Verizon Begins to Roll Out High-Tech System for First Responders

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In August 2017, Verizon unveiled its plan to build a private network for first responders and other public safety communications, which is on schedule to roll out this year. While priority access to the network will come first, followed by enhanced push-to-talk capabilities, Verizon plans to eventually incorporate a variety of safety-related applications into the network, including tools for video surveillance, body cameras, and communication with dispatchers. Nicholas Nilan, Verizon’s director of product development for the private sector, provided an update on the project’s status and future plans to Government Technology.

Nilan explained that first responders who already used Verizon’s network received priority status during the last six months free of charge, while the new public safety core will debut in the first half of this year, with pre-emption capabilities coming later. “It’s about architecting our network in a way that priority services and pre-emption services aren’t even needed. We all know they will be in certain situations and we want to enable our customers for those. But in most cases, it just won’t be necessary because of the expansiveness of our network,” Nilan said. The network may target AT&T customers currently using the FirstNet network.  

The public safety network will integrate with other Verizon services, like its One Fiber network and Smart Cities and Communities initiative, Nilan told Government Technology. In January, Verizon partnered with ShotSpotter, whose Light Sensory Network facilitates gunshot detection technology. According to Nilan, the planned network updates not only improve service and reliability for emergency personnel, but also for the community at large, which could have positive economic and business impacts.

“What we’re seeing now is greater demand on the reliability of the network, and it’s nice to see that now, in the last year, public safety and public sector, state and local, isn’t that ‘other’ part of everyone else’s business, but it’s actually getting the attention it deserves from the technology community,” Nilan said.

March 2, 2018        

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