Bolstering Public Safety Assets

 

The string of natural disasters in the U.S., including Hurricane Irma, Harvey and Maria underlines the value of proper connectivity during disasters for first responders and citizens alike. Having network access in dire situations can significantly soften the impact and complications of emergency situations, provided consumers and first responders have network access. The difference between getting bereft citizens the help they need is directly dependent upon communication to and between public safety departments, including paramedics, policemen, and firefighters.

In order to bring safety to every citizen, both urban and local, the government is implementing FirstNet. AT&T’s FirstNet contract is already spreading to nearly half the United States, and Verizon has heightened its interest in the market by touting the advantages of interoperability with FirstNet. Major carriers are racing to see who can provide the most robust, resilient coverage for commercial and customer experience purposes.

On IoT Agenda, our director of business development, Greg Najjar, discussed the implications for IoT development, and how they will impact public safety. ADRF recently released two new products that can bolster public safety communications, and bring his predictions to life.

FiRe Series

Our team recently debuted our FiRe line of products. The flagship offering in the line is a fiber optic repeater combined with a DAS head-end. It’s built, specifically for  small business owners/property managers, helping them provide the safest environment for first responders while also enabling them to meet building codes. In combining technologies, we’ve reduced the cost of the unit significantly; building owners can save more than 40% of typical public safety equipment costs. In addition, the repeater does not require a separate signal source for the public safety signal or additional fire-proof enclosure or battery backup for the DAS Head End. FiRe offers the flexibility necessary to cover buildings of all sizes and shapes up to 1 million sq. ft. First responders can fight fire with FiRe.

SDR-ICS Series

Shortly before the launch of FiRe, we rolled out the SDR-ICS, a high power outdoor modular digital repeater designed for filling in the cellular dead zones for rural and metropolitan areas. It can also be used for temporary venues (like a concert) or emergency applications such as natural disasters. The SDR-ICS combines ADRF’s industry benchmark in-building modular repeater with its high power outdoor repeater and features the company’s patented Interference Cancellation System (ICS). Essentially, the repeater helps to deflect adjacent carrier signals to provide unobstructed coverage 100% of the time.The SDR-ICS can be rapidly deployed in areas where connectivity has been limited, connecting the public with first responders and emergency crews.

ADRF is always looking to solve for gaps in the public safety connectivity market. Two of the biggest issues our team works to solve are are the high cost of connectivity solutions for small and midsize businesses/buildings, and an unsuitable approach to rapidly deploying emergency stop-gap solutions. To combat this problem, we launched these two products to improve connectivity for consumers and first responders in times of need.