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

Urgent Matters


Cybersecurity could be the biggest challenge for FirstNet, next-gen 911

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 25th August 2015
Industry engineers are making great progress developing IP-based solutions that address the myriad functionality needs of public safety and critical-infrastructure entities more efficiently. Whether they can develop solutions that also lower the risk of problems caused by software glitches and cyberattacks is a bigger question.

What is in this article?

  • Cybersecurity could be the biggest challenge for FirstNet, next-gen 911
  • Cybersecurity could be the biggest challenge for FirstNet, next-gen 911
  • Cybersecurity could be the biggest challenge for FirstNet, next-gen 911

Cybersecurity could be the biggest challenge for FirstNet, next-gen 911

It has been a very interesting past five months. During that time, I’ve been able to travel throughout the country, attending events showcasing the latest and greatest technologies that promise to deliver unprecedented capabilities that can bring the nation’s public-safety and critical-infrastructure communications systems into the 21st Century.

It has been a very educational ride, taking me to stops at the following events:

  • IWCE, where critical-infrastructure communications are featured;
  • Utilities Telecom Council (UTC), where utilities and vendors detail progress toward smart-grid architectures;
  • Unmanned Systems, where intriguing drone technologies take center stage;
  • Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Broadband Stakeholder Conference, where PSCR’s staff annually unveils the findings of its latest research about first-responder LTE and LMR;
  • Big Telecom Event, where advancements in commercial-carrier networks are showcased;
  • National Emergency Number Association (NENA), where progress toward next-generation 911 is a focus; and
  • Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), where attendees last week learned about the key technologies and issues facing public safety in key area like FirstNet and next-generation 911.

While the focus of each event is geared to a different audience, the fundamental building blocks at each show actually share a great deal of commonality.

Internet Protocol (IP) is pervasive throughout modern-day solutions, and ever-increasing computing power is available in smaller packages and at lower costs, so access points and sensors can be placed almost anywhere. Add in greater backhaul options, and broadband connectivity has become a realistic alternative in locations that once were deemed impractical to cover. Everything is better, faster and cheaper.

And the capabilities that new systems yield are nothing short of remarkable. Utilities can identify and address issues in their networks before they become problems that result in the light going out. Drones can be used to act as the ears and eyes of enterprises in hazardous locations, providing an efficient way to search for bodies in a disaster area or determine whether a piece of critical equipment—a piece of rail in a remote area or a radio antenna on a tall tower—has been damaged.

With next-generation 911 and FirstNet, public-safety personnel can leverage the power of interconnected data, location information and analytics to protect both emergency callers and the first responders trying to help them. And solutions continue to be developed that seem to answer key functionality issues for public safety.

For instance, there was a time when it seemed questionable whether LTE could be used in a mission-critical environment by first responders, because the 4G cellular technology originally was designed to work only when connectivity to an LTE evolved packet core (EPC)—big equipment with a massive price tag—was available.

Lose connectivity to the EPC, and that whiz-bang LTE device in your hand was of little use. Unlike LMR technologies, LTE did not provide graceful degradation to direct—or peer-to-peer—communications when all access to network infrastructure was unavailable. And, of course, commercial voice over LTE was only just being proposed, much less mission-critical push-to-talk capability.

All of these things are changing quickly. Voice over LTE is offered as a commercial service, and the audio-quality tests for HD Voice offerings are remarkably good. The standards body for LTE—3GPP—has established an entire working group solely to develop a standard for mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) functionality that works even when the device cannot connect to a network. That MCPTT should be finalized by this time next year.

1 | 2 | 3 |
Cybersecurity could be the biggest challenge for FirstNet, next-gen 911
Tags: APCO Commentary Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity FCC Funding IWCE NG-911 Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet Security Software Urgent Matters Commentary

Related Content

Commentary


Things to know about IWCE 2024: The basics 

5th December 2023

Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

  • 2
7th November 2023

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

13th October 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


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.