Modern public-safety networks can support more than first responders

Imagine the need for public services in a large city of perhaps 1 million residents, and the broad range of functions government agencies perform. Such cities typically have several thousand employees in the public-safety arena alone, from police and fire departments, emergency management teams, search and rescue, SWAT teams, bomb squads, etc.

Add to that the reality that municipal governments are also responsible for waste-water management, delivery of social-welfare programs, sanitation, road maintenance and a host of more routine—but equally necessary—functions. They field small armies of administrative workers and field personnel to attend to these tasks.

The city government can capitalize on IP/MPLS’s virtual private networking (VPN) capability to fulfill each agency’s individual need without compromise. In this instance, the value and cost-saving benefits of these IP/MPLS networks becomes even more evident.

The adoption of IP-based communications also makes establishing connectivity among agencies and jurisdictions easier, facilitating seamless collaborations. For example, ad hoc connectivity between a city’s emergency center and a national disaster center can be established using inter-domain IP routing via a national IP backbone network.

Many public-safety agencies are migrating their communications networks from TDM to packet for the efficient support of mission-critical LMR/TETRA applications and the eventual adoption of LTE mobile broadband. Agencies should ensure that their transformation to converged communications includes an IP/MPLS network, because only IP/MPLS can provide the capability and reliability that is mandated by mission-critical services. This evolution frankly seems to be inevitable.

As executive director of critical industries at Alcatel-Lucent, Steve Jennings is a thought leader for the  development of next-generation communications systems. Prior to joining Alcatel-Lucent in January 2010, Steve was the Chief Information Officer for Harris County, Texas, the third-largest county in the United States.