Public Safety Advocate: No Noise Task Force, FirstNet-Certified PTT, NG911

We will start this?Advocate?with an introduction to the “No Noise Task Force” (NNTF), which operates under the auspices of the Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC). The NNTF will be investigating in-building communications, primarily for the public-safety community, but also for all of us who need to communicate while inside buildings. Then we will look at eight approved vendors for Push-To-Talk (PTT) over FirstNet and give a nod to Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911).

The Need for In-Building Wireless Communications

Over several decades, organizations, companies, people, and first responders have transformed the way we communicate. Today, we have robust fixed and wireless broadband systems, most of our smartphones and tablets are connected wirelessly, and 80% of all calls received by Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) are delivered through wireless devices and networks.

While efforts worldwide are focused on extending broadband capabilities out to areas where they are not yet available, as we become a more mobile society, there is an increasing need to be able to communicate while inside buildings. Read the entire column here .