Medical Dispatch Software Market Trends, Analysis by Regions, Restraints, and Top Key Players …
Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) refers to a system that enhances services provided by Public Safety Answering Point (emergency) call takers, …
IJIS Institute, DHS S and T, Google Host Event on Text-to-9-1-1 Translation
IJIS Institute, DHS S&T, Google Host Event on Text-to-9-1-1 Translation
Last month, the IJIS Institute, the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) and Google hosted a Text-to-911 Translation TechFest at the Google campus in Kirkland, Washington.
The TechFest was designed to encourage nationwide efforts to improve technologies in support of public-safety communications and response. The event included participation from technologists, public-safety leaders, language service providers and trade associations such as the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT).
Sending texts to 9-1-1 to request help from public safety—fire, EMS or law enforcement—is becoming more common across the U.S. The TechFest brought together key thought leaders on this subject from multiple disciplines to help address concerns regarding use, implementation and public education around text to 9-1-1, particularly for people with limited English proficiency who are trying to communicate with public-safety officials. According to U.S. Census data more than 60 million people nationwide speak a language other than English in their home, and approximately 28 million people are identified as having limited English proficiency. Public-safety officials have found in many communities across the country that not long after implementing text to 9-1-1, public-safety emergency call centers begin to receive text communications in languages other than English, necessitating the need for translation.
The TechFest revealed that public safety officials currently depend on machine translation for handling non-English texts to 9-1-1 and sought to understand the efficacy of machine-translation software in support of life and safety calls for assistance. The project team also received a commissioned report to understand the accuracy of machine translation and through the event, demonstrated the use of human interpreters or interpreting services to augment machine translation of non-English texts to 9-1-1. As the project moves forward, the TechFest investigation of Language Service Provider (LSP) “coaching” of machine-translation will result in implementation guidance and recommendations for operational and technical issues stemming from the findings. At the national level, the lack of a nationwide program and clear funding stream to support next generation 9-1-1 efforts continues to result in a patchwork approach with implementation by jurisdiction, which creates challenges for adoption, standardization, and affordability.
Next steps for the project include additional collaboration between public-safety emergency call centers, industry technology providers and language service providers, to address affordability of a commercially-available, public safety grade solution for text-to-9-1-1 translation.
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Why 6 GHz Is Critical to Public Safety and Industry
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Why 6 GHz Is Critical to Public Safety and Industry
By Jamie Barnett
In the FCC’s proposed rulemaking to allow unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band, the commission noted that the 6 GHz band is used for a variety of critical services, including public-safety communications for first responder dispatch. The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) is one of many groups that protested the rulemaking, filing comments with the FCC stating, “APCO remains concerned that expanding unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band will cause harmful interference to public-safety operations. Fixed links are not designed to detect interference until after a communications link fails, putting safety of life and property at risk.”
Industry also has critical communications affecting the safety of life and property, such as RigNet’s 6 GHz microwave network in the Gulf of Mexico, providing 24,000 square miles of WiMAX coverage at sea.
“This network is essential for preventing disasters on deep sea oil platforms by providing high throughput communications for the thousands of sensors on board these remote locations providing real-time analysis,” said Brendan Sullivan, RigNet chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information officer (CIO). “And when accidents do happen, fast, reliable communications is absolutely essential. Unlicensed use can cause crippling interference.”
RigNet argues that if unlicensed 6 GHz is in use, this particular spectrum becomes a wireless access point for multiple users on the platform that provides the backhaul for the network to perform.
“The microwave signals are running on the 6 GHz frequency, if someone puts up an antenna in the free-range area, and starts broadcasting, it will knock that network out,” said Sullivan.
Dr. Alexei Vederko, manager of global RF engineering for RigNet, provided scientific evidence of RigNet’s argument with a series of calculations that showed unacceptable interference because of the structure of the network and the probable positioning of the interference sources on the same platforms and in the main lobe.
The 6 GHz network is the most reliable broadband point-to-point communications network in the Gulf of Mexico. This signal is used to power the microwave connection currently available, and because it is a point-to-point microwave, any interference can disrupt the network in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the network for public-safety communications used by first responders, 9-1-1, wireless emergency alerts, emergency communications and other critical communications.
The 6 GHz network is being upgraded to Long Term Evolution (LTE), expanding the coverage to 45,000 square miles. The network is used by RigNet and its customers, but anyone with LTE roaming may access the network and pay roaming charges. With the upgrade to LTE, 9-1-1 calls, emergency communications, disaster preparedness, telemedicine and personnel evacuation will be greatly enhanced. But because unlicensed use would occur primarily on the same platforms that carry the network backhaul, the likelihood of interference with these communications is unacceptably high.
With LTE, new levels of public safety are available to the personnel working on oil platforms and oil field service vessels, as well as to any person in the Gulf of Mexico within the coverage of the network. The use of unlicensed 6 GHz can threaten public-safety communications. If communications is interrupted, persons throughout the area will be unable to use the network for at-sea firefighting, medical evacuation, suicide prevention, search and rescue (SAR), disaster preparedness, emergency and weather alerts.
Constant and highly reliable communications is essential in the Gulf of Mexico. At any given time, thousands of workers are on these platforms. Therefore, better ship-to-shore data exchanges can minimize communications failure that can lead to poor early detection and response in the event of an emergency.
“Following past incidents, the industry has increased its safety position, developing daily operational reports and this data to shore is necessary, and if a rig cannot do that, you have to shut the rig down,” said Sullivan. “This is why RigNet has the highest standards of critical comms available for offshore energy.”
The interesting thing about the at-sea network is the nature of where the interference will come from. Any interference here has the possibility to go further than it would on land. Unlike terrestrial networks, this at-sea network’s links are entirely dependent on the positioning of oil platforms. Because microwave links go up to 30 miles, 6 GHz works well across these distances, power levels and environmental factors in a way that other microwave frequencies do not.
In Vederko’s analysis, he reported that seawater is more reflective of RF energy than terrain, where there is more absorption and diffusion. At sea, even with some significant wave action and sea state, unlicensed use can be expected to cause more severe interference than on land.
“We are looking at past precedence,” said Sullivan. “Ensuring the availability of 6 GHz for use by the energy industry is essential to their operations.”
RigNet is very much in favor of the FCC finding additional spectrum for Wi-Fi and 5G, but it needs to be done in a way that avoids interruptions of public safety and other critical communications.
Jamie Barnett, RigNet’s senior vice president for government services, is a former chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
Public Safety Advocate: FirstNet PTT Interoperability
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the need to find better, open-standard ways to bridge the gap between Land Mobile Radio (LMR) and FirstNet for Push-To-Talk (PTT). The Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) has completed phase one of its work and plans to publish its findings soon. Next is the need to similarly address two other solutions discussed in the report: Dispatch Fixed Station Interface (DFSI) and Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP). Meanwhile, the PSTA committee and others will be back at work focusing on providing open-standard, less-expensive solutions to tie LMR and FirstNet (or broadband) systems together.
For public safety, this means when an agency puts out a call for help from neighboring agencies or even agencies many states away, those responding to the incident will be able to use FirstNet to communicate with the local agency by bridging their LMR systems to the FirstNet network. The primary reason so many fought for FirstNet was to enable interoperability between networks. Today, first responders are able to communicate with each other. The number of public safety officials, vendors, contractors, and others who came together for a common cause that resulted in the passing of a law establishing FirstNet speaks highly for the public safety community.
However, the ability to cross-communicate between LMR and FirstNet or other broadband systems is only one part of the solution. The other part is to figure out how to enable the various FirstNet push-to-talk systems to communicate with each other. I have been assured by FirstNet (Built with AT&T) that it is fully committed to providing only open standards on the FirstNet network. Even so, if you look at where we are today with interconnectivity over LTE (FirstNet), you will find three that companies are certified to provide PTT over FirstNet. The first is Kodiak Networks (now owned by Motorola) with a network-based technology. The second is ESChat with an over-the-top application, meaning it can operate on multiple LTE networks and all common groups can be tied together regardless of the network being used. Orion is the third approved vendor, also with an over-the top-application. As with ESChat, Orion claims to be network-agnostic and, for the most part, device-agnostic and can provide LTE-to-LTE PTT (and WiFi) between networks.
Interconnectivity over LTE is important since many agencies that have signed up with FirstNet still maintain a relationship with at least one other network. This is because while FirstNet is being built out quickly, there are still some areas where another provider currently offers better coverage. Another reason is that some agencies are moving slowing into the FirstNet world to test the waters. For the moment, they are retaining their other carrier for some of their activities.
Now let’s turn our attention to the current state of PTT over FirstNet. Rumors persist that another vendor will be approved in the near future. I have written about my concern that this vendor, if my information is correct, has built a robust Mission Critical Push-to-Talk. One reason it is “great” is because the application has been built into its chipset. If true, using this new PTT will mean you will be limited to one brand of phone while the other three vendors provide PTT over many different brands and types of devices. The next thing on my agenda is to set up a meeting with this vendor to find out if the information I have received is accurate.
I have discussed this issue with a few people and received mixed reactions. One person stated that Kodiak is not an open standard and to emphasize this, pointed to the fact that the Verizon flavor and AT&T flavor of Kodiak are not compatible with each other. Others believe ESChat and Orion are not open standards either. My conclusion is that what matters more than a discussion about if and who has a proprietary PTT solution approved for FirstNet is how and how soon these PTT solutions will be capable of interoperability.
I consider PTT interoperability to be as vital as LMR-to-FirstNet integration. If an agency calls for assistance from three or four different agencies outside their jurisdiction and each is using a different PTT-over-FirstNet technology, have we really solved the central issue brought up by the 9/11 Commission, which is how to make communications for all public safety agencies interoperable?
The PSTA has a committee working on interoperable PTT, the 3GPP is finalizing a “standard” to enable cross-vendor PTT, and The Critical Communications Association (TCCA) has held numerous “Plug Fests.” However, from what I have seen all this effort is focused on PTT systems that must be embedded directly into the network. This means ESChat and Orion, and perhaps the new rumored PTT provider, will not meet the MCPTT standard.
If the standard does not accommodate both cross-vendor and cross-network PTT services, we will have missed the mark for public safety. Think about LTE becoming nationwide for public safety, then think about what happened when a major earthquake hit the South Island of New Zealand a number of years ago. New Zealand was first to respond and assistance came from Australia, the United States, and elsewhere. As it happened, Tait Communications had people at the airport giving out handheld radios that were compatible with New Zealand’s communications system. A few years into the future, what would happen if agencies from other areas arrived only to discover their LTE PTT was not compatible with the home system?
According to the 3GPP and TCCA, this would not happen, but I have to believe there is and will continue to be a need for over-the-top PTT applications that can be easily and quickly installed in LTE devices when and as needed. If you showed up in Santa Barbara County, Calif., with your Motorola Kodiak PTT, you would find the County using ESChat tied to its LMR networks. While I know FirstNet should be the main focus for nationwide public safety communications, there are still public safety users on other networks. Only over-the-top PTT applications can help solve the problem of multi-network PTT. They are more versatile and better suited for true interoperability in today’s world.
Some progress is being made today. ESChat can, in fact, interoperate with Kodiak’s PTT system and can and has integrated P25 trunking systems using its own flavor of ISSI. According to TCCA, at last count more than thirty vendors passed TCCA interoperability tests. Some are PTT vendors, others are back-end or on-network vendors. I would prefer to see a much smaller number of approved PTT vendors and I am in favor of both on-network and over-the-top vendors, especially if the on-network vendors can be convinced to work with other networks to cross-connect PTT.
Many years before FirstNet, Nextel was purchased by Sprint and went with Qualcomm’s QChat while Kodiak won AT&T and then Verizon. As I have pointed out before, if we look back at history, we will find fast growth in the cellular industry occurred only after one network finally permitted subscribers to call people on other networks, and text messaging languished until it was available from network to network. While I agree FirstNet should continue without allowing core sharing or network sharing, in the case of PTT, I believe it is important to provide bridges between all LTE networks at least for the near future. At the same time, we also need to be mindful that each LTE network is somewhat different from the others. With every 3GPP release of a next version of LTE, each network operator is free to pick and choose which new features and functions to use in its network. Some differences are minor, some not. In spite of any differences, over-the-top PTT applications seem to work well from network to network and cross-network.
Someday FirstNet will be the primary public safety broadband network in the United States. Network deployment is far ahead of schedule and coverage differences are closing fast, but there are other reasons to maintain cross-network PTT capabilities. In a major disaster there will be second responders along with state and federal government personnel who arrive with non-FirstNet phones. If software can be quickly and easily installed in their devices to enable them to communicate with the other teams, our responses will be better coordinated and more effective.
Winding Down
San Jose, Calif., made a big splash when it joined FirstNet as the first metro area to go all-in by including all its first responders and other government personnel on the FirstNet network. I had thought some other cities had already joined on an all-in basis, but if not, San Jose should stand out as a model for other cities to follow. Congratulations to San Jose!
SpaceX
SpaceX says most of its little Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEOs) are in operation and it will soon be running tests on fifty or so to determine actual data speeds and system latency. Its press release states that five-percent of its Starlink satellites have failed and it plans to take two out of orbit and let them burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere to prove they won’t contribute to more space junk over time. This is the first time I heard about this plan but it sounds like it could be a good idea. SpaceX’s other news is that in addition to orbiting 11,000 little LEOs, it plans to build up to a million Starlink earth stations. Called “Starlink Services,” they will be built by another company and design plans call for a flat-panel phased-array system to transmit and receive signals in the KU-Band for the Starlink constellation.
Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs)
I now have my second drone, this one with automatic homing. I have applied for and received an FAA Small Drone Registration ($5) in spite of the FAA site being very confusing. The first site I was sent to says you can register more than one drone and buy ID stickers for them, but that site did not work. I filled in the information three times and three times it went into limbo. Then I found USA.FAADroneZone.FAA.gov, sent in my $5, and received my Small UAS Certificate of Registration. I am not sure if it covers both of my drones, perhaps the public safety UAS guru can help me here. In the meantime, I am looking for a simulator I can run on my Windows PC. There are many out there but most cost more than my drones (several cost more than one drone). If anyone knows of a good simulator for UAS flight, please let me know.
I am reading more and more about how UAVs are being used in the public safety community. Some are used as advance scouts, some carry water, and some are outfitted with radio packages. Many carry cameras for aerial views of incidents, lifeguards use them to drop life vests, and the EMS community has found a variety of uses for them. The availability of UAVs will continue to challenge the imagination and revamp public safety responses and activities. It is surprising, or perhaps not, how fast UAVs have “taken off,” so to speak. I hope to see some at APCO but if not, I’m sure there will be a number of UAVs on display at the IACP show later in the year.
Until Next Week
Andrew M. Seybold
©2019, Andrew Seybold, Inc.
Hamilton NG911 Joins iCERT
Hamilton NG911 Joins iCERT
Dedicated to providing technological advancements in the emergency services industry, Hamilton NG911 has been involved with and presented to numerous government and industry organizations. The company has collaborated with standards organizations in developing industrywide standards for next-generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) operations.
“We are pleased to join iCERT and are proud to align with their commitment to affecting policy and achieving widespread customer accessibility for emergency services,” said Toni Dunne, national account manager of Hamilton NG911. “Hamilton NG911 is committed to industrywide collaboration and education, which we believe is paramount to realizing the breadth of possibilities that NG 9-1-1 service brings.”
Since its founding in 2005, iCERT remains the exclusive provider-only trade association championing commercial response technology organizations.
“Each iCERT board member offers unique technology capabilities to advance public safety, just like Hamilton NG911,” said Kim Robert Scovill, iCERT executive director. “We look forward to Hamilton NG911’s leadership in our mission to advocate for more new funding and introduction of the newest and best technologies in the public-safety sector for first responders and the public.”
Hamilton NG911 provides NG 9-1-1 core services using a robust infrastructure and experience in mission-critical IT service and support solutions.
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One Hood at A Time
FirstNet Built with AT&T, is pitching in too
By Christopher Vondracek
Hoods For Heroes (HFH), a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Northeast Florida,was launched to bring new chemical-resistant protective hooding to firefighters. Studies show nearly one third of firefighters contract cancer, whether skin, thyroid, or testicular, during their lifetime due to smoke absorption. This was too high for one of the nonprofit’s founders, Jeff Rountree, who has a background in high-risk insurance. “With these higher risks [of cancer], Hoods For Heroes is trying to do our part to make sure these folks have the right equipment,” said Rountree, in a company video. “It’s truly unacceptable.”
Now AT&T’s FirstNet family is joining up with Hoods For Heroes to ensure their campaign is successful. Earlier this year, FirstNet Built with AT&T helped organize a fundraiser in Ocala, Florida to raise money to donate to Hoods For Heroes. “Different organizations have charities they work with, but one of the things for my team is that this is an organization that is taking more of a preventative approach,” said Nicki Auth, FirstNet Field Marketing Manager, with AT&T. It also aligns with AT&T’s longstanding commitment to public safety and finding new ways to enable public safety communication.”
Most firefighters wear the standard Nomex hoods under their helmets that are made of terry cloth. Studies show that when wet these terry cloth hoods can absorb cancer-causing toxins through the thinnest skin on a firefighter’s body, the head and neck, which puts them at a greater risk of developing cancer. According to reporting in The Atlantic, part of the problem comes from household plastics for cleaning and in modern furniture.
“For the longest time, we wore the Nomex hoods. The Nomex hoods allowed the smoke to penetrate the hoods and get on our neck,” said Bill Banks, at the Ocala event. “When our skin temperature rises five degrees, our body temperature absorbs 400-times more.” Particulate blocking hoods are comprised of strong fibers that shield the head and neck. However, there is one drawback. “They are very expensive, as you can imagine,” said Emily Tanzler, a radiation oncologist with Cancer Specialists of North Florida. Roughly 70% of firefighters are volunteers and assisting with prohibitive costs is very beneficial. Nomex hoods can cost $10 to $25 whereas chemical hoods can run as high as $180 per hood but reduce exposure above the neck by 99%.
The organization has already provided $40,000 worth (or 330 hoods) to firefighters in St. John’s County, Florida in December. Donations have also been made to personnel in Clay County, Florida. Hoods For Heroes says it wants to raise enough funds to provide every firefighter in America with at least one protective hood. “There is a huge demand out there for these protective hoods,” said Auth.
More information on the organization or upcoming fundraisers can be found at hoodsforheroes.org or at the nonprofit’s website, https://www.facebook.com/HoodsforHeroes.
Christopher Vondracek is a freelance journalist living in Washington D.C., most recently with Courthouse News.
