operating on a single network nailed down.
"In the meantime, it's a great time to
use our energy to think about what we
want this to be and what innovations can
improve our street-level service. That's a
good way to be productive right now,
while we still have lead time."
"There are unknowns just because
it's so new, but we believe those will sort
themselves out," adds Patrick. "We're
moving forward and making progress,
and that's the exciting part about this: It's
bringing the future right to your hands—to
your hand-held device, to your ambulance,
to your rescue vehicle—and expanding it
everywhere. It's an amazingly positive
thing for emergency medical services." •
REFERENCES
1. Careless J. Public Safety Gets the D Block: What It Means for
EMS. EMS World, www.emsworld.com/article/10729222.
2. Seybold AM. Public Safety Advocate. Building the
Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, Part 1, http://
andrewseybold.com/3153-building-the-nationwide-publicsafety-broadband-network.
3. Seybold AM. Public Safety Advocate. Building the
Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, Part 2, http://
andrewseybold.com/3184-building-the-nationwide-publicsafety-broadband-network-2.
4. National Public Safety Telecommunications Council. Public
Safety Broadband High-Level Launch Requirements Statement
of Requirements for FirstNet Consideration, www.npstc.org/
statementOfRequirements.jsp.
Device Capabilities
Under FirstNet's vision, devices used
on the new public safety broadband
network must be capable of:
• Operating on the network;
• Fallback to LTE/3G on all four
commercial networks;
• Fallback to satellite when no LTE
network is available;
• GPS;
• Bluetooth;
• Wi-Fi.
5. Jackson W. Can FirstNet create a truly nationwide public
safety network? GCN, http://gcn.com/articles/2013/04/05/
frstnet-nationwide-public-safety-network.aspx.
6. Roston A. $7 Billion Disconnect: FirstNet Aims to Get First
Responders Talking 12 Years After 9/11. Defense News, www.
defensenews.com/article/20130122/C4ISR01/301220008/7-Billion-Disconnect-FirstNet-Aims-Get-First-RespondersTalking-12-Years-After-9-11.
7. Maynard M. Boston Bombings Highlight Need for Public
Safety Broadband Network. Stateline, Pew Charitable Trusts,
www.pewstates.org/projects/stateline/headlines/after-bostonbombings-a-failure-of-communications-85899471750.
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