crippling workforce shortage, a long-term problem that has been building for more than a decade. It threatens to undermine our emergency 9-1-1 infrastructure and deserves urgent attention by the Congress.” … READ MORE
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
