Long-term evolution (LTE) is fast developing into an alternative for mission-critical communications in the public safety and order domain, according to senior VP and CTO at Motorola Solutions, Paul Steinberg.
Sharing his insights with ITWeb at Motorola Solutions' Critical Communications Conferences in Marina Sands Bay, Singapore, Steinberg noted that in the field of mobile communications, there is an interest in LTE technology in a variety of domains, and in the safety domain in particular.
"Firstly, the global market for this technology is developing, with positive effects on the costs and availability of equipment that meet the LTE standards," he said. "Also, the need for broadband mobile/wireless connectivity is increasing in a number of tasks and processes, especially in the safety domain. This is also stimulated by the 'bring your own device' trend."
In the past, according to Steinberg, the dedicated solutions used for mission-specific needs have often been purchased on the basis of a planned operation life cycle, typically longer than 10 years.
"An example of this in the safety domain is technologies that were developed in the 90s, and are still in place to this day," explains Steinberg. "Upgrading such systems is expensive. This gives rise to an increasing gap between the possibilities of existing operational systems in the professional sector, such as safety on the one hand, and the operational needs in terms of the communication support and what is currently available to the masses on the other."
Steinberg cites the US, stating that the region is very driven in the implementation of LTE technology in the safety domain.
"In the US, there is a great diversity in terms of operational mobile communication solutions for public safety, which leads to faulty interoperability between services and high exploitation and replacement expenses," says Steinberg. "One national mobile broadband network must remedy these problems and offer opportunities for future standard communication possibilities."
According to Steinberg, an additional spectrum has been appointed to the 700MHz frequency band on a federal level, and a budget of $7 billion has been allocated for the implementation of the network based on LTE.
"Already ongoing replacement trajectories in individual states on the basis of LTE will most likely be incorporated into this new national network."
Steinberg urges developing economies such as SA to realise that LTE is a data-orientated concept and the support of various communication services relevant to public safety and order is not trivial.
"Public safety and order services seek to flexibly respond to current developments in telecommunication and ICT in general, but at the same time attach great value to reliability of service providing, security of information and international interoperability," adds Steinberg. "Another factor that that plays a role with regard to the adoption of modern communication technology, such as smartphones and tablets, is the fact that functionalities are individuals in the society as well - to be able to operate fully in that society, direct access to social media is a must."
He added that emergency responders experience the added value of easy access to Internet sources in their free time. In practice, he explained, emergency responders often utilise these types of possibilities if they hold a supporting function in the task execution.
"In this way, the operational functioning becomes more and more dependent upon smooth iteration with and via the Internet."
Opting for separate networks in public order and safety is still optional; however, LTE does make it easier to share infrastructure with other users, and to roam to public networks, notes Steinberg, concluding that this can ultimately help limit costs and increase service levels.
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