Wireless Public Safety Infrastructure

Wireless connectivity has emerged as a vital public infrastructure just as important as the leased landline networks, roads, bridges, water systems. During the industrial age we saw trains, planes and automobiles change the way we work and live. Today during the information age many new technologies have changed the way we live as well and how public safety personnel respond to, and react to security concerns, threats, and incidents as they happen. As cities across the country explore building city wide WiFi or Wireless Broadband Networks to blanket their particular areas, many are watching how these initial deployments. According the MuniWireless.com there are over 300 cities and towns across the US who either have Muni Wireless RFP’s on the street or in the process of deploying systems.

Smart Valley is probably the largest government led Muni WiFi effort underway to date. Collectively Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network (JVSVN) and the San Mateo County Telecom Authority (SAMCAT) seeks to build a 1500 sq mile high speed wireless data network that would cover the entire Silicon Valley. If there is a place that could honestly do this I believe Silicon Valley would be the place that could. Digital Communities (www.govtech.net) did a survey of State and Local governments and found that 61 percent of the respondents believed that public safety is the area where wireless technology is most likely to deliver the greatest value.

Nationally first responders increasingly use wireless to enhance safety and increase productivity. The benefits of having wireless access in the field are obvious. The major obstacle and challenge is finding the funding to purchase the needed equipment to build out the wireless system. Over the past year it has matured a little, but for the most part the Muni WiFi space is still in its infancy.

Basically there are several ways a city can successfully deploy a wireless broadband system. One way is to have a WISP/ISP build own or operate the network and try to generate revenue, but this has a very challenging ROI business model. Cities can partner with a WISP/ISP and share the revenue/costs, which is much more attractive to the municipalities, and according the EarthLink is their preferred way of doing business with their new Municipal Networks Business. Another way is for the local governments build their own private network. Most of the Muni Wireless systems are deployed for public net access for citizens. I believe that a separate infrastructure should be deployed for mission critical public safety personnel who do not share the same network with the general public.