Jim Foley, general manager of the Safer Buildings Coalition, has a personal reason for his work to ensure first responders can use the latest voice and data communications to reach each other both in and outside buildings. He comes from a long line of police officers and his son is a cop now.
“His communications failed him and he wound up in hand-to-hand combat for eight minutes. He could have lost his life,” Foley told attendees Tuesday at Wireless Connect 2018. Dispatch sent his son’s backup to the wrong location.
Most first responders’ work is done inside buildings and the coalition, launched in 2012, is working with stakeholders to improve communications. FirstNet is a major driver in the space, he told attendees of the event organized by the Wireless Infrastructure Association in partnership with the Master’s in Telecommunications Program at the University of Maryland. He noted FirstNet’s goal (with AT&T) is to cover 95 percent of the U.S. population within five years.
Other carriers, notably Verizon, are making competitive offerings. Verizon controls probably “70 to 90 percent” of the two-way radio handset market, estimates Foley, and “some areas are trying to figure out how to convert their communications to AT&T.”
FirstNet has in-building safety implications and AT&T “has people working on it,” says Foley. Noting that commercial cellular is now part of the public safety portfolio, he said the coalition is working with FirstNet and AT&T on the issue and to expect an announcement within 90 days.
April 5, 2018
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