Establishing appropriate policies in-building wireless systems key to safety of citizens, first responders
When first-response efforts have gone awry, communications difficulties almost always are cited as a key contributing factor. This is understandable, because organizing any endeavor—from the construction of a sports arena to planning a family reunion—tends to happen more smoothly when strong lines of communications are open.
In short, a facility with good indoor wireless-communications coverage for consumers and public safety is inherently safer than those that lack this functionality. Without good indoor coverage, there likely will a delay in reporting an emergency situation and the response effort often is delayed, which can lead to increased property loss, injuries and fatalities.
This straightforward reality should be reflected in the laws and financial issues associated with buildings and other structures. Laws and insurance discounts have long been in place to require or encourage the installation of fire sprinklers—with good reason, because such systems can reduce property loss and save lives.
Given that indoor wireless coverage achieves similar goals in broader range of use cases—fire sprinklers will not help a victim of a heart attack or domestic violence—we should have similar requirements and incentives in place for in-building wireless systems for both consumers and public safety.
Building owners who make the commitment to provide this capability should be rewarded legally and financially for making their facilities safer. Those who do not provide in-building wireless coverage in their facilities should pay higher insurance rates and other costs, because their structures simply are not as safe as those with in-building coverage.
Not only are policies associated with in-building coverage important from a safety perspective, they have other implications, as well. With reliable indoor coverage and location capabilities, applications and businesses can be established that leverage this information. In addition, good in-building coverage helps keep customers happy, which is always good for business.
Meanwhile, if a network provider knows that in-building coverage is available in all facilities, it does not have to spend as much on outdoor macro towers, in hopes of having the radio signals from the towers penetrate the buildings to provide indoor coverage. In 2014, officials for Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) stated that FirstNet could reduce the number of outdoor sites needed for its much-anticipated public-safety broadband network by 14%, if it knew that indoor coverage was available in all buildings.
Exactly how this should be implemented is a matter that should be a topic of a healthy debate that needs to happen sooner, rather than later. Investments in wireless technologies continue to accelerate, and they can be done much more efficiently, if everyone understands the big-picture goals as soon as possible.
For instance, given the 911, lifeline and public-safety implications of in-building systems in the foreseeable future, my belief is that the core in-building wireless capability should be hardened from a power and physical standpoint for both consumers and public safety. However, various scenarios and costs factors need to be assessed before policies are set—different types of buildings may justify different approaches.
This is just one example of the nuanced technical and policy discussions that should occur in the coming months and years. But the important thing is that these conversations take place, so appropriate policies can be established that enable efficient deployment of technologies that will make both consumers and first responders safer in the future.
Addressing this in-building wireless issue is the right thing to do, and the timing is ideal. It should be considered an imperative.
This piece was written as a foreword to “The in-building wireless and public-safety Imperative,” a free eBook presented by SOLiD and Hutton. A copy of the eBook is available at http://www.solid.com/imperative.