About Those Advanced Public Safety Networks

There have been several public safety incidents that have grabbed headlines lately. When these things happen, I immediately think about a missing piece that  should be in place to make things better but is not.

Firstly a brief history of time.

In Europe and other places in the world (like just Asia, Middle East, South America), there has been a push to utilize a single standard for radio technology. It is Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) and is fairly widely deployed, executed fairly well and fundementally a good idea. The standards are shepherded by ETSI and are here. As a side note there is a consortium that has formed around TETRA and that is the TCCA. 

The TCCA (TETRA and Critical Communications Association), was established in December 1994 (known then as the TETRA MoU Association) to create a forum to act on behalf of all parties interested in TETRA technology, representing users, manufacturers, application providers, integrators, operators, test houses and telecom agencies.

In the US, since 1989 there has been Project 25, a trunked radio system specification. Project 25 is shepherded by TIA standardized as T102 and are here. The industry consortium around this standard is APCO.

APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide - and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.

Since 2010 there has been a mandate from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for public safety agencies to comply to the Project 25 requirements. It's working system with an efficient radio but lags TETRA in important features a bit...

By the way, a challenge Project 25 (P25) radio has vs TETRA is it's 5X more expensive but I suppose that's the nature of these types of things. 

Note: I'm not going to explain how we got here or why it is, that is a very long story for another time.

Practically speaking there are myriads of layers of radio networks operated by each local Fire, Police, etc... department and they are effective at their basic purpose. These vary in sophistication, capability and redundancy per location. 

...Which brings us to the problem...

In times of need, first responders and public safety agencies need to be able to globally and seamlessly distribute critical information and it needs to be super available at crisis time.

At first glance you may think this has been checked off- but digging deeper, the current state is a bit disappointing. 

Note: Don't worry, I'm not going to explain exactly how it all works here.

Since 2007, in the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated spectrum, and in 2012 refined it to the the 10MHz D block of 700MHz, for public safety use, and required they use LTE with it. Good job!

Why I think LTE is a great leap forward here.

1. Efficient use of spectrum resources that is capable of high data rates etc...
2. Commercially widely deployed so reduces the public cost factor accordingly. 
3. Creates opportunities to cross connect to commercial networks that facilitate more resiliency, new capabilities etc...
4. Has a core network structure that allows (begs?) integration into the real world. 
5. Commercial momentum provides a healthy future roadmap

Unfortunately it's 2016 and there have been 12 spectrum licenses granted to test this type of system. There are like 60,000 agencies in the US. Job is not done here!

What we're missing out on?

Today users are utilizing (mostly) mobile devices on LTE networks to post all kinds of critical, real time, information. The recent headlines all feature cell phone video and commentary that is essentially eyewitness reporting of the situation in real time. For example, a shooter is being recorded firing a gun from a structure. Many people can discover this information around the world in near real time yet there is no universal way to get this to a first responder today! They have to just use their cell phone on commercial networks (not reality) and see for themselves. 

My wish list for a public safety system:

1. Universal availability. Everywhere. All standards based (like LTE) for reasons above.
2. Enhanced resiliency so that communications are always enabled- not blocked based on situation/event.
3. Global information flow through. Integration such that video from any source including Facebook, Twitter, Periscope can be efficiently and immediately redirected to our first responders.
4. Data mining such that we can utilize all these sensors including phones, Internet of Things (IoT) to improve situational awareness.
5. 2 way communication, including point to point, such that people inside of a crisis can communicate to first responders or vice versa without delay or difficulty.
6. 'Usability as Free' connectivity for sensors that can be utilized in a crisis, such as smoke/fire detectors/thermostats, cameras etc...  Example here would be I would be willing to put a front door camera facing the road out, if I can connect to a free wireless network. I just need connectivity as I need it and first responders are welcome to share the stream with my permission/knowledge (even if after the fact)
7. Integration not only with mobiles in hand, but in vehicles too. It becomes much more compelling with vehicular integration. Cross agency information integration such as fire/police/medical would help with better responses too.
8. Total information awareness at a centralized point, such as the dispatch center. (Big ask, yes I know but possible.)

About Those Advanced Public Safety Networks

I feel like there have been several instances lately where first responders didn't have the situational awareness / information that they needed or I had via social media. I'm not suggesting that this will reduce crime but it would reduce uncertainty, may reduce errors, suffering and event duration.

Of course the devil is in the details but we seem a little slow to bear this tool to the problem. The framework is in place and the promise is great, we just need execution to make this all a reality. 

There have been lots of tests, talk and selling. Let's just get this done now.