Safer Buildings Coalition Announces Board of Directors

Posted on September 6, 2016. 

This week the Safer Buildings Coalition has announced the election of its Board of Directors. Each member of the Board has agreed to continue to uphold and further the mission of the Safer Buildings Coalition. The SBC Board of Directors is led by Jeff Hipchen, national leader of enterprise wireless solutions and Executive Vice President at RF Connect.

FirstNet Announces Eight Grant Awards For Public Safety Entities

Posted on August 26, 2016.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced on August 18th the funding of eight awards for its Band 14 Incumbent Spectrum Relocation Grant Program (Band 14 Program). This program provides financial assistance to eligible public safety entities for relocating their existing radios and systems from Band 14 in advance of the deployment and operation of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN).

Member Feature | ERRCS Design and Installation In-building With Wireless Applications Consulting

Posted on August 12, 2016. 

The ability for first responsders and the public to communicate in-building is critical, especially on college campuses.  This week we are excited to highlight one of our small business members – Wireless Applications Consulting (WAC).  The team at WAC provides nearly 20 years of experience in public safety radio communications to venues all along the West Coast (Broadwave Wireless, Inc. is the name of its southern west-coast branch). 

Member Feature | SOLiD Ensures In-Building Wireless Communications Coverage at Republican & Democratic National Conventions

Posted on August 4, 2016. 

As an organization that advocates for in-building wireless  communications coverage – especially coverage for public safety – it is important that our members align with that mission. With that being said, we are proud to feature one of our member companies, SOLiD – a leader in wireless infrastructure – and the work they did in efforts to keep attendees connected and covered during both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this past month.

Code Update | Florida In-Building Fire Code

Posted on July 22, 2016. 

With threats to public safety amplified by recent events locally and abroad, the importance of staying focused on moving the needle forward for instituting in-building communication platforms cannot be overstated.

FirstNet Bid Update – Marching Forward

Posted on July 7, 2016. 

The window for bidding in the First Responder Network Authority’s request for proposals has closed, evaluations are underway and a contract is expected to be awarded by early November if all goes as hoped. The brain-storming phase of the planned nationwide network is morphing into the doing phase, and FirstNet officials are warning that the next 18 months will be a whirlwind of activity and decisions.

SBC Annual Meeting Recap

Posted on June 30, 2016. 

Last week marked the first of many successful Annual Meetings for the Safer Buildings Coalition. Representatives from several of our member organizations, as well as prospective members, gathered on the beautiful campus of Texas Christian University to discuss past, present, and future goals for improving in-building wireless communications.

Announcement | Safer Buildings Coalition Annual Meeting 2016

Posted on June 3, 2016.

The Safer Buildings Coalition is pleased to announce details for our 2016 Annual Meeting.   The meeting will be held before DASPedia’s In-Building Wireless Technology Seminar + Networking event coming up on June 22. Attendees can expect to receive an update on the code development process from Executive Director, Chief Alan Perdue (Ret.), as well as learn about new coalition initiatives from Safer Buildings Coalition’s Founder, Seth Buechley. 

In-Building Public Safety Vertical Location Technologies May Solve Large Building Communication Problems

Posted on May 26, 2016. 

Large buildings pose special challenges for public safety communications for two main reasons: Cell signals can have a tough time penetrating walls, and traditional navigation technologies do not provide vertical location information, a.k.a. z-axis data. Several government bodies, including the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), are in a hurry to fix those problems.

How FirstNet Will Affect Public Safety

Posted on May 12, 2016.

The First Responder Network Authority – FirstNet – was brought to life by an act of Congress in 2012 with the goal of building a nationwide wireless broadband network for as many as 13 million public safety personnel.

How FirstNet Will Affect Public Safety

Posted on May 12, 2016.

The First Responder Network Authority – FirstNet – was brought to life by an act of Congress in 2012 with the goal of building a nationwide wireless broadband network for as many as 13 million public safety personnel. Those behind the initiative foresee an interoperable communications network for firefighters, police officers and paramedics across the country, all benefiting from state-of-the-art technologies, location information, specialized devices and access to the right data at the right time.

PHOTO COURTESY: New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (NYS DHSES, psbb.ny.gov)

It is a bold vision. But visions don’t fight fires, combat crime or provide emergency medical services, and so it should come as no surprise that the word is still trickling out to many of those on the front lines of public safety.

“There are a lot of benefits to FirstNet, and it’s hard to envision them until you can touch them,” said Harlin McEwen, chairman of the FirstNet Public Safety Advisory Committee and retired police chief of Ithaca, N.Y. Among its many advantages, the network will be more secure and more reliable than commercial networks, and it will reach areas considered unprofitable by commercial carriers.

Public safety personnel will have priority access to the network, which means they will be able to transmit data, video, images and text even during catastrophes when the commercial networks tend to get over-loaded. Initially, the network will supplement public safety’s dedicated land mobile radio networks used for voice communications, but eventually it is expected to carry mission-critical voice calls as well.

FirstNet users will have dedicated access to new broadband capabilities while reaping the benefits of consumer-driven technologies – lower costs and rapid evolution – because the network will be based on the commercial standard for Long Term Evolution (LTE) service. It will enable emergency responders to exchange real-time data and video feeds from the site of a fire, medical emergency or crime in progress, improving their situational awareness. More accurate location-based services are also expected on the FirstNet network so that responders inside buildings can be tracked whether they are on the 18th floor of a high-rise or in a subway.

“When you think about what capability a teenager has with a smartphone, first responders don’t have even that same capability with their devices in buildings,” said Alan Purdue, retired director of Emergency Services in Guilford County, N.C. and executive director of the Safer Buildings Coalition. “Right now I can take my phone, hit the Uber app, request a ride and it knows where I’m at. The driver arrives and takes me to my destination. But if I’m a firefighter with a crew inside a building, I don’t have the capability to pinpoint where they are.”

FirstNet is an independent entity within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce. Its board of directors includes the U.S. attorney general, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and 12 members appointed by the secretary of the Commerce Department. Congress authorized $7 billion in funding and 200 Mhz of spectrum for the network. The group released a request for proposal in January, and it hopes to award a 25-year contract to a commercial partner in November.

A wide range of public safety applications and enhanced devices are also part of the FirstNet plan. The devices need to be rugged, secure and convenient, and they must account for all the gear first responders wear and carry, including heavy gloves. What’s more, they need to be easy to administer.

The one thing nobody promised about the FirstNet vision is that it would be quick or easy to implement.

“This is a very complex and challenging project,” Chief McEwen said. “You have to convince people that what is happening will help them. That’s difficult to do when you’re talking about something that’s not in place. The people in public safety who have been intimately involved would tell you that FirstNet is taking on a very positive role, and it looks better every day.”

By Caron Carlson – Safer Buildings Coalition Contributor 

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