August 12, 2021

Part 1: Putting ARPA Funds to Work in Next Generation Public Safety Networks

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 allocates $350 billion to help states, counties, cities, and tribal governments improve their capabilities, infrastructure, and services to better respond to and manage the pandemic. This represents a unique opportunity not only to improve strained backhaul networks for public safety agencies but also to support the advent of 5G and a raft of new public safety applications.

Simply put, the backhaul network is the cornerstone of an agency’s ecosystem, and wireless backhaul is a medium that enables public safety agencies to work more efficiently and respond more quickly. Here are some examples:

• Mobile access to digital records and databases. With in-vehicle routers that provide mobile data connectivity, officers can access various information databases and type reports from the field rather than having to return to a desk at the station. IoT sensors can also automate some reporting, such as using GPS data for location and automatically time-stamping reports.
• Videos. More cities have deployed video in public areas to pull live video on-demand for incident response. Others are streaming video constantly that is archived at a central repository for evidence in investigations. Some use analytics to help operators focus on specific areas.
• Drones. Streaming video, data from hazardous material detectors, assessments of the ground below, and more can be pulled back via wireless broadband connections and combined with GIS data for visuals that are impossible to rapidly obtain any other way. Drones are increasingly used for public safety assistance applications, including search and rescue, providing overhead views of large events and reconnaissance during and after large natural disasters.
• Digital evidence collection. Police are increasingly using tablets and smartphones to digitally collect evidence, record interviews on-scene, and take and send still photographs and video. Fire inspectors and investigators can snap photos and take video as part of their work, improving the quality of their reports.

Building the Right Backhaul Network

Public Safety backhaul networks support mission-critical traffic, and that requires three key elements: reliability, capacity, and scalability. These networks must support existing public safety users, scale to support next-generation applications, and be available when emergencies occur. Along with fiber, these requirements are addressed with a robust wireless backhaul network. Aviat’s legacy in the industry along with industry-leading solutions offer Public Safety customers:

• An Innovative Product Portfolio: Superior wireless transport systems that enable the highest capacity, network security, reliability, and lowest total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Unmatched Public Safety Experience: Aviat is the US-based leader in designing and supporting mission-critical public safety backhaul networks AND broadband solutions to support wireless internet networks. We are an industry leader in State and Public Safety network deployments.
• Local Support: Aviat’s customer service teams in Texas and support teams across the country provide engineering, installation, support, and services.