Evaluating mission-critical communications: 6 vital factors for safe cities | Daniel Hill, Director of Solutions ANZ, Motorola Solutions
Could any policy planner, however astute, have predicted the difficult circumstances presented to our public safety agencies right now? Thousands made homeless by the worst bushfire season on record, COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures, and massive protest rallies compounding the risk of viral transmission. For police, fire services and medical responders, these are indeed challenging times.
In the current Australian paradigm, public safety agencies are facing intense demands: growing threat of natural disaster, alongside sophisticated cybercrime and a massive public
health emergency. While grappling with these issues, agencies are also striving to meet the expectations of the community for greater transparency, engagement and accountability.
Now, more than ever, the success of public safety agencies hinges on their communications infrastructure. Equipped with the right technology, responders can do their work better prepared, better supported and more safely.
Mission-critical communications technology must fulfil certain essential criteria to meet the standards of today. It must facilitate strategic decision making by converting situational data into meaningful intelligence that responders can act on with confidence. And, it must seamlessly connect agencies and individual responders so that the right information reaches the people who need it, moment to moment.
A functional emergency communications network can be measured by six key attributes: coverage, cost, capability, capacity, control and cybersecurity; the “six Cs.”
