Changes in public-safety communications are happening quickly—and acceleration is likely in the forecast
There are potential pitfalls that would prevent some of this from happening, at least within the timetable contemplated. Topping that list is getting a bid that works for FirstNet. Public-safety representatives remember that there was a lot of anticipation for the D Block auction in early 2008, but no one submitted a qualifying bid. My hunch is that this is a much more realistic proposition, but it’s hard to know for certain.
Otherwise, the biggest potential issue may be implementing measures that ensure that the appropriate people have access to the information they need to perform their first-responder duties when and where they need it—and that public-safety networks and sensitive data cannot be accessed or compromised by unauthorized users.
This issue can be approached from various angles and referenced with different monikers—privacy, cybersecurity, authentication and resiliency are among the most popular—but developing systems that can be trusted is critical. Without such trust, the evolution will slow to a crawl, if not stop completely.
However, for all of the changes mentioned above, one thing that remains true is the need for reliable communications for public-safety, critical infrastructure and enterprises remains great. In fact, the need is greater than ever, and the scope continues to expand, as wireless communications increasingly evolve from “nice to have” luxuries to “this has to work” technologies that support core functions.
In other words, while technology evolves, players change and roles are redefined, there should be little question that the future is bright for mission-critical and business-critical communications. The industry may look very different in the next several years than it does today, but there is no doubt that enormous opportunities are on the horizon.