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First Responders Radio Communications Interoperability Roads - Assessment of Technologies and Markets for First Responders Radio Communications
PracTel Inc, Dec 2006
This report is about technologies and markets for public safety communications radio (PSCR). Public safety system is a generic term, which combines various means of communications used by law enforcement, first responders and other similar agencies. They may include paging systems, two-way mobile relay systems, short messaging systems and many others. This report is dealing with public safety communications systems interoperability, which is the major issue in their proliferation.
Almost all developing countries have multiple security agencies, equipped with diverse radios; this is especially true for the U.S., with literally thousands of federal, state and local security and emergency agencies. Besides many other problems, it was found that the biggest one is that these agencies and their staff cannot communicate effectively due to incompatible techniques used.
One of the biggest impediments to wireless communications interoperability is the incompatibility of public safety radio systems and equipment utilizing different proprietary technology. The need for compatible radios became apparent in the 1980s as manufacturers began offering improvements to the functionality and efficiency of their analog radio systems. Better, more secure systems emerged, but each manufacturer used unique protocols to provide these enhancements.
The only practical solution is to link radio systems together but the manner in which radio systems are linked will depend on the unique variables within the regions such as existing communication infrastructures, population density and topography.
This report evaluates several solutions to achieve public safety system compatibility. They include:
- Standard design – Project 25 and TETRA
- Interoperability through conversion voice, data and video to homogenous IP traffic
- Interoperability through SW platforms, including Software Designed Radio
- Interoperability through the use of Mesh Networks
- Others, which may include linking systems together through cross-band repeaters that can connect, for example, an 800 MHz site with a VHF or another UHF one.
There are no clearly defined boundaries among these solutions. They can work together, complementing each other, or each of them can produce desirable results separately. They are in various stages of commercialization, and have their own benefits and issues.
Target Audience
This report is important for the government agencies involved in the first response to critical situations. It is necessary for technical departments of such agencies to have a document, which in simple language explains radio technology and architectures of networks supporting public safety radios. They also need to have a picture of the market with the major players and their portfolios to select the right equipment.
For vendors of the first response technology, this report provides valuable information on competition. It also supports these vendors with the market assessment.
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