A survey conducted in Pinellas County, FL by AT&T showed that more than 60% of police officers are using their commercial broadband devices (smart phones, tablets, laptops), to supplement the shortcomings of their agency-issued communications devices.
This information was provided by Pam Montanari, radio and data-systems manager for Pinellas County, during the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference in Chicago. Those who doubt the need of the proposed 700 MHz LTE network for Public Safety often criticize the plan by questioning whether officers will actually use wireless broadband technology regularly.
Of the 60%, 84% say they use these devices daily, 20% say they use these devices in critical situations. Regulations often prohibit the use of personal devices while on duty, but it seems the operations benefit outweighs the risk of reprimand for most first responders.
"Some of the most compelling uses of broadband cited by officers were 3D views of floor plans, GIS information, and a host of web applications that can accelerate the identification process and provide valuable evidence, according to the survey," writes Donny Jackson.
A trial is running this week in Pinellas County of these applications on Alcatel-Lucent's hosted LTE core. Montanari notes that the trial does not indicate that the county has chosen its LTE vendor yet, but clearly it is one more agency that is gearing up for utilizing next generation technologies.
Read more at Urgent Communications.
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