We thought we’d round up some of the top highlights this week in the Communication world and give them to you in one place. Check out some buzz worthy stories happening in the wireless communication and public safety world!

1) Google Glass & Public Safety- Google Glass is a wearable technology (like a pair of glasses) with a head mounted display that would relay information to the officer’s line of sight, replicating a computer monitor. This would reduce the time an officer spends on having to radio in information, while waiting to obtain an answer. NYPD seems to be the first one to test this new technology, and you can read about it on PublicCEO.

We thought we’d round up some of the top highlights this week in the Communication world and give them to you in one place. Check out some buzz worthy stories happening in the wireless communication and public safety world!

1) P25 (Project 25) Communication equipment- These are the set of standards used for federal, state, and local police departments set forth by APCO.  It ensures interoperability between these levels in terms of radio communication to enhance timeliness, effectiveness, and coordination during emergencies. Why is this important? FEMA opened applications for Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) on the 18^th, which is only available for “the acquisition of P25 compliant equipment.” 

Well 2013 is finally over. For some of you it was a good year, for the radio business it was a slow year. Coming off of the FCC’s Narrowbanding Mandate and all the radios sold in 2012 made us really look at our business and determine to focus on Service! Many of the police and fire departments are in limbo this year as Grants and Funding have not been as plentiful in the past years. In addition, with the FCC putting a freeze on the 470Mhz band, many police departments are sitting on their hands waiting for a direction from the FCC; that means slow radio sales.

The good news for some of you is that you are keeping your radios an extra year or two (maybe three). Your budgets are being spent on maintaining your existing equipment, whether a service contract for a 24 hour response or just routine maintenance. It is prolonging the inevitable. Technology is changing, but service teams, like Chicago Communications, are equipped with the latest in technology to meet whatever challenge is thrown towards us. From basic analog radio systems to the most advanced P25 Public Safety systems we can monitor and respond to service outages in any required timeframe you need. We can consult on your equipment with our contracts department to see whether it makes sense to put your equipment on a contract or actively seek replacement because of age or parts issues.

It’s crazy to think that in about 2 weeks we will be kissing 2013 goodbye and welcoming in 2014 with open arms. One great thing about the end of the year is all of the sales and specials … even for your two way communication needs!

With so many different deals in place, it’s hard to keep track what will be ending when the clock strikes midnight on the 31^st.

Here’s a checklist from Chicago Communications to make sure you get the most out of your communication purchases through 2013!

I would like to take this time for the customary Tech Talk to notify users of the 470Mhz frequency band of interference we have been receiving over the last 6 weeks. Users along the North Shore of Illinois operating on specific 470Mhz channels have been getting hit with co-channel or On Frequency interference. What that means to you is specific direct interference on your frequency will result in lost coverage and excessive noise coming across your frequency.

We’ve been taught ever since childhood to dial 911 when we encounter a problem concerning the law, health, or safety. As natural as this may feel to us in a time of need, there is actually protocol into whether or not to call 911 vs. the general police/safety numbers.

Now of course, incidents that put someone’s life, safety, health, or property in immediate danger without hesitation require a 911 call.

I’m speaking of those occurrences that may not be time sensitive, or requiring emergency services. Events that happened longer than 15 minutes prior, (that do not involve an injury and suspects are not present at the scene) do not require an immediate 911 dial. Instead, contact the local authorities via their general phone number. If you don’t know your local non-emergency line, dial 411 to be connected or click on the link below. If you live in Chicago, dial 311 for non-emergency events.

A Day in the life of a Police Officer

Day Shift 6am-6pm: “You just never know what to expect”

I had the privilege of riding first with Officer Higens. She's 1 of the 6 women working on the 113 member Bolingbrook PD. She works day shifts so her typical week is two 12 hour days  working from 6am-6pm, two days off. She’s the only female who works her shift besides her sergeant.

Once I pose with the police car for a couple pictures we’re off…around the corner to the back parking lot.  I didn’t join Ofc. Higens until 12:30 so she had already been on duty for 6 and half hours. At the beginning of the day shift, all officers report for role call at the station to go over which beat they’re covering for their shifts and anything pertinent that happened outside of their shifts or since they met last. After that officers are on their own to patrol their beats. By the way, the village is divided up into geographical areas called "beats" and each officer is accountable for that area during their shift. We’ll be covering Beat 5 today. 

Everything You Need to Consider About Consolidating PSAPs

     A few weeks ago I posed the question 'What are your thoughts on the consolidation of PSAPs?' to members of the 'Public Safety Professionals' group on Linkedin (to view/join the group you must have a LinkedIn account). In return I got some very valuable input from members who were scattered all over the country. The feedback was as diverse as the many different cities it came from. I've condensed and summarized an assortment of the answers for you to view below that highlight some benefits and struggles that must be considered in the case that your region, county, or city wants to consolidate public safety answering points (PSAPs).

What Local Municipalities Need to Know about LTE & P25

      In a discussion I was having with one of my co-workers, I was asked about P25 (public safety's latest standard), LTE (long term evolution) and what it means to local public safety radio users. It made me think about our current radio system configurations, the abilities they have now and what is needed to get them to a higher level. Current systems used by our local governments operate analog two way radios, in essence, I talk and you listen. Similar to cellular phones in 1983, when a call was placed it was on one specific frequency. Effective, yet in our world today with ever increasing demands on information, it lends itself to being archaic. In addition with the limited frequency resources from the FCC we find adding any type of capacity to these legacy systems in a similar analog fashion is restricted by co-channel users on that frequency. Thus we are educating users on digital and what it will do for them.

Technologies in Next Generation Patrol Vehicles

Motorola Solutions has done more than 5 years of focused research, with hundreds of ride-a-longs, focus groups, simulations and usability studies to help understand the need for police cruisers to bring critical information together in an automatic and intuitive way. Research shows users want vehicle controls that are integrated and easy to use so that actions flow quickly and intuitively when responding to an incident.