Friday fragments — critical comms snippets for 23 October 2015

Critical communications and public safety radio snippets for Friday, 23 October 2015.

IoT spectrum on WRC agenda. At the World Radiocommunications Conference in Geneva in November, discussion will take place on options to provide 700 MHz band spectrum for broadband public safety and disaster relief (PPDR) and Internet of Things usage. The European Commission has ruled that member states must put aside enough spectrum to enable PDPR agencies to roam across borders within the region.

FirstNet encourages satellite. FirstNet President TJ Kennedy has said he would like to see satellite providers playing a role in the network’s function. “The satellite capabilities that I used for public safety 20 years ago have changed a lot, so I think there are some unique opportunities for satellite companies to be joining all teams to provide different kinds of capabilities. I would encourage them to participate,” Kennedy said in a recent conference call. Meanwhile, FirstNet’s acting CTO, Jeff Bratcher, has said he “would love” iPhones to become compatible with the network.

Tennessee completes P25 network. A US$120 million Motorola ASTRO P25 system is now fully up and running across the US state of Tennessee. Among its users are the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. “During the horrific active shooter incident last July in Chattanooga, emergency officials from numerous public safety agencies responding to the various scenes were able to clearly and immediately communicate with one another,” Colonel Trott said. “This allowed the THP command staff to monitor the situation from Nashville and quickly deploy the necessary resources needed in Chattanooga. I believe the real-time communication contributed to the swift response of first responders and possibly saved countless lives.”

Emergency radios for schools. Fifty-four schools in Toledo in the US have been equipped with special radio systems that enable staff to push a silent alarm button and have their voices automatically picked up by a hidden microphone. The units cost US$2000 and were funded by a federal government grant.