Chicomm Blog

Body cameras for first responders and security personnel are being implemented nationwide and are increasingly becoming legally mandated, even as they remain controversial. 

In Illinois, all law enforcement agents are now required to wear body cams, a law police departments must follow by 2025.

If you're a transportation manager, you know one unfortunate truth. Accidents happen. More often than not, it’s not the fault of your drivers, but it does cause potential liability, and headaches, especially when it becomes a “their word over yours” situation.

The best thing you can do in those situations is to protect your team and company by making sure that any accidents can be explained with video evidence that can be used to respond to any accusations while protecting your drivers.

Every year, it seems that the communications needs of companies and organizations evolve. Sure, the general needs are fairly consistent - reliable and secure communication, ensuring the safety of students/guests/patients, etc. - but goals evolve, and so do challenges.

This post is a quick look at four of the most common communications challenges that organizations across the country encounter on a daily basis. These aren’t industry-specific, as they relate on some level to multiple industries. For more information on how your organization can overcome these challenges, you can download our free eBook, the Wireless Communication Survival Guide.

Here are four of the most common communication challenges:

In these inflationary times, everyone has to keep an eye on budget costs. 

But when it comes to communications needs, it’s both wise and cost-effective to consider the added services and benefits offered by your communication technology partner. 

What are some of those added services and benefits?

It goes without saying that safety is a top-tier concern for businesses and organizations. With new federal and state mandates to have robust and secure commercial safety plans in place, safety has become a renewed priority. Hospitals, schools, industry, and manufacturing are all looking for products and technological solutions to support and service their safety plans.

Two-way digital radios provide instant, secure, and high-performing communication that helps increase productivity, improve resolution time, enhance safety, and protect workers. In addition, devices' long life and durability reduce costly repairs and downtime, but they still need servicing and maintenance. 

You’re an IT or system administrator in, say, healthcare, business, hospitality, or education. You have a good two-way radio system, and everything seems to be going okay, but you want to do your due diligence. You want to check how well your system is operating before anything goes wrong. To understand how it’s being used and where the choke points might be. You want data—and the ability to analyze and use that information to maintain and improve your radio system.

I can't tell you how many times I’ve heard from a customer, "My police radio system sounds bad," only to find that their radios are not set up correctly.

Not having the right setup and/or not using two-way radios properly will lead to all kinds of performance issues, even if you have the latest emergency communications equipment. This can impact everything from routine conversations to emergency communications and disaster response. Before you call to have your radios or systems serviced, it’s worth the time to try a few troubleshooting tips first.

The simplicity of the solutions here may surprise you, so keep reading for my answer to why your police radio system sounds so bad. Hint: It’s probably not the radio.

Tight budgets and funding challenges are a reality for most businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and public safety organizations.

FirstNet was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to be a force-multiplier for first responders – to give public safety 21st century communication tools to help save lives, solve crimes and keep our communities and emergency responders safe.

FirstNet is a nationwide wireless broadband network for first responders deployed through a public-private partnership between the federal government and AT&T.

FirstNet offers public safety a communications network built to their operational and technical needs — a new Band Class 14 network designed to be reliable, functional, safe and secure, and provide optimal levels of operational capability at all times. In other words, a dedicated ‘fast lane’ for public safety communications. 

First responders across the country – police, fire, EMS – are benefiting from the technological advances of FirstNet, and here’s a closer look at the benefits and possibilities.