On a timeline of public safety innovation and advancements, 2012 will be marked as a blockbuster year. The creation of the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) and forward movement in next-generation 911 (NG911) marked a 180-degree turn from just a few years ago. And it's about time.
December 24, 2012
Technology companies can no longer take a proprietary view that shies away from open architecture and cross-platform partnerships. In our multidimensional and complex world, partnerships offer cost-efficient, workable solutions for public safety.
November 19, 2012
FirstNet (the First Responder Network Authority) will oversee the building and operation of the new nationwide public safety broadband network. The board as a whole can't allow the politics of business and Congress to shape a system with limited capabilities and limited competition.
October 8, 2012
Many of us now carry smartphones, laptops, and tablet computers with us everywhere, making our preferred mode of reporting an emergency—by cell, text, photo or video—incompatible with the current system. For example, when callers dial 911 from their smartphone, that telephone number no longer equates to a fixed location.
August 22, 2012
When this LTE (Long Term Evolution) system hits the streets for public safety, we'll see dramatic and immediate changes. For example, a sheriff might share a video of an escaping criminal and use predictive solutions to determine where he's headed, then send squad cars to that site to quickly apprehend him.
May 4, 2012
The UCLA Public Safety Network Systems Laboratory is dedicated to advancing public safety through a focus on the development of networks and operations technologies, analysis of LTE technologies, adoption of devices such as smartphones, and establishment of standards for interoperable network systems.
February 3, 2012
Public safety officials are increasingly aware of the disconnect between technology that's available to the average consumer and technology that's available to first responders. Many lawmakers are listening and stepping up to help public safety get the wireless network and technology it needs.
September 30, 2011
Regardless of the finer details, the fact remains that Americans and public safety agencies have waited far too long for an interoperable public safety broadband network. Now — not next year or the one after — is the time for Congress to lay aside differences and stand behind the more than 2 million first responders who serve this country.
July 1, 2011
As LTE begins to be deployed in 2011, according to industry leaders, patrol officers will have access to data and video in vehicles and on hand-held devices. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the convergence of cellular applications and devices with current antiquated police radio systems has begun.
July 14, 2010