Chicomm Blog

As emergency communications equipment has lagged behind consumer technology, everyone from global governments to telecom companies and cell phone manufacturers has been collaborating to bridge the gap, particularly when it comes to pinpointing emergency callers’ locations. In the UK, a new technology known as Advanced Mobile Location, or AML, is showing promise as a public safety game changer.

AML is the product of a collaboration between British Telecom, the European Emergency Number Association and handset maker HTC. In a case study of the project, officials said the new solution immediately improved location accuracy levels “by over 4,000 times” vs. the legacy systems.

No major capital investment from any of the stakeholders was required to launch AML, and its low cost and effectiveness give it the potential to join all the essentials that local governments need in their public safety budgets.

The trend of 911 dispatch center consolidation isn’t going anywhere, and in some places, consolidation is even becoming the law. The impact on cities and towns varies widely, with some municipalities singing the praises of joining forces and others dreading the potential costs and losses of jobs.

Whether you’re considering 911 dispatch center consolidation – or are mandated to undertake it by law – let’s take a look at some of the real and potential impacts to cities and towns.

Calvert County in southern Maryland has a dubious distinction: Its five-site, five-channel analog 800 megahertz (MHz) public safety system is the oldest of its kind in the entire state.

Constructed in the mid-1990s, the system no longer meets the needs of the public safety agencies that serve the county’s growing population of more than 90,000 people.

Officials knew they needed a state-of-the-art solution that would provide unparalleled reliability, interoperability and efficiency – both now and into the future.

We all know Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) is the future of public safety communications, and a diverse coalition of national 9-1-1 stakeholders is pushing to make that future a reality sooner rather than later.

There’s exciting technology news from Down Under: A newly announced pilot program in Australia by Motorola Solutions and Ericsson is looking to bring next-generation push-to-talk communications to mobile radios, starting with the quickly evolving public safety market. The project builds on the major role Motorola mobile radios and Ericsson communications technology have played in the communications marketplace.

The trial technology is a key to forging a way for traditional radio voice communications to integrate and expand via mobile broadband.

Ericsson and Motorola are working alongside Telstra, the leading telecom and information services company in Australia with nearly 17 million mobile subscribers. The trio is also collaborating on creating global standards for a solution that would meet the unique needs and requirements of public safety users.

In the world of public safety answering points (PSAPs), 911 communications professionals are considered the “first first responders.” They’re the first point of contact for 911 callers, they provide police, fire and other authorities with the information they need to help – and they do so while operating complex 911 telecommunications systems. So the qualifications for working in 911 communications cross over a number of different skill areas.

Having well-trained 911 staff with the right qualifications can literally mean the difference between life and death, and organizations around the country are working with the federal government to develop national training standards for dispatchers and supervisors.

While the specific requirements currently differ across states, municipalities and job functions, there are some universal job duties for working in 911 communications that all applicants should be able to perform.

Here, we’ll take a look at 3 of the top qualifications for working in 911 communications:

When an officer is in their vehicle, one of the most important things for them is to be able to stay updated and connected at all times. Unfortunately, for many departments, the in-vehicle experience is plagued with ever-changing signal strength, which can range from annoying to downright dangerous.

While this method does have some benefits (security, little user intervention needed, no dedicated hardware) it isn’t ideal for the modern police department, one that has officers equipped with multiple devices at all times. After all, laptops aren’t really designed to be routers, and using them as such can cause some major headaches - here’s why:

A decade ago, social media was largely thought of as something reserved for teenagers or college students. It was often regarded as silly or mindless (after all, how much do you really care that Steve bought a new shirt?) and wasn’t exactly high up on the list of technologies law enforcement would consider using.

Today, we know that those early ideas of social media are largely outdated. While millions of people still flock to Twitter or Facebook to share updates about their life, social networking is being used by thousands of law enforcement agencies across the country to better connect with the communities they serve. This can include posting live updates to a crime in progress (keeping citizens informed) or even showcasing the “behind the scenes” life of police officers (department transparency).

One of the latest social media technologies that is catching on is that of live video streaming. There are two main players in this market, Twitter’s Periscope and its rival, Meerkat. Using these smartphone applications, anyone can live stream video from their device and broadcast that video to anyone, anywhere in the world. This technology is quickly being adopted into the public safety sector, and for good reason, but as with any new technology, you always need to consider the pros and cons before fully adopting it into your strategy.

This past year has brought more attention to the technology and equipment that police officers use than ever before. With both public officials and the general population pushing for better technology, it is becoming a vital piece of any public safety strategy.

In response to this growth in demand, Motorola Solutions has launched a new body camera for police - the Si500 Video Speaker Microphone.

Is this new camera the right fit for you and your department? Read on to learn everything you need to know about the Si500!

If you had to choose a single profession or industry that relies on quality communication perhaps more than any other, you would be hard-pressed to select anything other than those in public safety or emergency medical services. That’s not to downplay how important communication is in industries like education or manufacturing (it is actually incredibly important), but police officers and EMS crews rely on communication to save lives.