Interoperability Magazine Articles

The bigger picture (with related video)

By Donny Jackson (donald.jackson@penton.com)

The transportation sector believes it plays a vital role in public safety and should be allowed to use the fledgling nationwide broadband network for first responders. Just as important, the sector has much in the way of embedded assets that can be leveraged to bring this network to reality and fund its operation. ...

Interdependence Day

By Donny Jackson (donald.jackson@penton.com)

When broadband communications finally come to the public-safety sector, many agencies will be forced to operate — and collaborate — in ways that will seem quite foreign at first. But ultimately it will help them navigate to an exciting new frontier....

Interoperability made easy

By Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E., and Christopher Dalton

The national tactical channels are available to most under a blanket license....

United we stand (with related video)

By Bart R. Johnson

How engagement between the federal government and a nationwide network of state and major urban area fusion centers enhances America's homeland security....

Triumph rises from tragedy

An Urgent Communications staff report

Sept. 11, 2001, will be remembered forevermore as one of the darkest days in U.S. history, when terrorists launched a well-orchestrated attack that killed nearly 3,000 civilians, first responders and military personnel. It also will be identified as the watershed event that forced public safety to take a hard look at its communications capabilities and make substantial improvements to them, a journey that ultimately may lead to the Promised Land: a nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to first responders....

Looking beyond the network

By Joe Ross and Rick Burke

Deciding to use LTE is helpful, but true 700 MHz public-safety broadband network interoperability also will require considerable work at the application level....

All for one, one for all

By William Brownlow

A tabletop exercise demonstrates the importance of pre-planning and better communications between agencies — before and after a disaster strikes....

A wander-ful solution

By Maria Palamara and Wim Brouwer

Long-Term Evolution technology will enable nationwide roaming, which is the key to widespread interoperability....

We hear you

By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)

As federally funded researchers continue to test digital radio technologies, manufacturers bring to market new and improved models, based in large part on user input, that perform better on the fireground — but there's work still to do....

Nothing to it

By Kevin Parra

When planning its backup communications solution, Lifespan — the state of Rhode Island's first health system — realized that a highly portable system would provide more value to the community....

Lighter load, heavier return

By Donny Jackson (donald.jackson@penton.com)

Big cities and small towns alike are discovering that when multiple agencies pool their resources to deploy and operate broadband data networks, not only are communications enhanced, but also the bottom line....