https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

content


Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project

Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project

Pinellas County, FL, shows how public safety agencies may benefit from future 700MHz wideband data capability. The county, a pioneer in mobile data applications, is participating in a 700MHz wideband data trial.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 29th August 2001

What is on your “wish list” for mobile data capabilities? Would it be the ability to send:

  • a picture or sketch of a missing child or criminal suspect?

  • surveillance video of robberies shortly after they occur?

  • building plans and hydrant locations to firefighting vehicles?

  • fingerprints?

  • live video feeds of police pursuits?

Or would you be interested in live videoconferencing between dispatchers and mobile units or the ability to conduct remote situation analysis?

For some, those are the most exciting applications for mobile data. Beyond that, wideband data can extend a public safety agency’s host computer applications to the field. It allows “roll calls” to be conducted without officers coming to the station house. It allows officers to conduct all the computer work in the field that they otherwise might have to conduct at the station. In short, it extends the time officers can spend on the street. (Pictured at the left: The 700MHz wideband link carries audio and video to and from the laptop.)

Wideband data supports email, including instant messages and attachments. It supports applications many agencies already have, including automatic vehicle location through GPS, computer-aided dispatch and access to national and state crime databases. (Pictured at the right: The Greenhouse map shows user vehicle locations.)

“Greenhouse is enabling users to do in the field what they previously could only do at their desks,” said Pam Montanari, Pinellas County’s radio systems manager.

Pinellas County is a peninsula bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on the west and Tampa Bay on the east, covering 280 square miles in Florida. The county’s population includes 921,482 permanent residents and 4,000,070 annual visitors.

The Greenhouse system is installed in selected Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office cruisers, a county EMS ambulance, the Largo Fire Department’s rescue truck, a deputy chief vehicle and a mobile unit. Users operate the system via a touch-screen, color display panel mounted in the vehicles. Each unit can communicate and share information with the other agencies. Specially equipped police and EMS dispatch positions support these units. (Pictured above: In a Pinellas County EMS ambulance, the Greenhouse display panel is mounted high on the dash in easy view.)

“Pinellas is always looking at ways to improve our efficiency. We don’t want to be the very leader, but we want to keep up for officers in the field. When we were presented with this opportunity, the county’s decision-makers gave us approval to participate because Greenhouse isn’t a product yet. We are looking at licensing these frequencies. I sit on the regional planning committee for the state,” Montanari said.

Montanari explained that, besides the improved mobile data capability, the county was considering 700MHz frequencies because “we see more and more interference in the 800MHz band. We’re chasing calls. Nextel is putting up more towers all the time, although we have a good relationship with them.”

Tropospheric ducting, a variable, natural atmospheric phenomenon that extends unwanted radio coverage by bending radio signals so they can travel well beyond the horizon, sometimes brings interference from Gulf Coast co-channel 800MHz users. Ducting is more common in coastal areas than inland. Switching to 700MHz would alleviate adjacent-channel and co-channel interference, at least until the new band begins to fill. (Pictured above, left: The Greenhouse console shows video from several field sources and a VCR.)

“Greenhouse” is the name Motorola gave to its trial to reflect that, just as new plants grow in a greenhouse, new mobile application ideas grow when a public safety agency is given the opportunity to use an expanded capability. (Pictured at the right: Field video allows a comparison of a shoe’s sole and a footprint.)

Pinellas County was selected for Greenhouse after a nationwide search. The county has a history as an early adopter of mobile data, including its sheriff department’s use of Kustom Electronics mobile data terminals as early as 1975.

Pinellas County also participates in the Public Safety National Coordination Committee. Montanari holds an office on the NCC’s Florida regional committee responsible for planning the state’s 700MHz public safety frequency allotments. David P. Byrum, a communications engineer with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, is a member of the NCC.

The FCC established the NCC to solicit advice from the public safety community about rules for governing the 700MHz public safety band, particularly in regard to interoperability.

Byrum said that the sheriff’s department wants to implement the mobile data; the county transportation authority is interested in intelligent transportation systems; and the county commission wants all agencies to work together. He said that Greenhouse ties everything together. (Pictured at left: A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office cruiser with wideband data equipment.)

“This comes at the right time for the Sheriff’s Office as we prepare to leave our third mobile data system,” Byrum said. “We’ve used it for full dispatch, car-to-car messaging and database inquiries since it arrived. We’re comfortable with it. But old technology can’t keep up with our needs. This project gives us an opportunity to meet our expectations. And we want the 700MHz wideband data standard to be set soon.”

At first, the county’s CAD system wouldn’t interface with Greenhouse, but then Byrum said that they realized the CAD system was IP-based. Loading the CAD application in the mobile computer turned it, in effect, into another call-taker position, wirelessly connected.

“All of a sudden, our officers had the entire resources of our CAD system at their fingertips,” he said.

Rich Baids, vice president of radio systems at Motorola, said that because the Pinellas County infrastructure already is advanced, “we could get Greenhouse up and operating in less than an hour. The IP architecture we’re executing on is critical for implementing and leveraging investments a customer already has. It’s critical for us to find innovative and influential users who direct how the 700MHz band will be used across the country.” Given Pinellas County’s NCC participation, he found one.

Baids added that the technology represented by Greenhouse has been proposed to the Telecommunications Industry Association as a wideband standard.

And what is the technology? Scalable adaptive modulation. The SAM air protocol is a native IP network, allowing end-to-end IP packet-based communications. Voice-over-IP has been implemented with an IMBE vocoder using H.323 protocol. Voice is full-duplex so users can both speak at the same time. Video over IP has been implemented using H.263 protocol. Quality of service capabilities are also used. Operating at 460kbps, Greenhouse is 48 times faster than the current U.S. public safety standard.

SAM works in a 50kHz, 100kHz or 150kHz channel. It can adjust its modulation (throughput) depending on a mobile unit’s distance from the radio tower. Greenhouse operates under an experimental FCC license for a 150kHz channel in the 700MHz band.

“Greenhouse grew our technology to fit customers’ ideas,” Baids said. “They’re coming up with applications we hadn’t thought of. Our eyes have been opened by Pinellas County and the creativity they’ve developed.”

The Greenhouse Project is a private digital radio system, which was first operational on Dec. 20, 2000. Product availability is contingent on FCC licensing and the completion of standards. For more information on the Greenhouse Project, visit www.motorola.com/greenhouse.

Pinellas County is hosting tours of the system. The tour dates are Sept. 5 and Oct. 4, 2001. Additional dates may be provided, as needed. For tour information, contact Tim Goodall of Motorola at 847-576-5186 or [email protected].

Tags: content

Most Recent


  • Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project
    Newscan: Securing the Internet of Things is quite a challenge
    Also: EWA requests dismissal of 900 MHz applications; TIA names tech and policy priorities for 2014; IJIS Institute names Shumate Award winner; App makes bus waits more tolerable; a Blackberry comeback may be in the offing.
  • Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project
    Newscan: FCC certifies Carlson Wireless's white-space radio
    Also: Congress looks to revamp telecom law; Obama to place some restraints on surveillance; IEEE to study spectrum-occupancy sensing for white-spaces broadband; Major Swedish transport operator opts for Sepura TETRA radios; RFMD to partner on $70 million next-generation power grid project; NENA opens registratiuon for "911 Goes to Washington."
  • Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project
    Newscan: A look at the critical job of 911 dispatchers
    Also: NYC launches website for tracking 911 response times; Oregon implements 911 on pre-paid cell phones; LightSquared wants to keep spectrum assets; Harris receives multiple government orders; FCC extends rebanding financial reconciliation deadline; Zetron gear at core of communications system upgrade; Ritron debuts wireless access control system; EWA seeks policy review of VHF vehicular repeater system deployments.
  • Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project
    Newscan: Average peak data rates of 144 MB/s average realized in tests with CAT 4 LTE device
    Also: Verizon, T-Mobile to swap unused spectrum to improve coverage; Internet giants oppose surveillance--but only when the government does it; FCC Chairman says incentive auction will be delayed until middle of 2015; FCC chair announces staff appointments; Alcatel-Lucent names Tim Krause as chief marketing officer; New Jersey county deploys TriTech CAD system; Toronto airport deploys 26-position Zetron console system;

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • RugGear: Contributing to the future of mission-critical broadband communication review and market vision
  • Photo gallery: 2014 Communications Marketing Conference (CMC) in Tucson
  • Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project
    Top 5 Stories - Week of Sept. 22
  • Mobile data ideas grow in ‘Greenhouse’ project
    RCA plans to expand this year's Technical Symposium

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

House members introduce $15 billion NG911 funding bill dlvr.it/SlS0Lr

25th March 2023
UrgentComm

ADRF: Sun Kim discusses company’s new hybrid in-building wireless solution dlvr.it/SlRtSQ

25th March 2023
UrgentComm

U.S. cell towers and small cells: By the numbers dlvr.it/SlRn6N

25th March 2023
UrgentComm

Verizon, NTT among service providers narrowing private 5G focus dlvr.it/SlQjJH

24th March 2023
UrgentComm

Report: Technology is encouraging unprecedented collaboration in local-government organizations dlvr.it/SlQZT1

24th March 2023
UrgentComm

Insurance challenges to partial-autonomous-vehicle safety dlvr.it/SlQTHS

24th March 2023
UrgentComm

Whatever happened to the Hyperloop? dlvr.it/SlQQTL

24th March 2023
UrgentComm

Siyata to showcase new PTT device with body camera during IWCE 2023 dlvr.it/SlL0mS

23rd March 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.