Wireless WAN solutions make first responders better, stronger & faster
Connected things, sensors, and apps that deliver instant transit and traffic information or safety alerts directly to citizen’s smartphones are just a bit of the ingredients that make up the smart city — and are being readily accepted by the public. Implementing these components into cities not only makes life easier for citizens, but also helps support a city’s service efforts. Police, fire departments, and emergency medical services (EMS) today are leveraging the power of WWAN solutions for tech tools such as video surveillance, MDTs, GPS, analytics, drones, license plate readers, body cameras, wearables, sensors, and Wi-Fi, just to name a few.
The Village of Bronxville Advances with a Smarter Surveillance System
Recently, the Village of Bronxville in New York deployed a combination of nearly 30 Cradlepoint cellular routers for secure connectivity in surveillance cameras on streetlight poles. Doing this improved the police department’s surveillance system while also lowering the cost to the city to set up and use the network. This network solution provides maximum network uptime, so the cameras are always on, and helps keep the Village of Bronxville safe with footage of the city’s streets that is readily available to the police department. The surveillance cameras are strategically located throughout the village and have the ability to zoom in on vehicle license plates to gather criminal information or catch acts of wrongdoing on the streets. Additionally, just having the cameras in place is a way of letting criminals know they are being watched to help deter criminal behavior.
The Village of Bronxville was also able to save money and increase effectiveness by covering more area with the surveillance cameras than they could with just foot and vehicle patrol. Going wireless and eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming construction to run fiber wire through the ground was an additional money saver.
With the Cradlepoint wireless edge routers, the village has constant connectivity — to keep watch at all times — zero-touch deployment with Cradlepoints “plug-and-play” solutions, and NetCloud Service, which allows full visibility into the network and each device from one screen.
Keeping Fleets Connected to Speed Up Response Times
First responders can also upgrade their vehicle fleets by deploying a range of devices and leveraging wireless networking for maximum efficiency — increasing the safety of citizens. Cradlepoint’s highly ruggedized, software-defined routing platforms keep mission-critical in-vehicle applications connected, whether on the way to or at the scene of an emergency. For example, apps can be installed that alert headquarters that an incident has occurred — such as sensors that detect if a gun is taken out of its holster or has been fired — help to accelerate law-enforcement response times.
FirstNetTM
Now FirstNet, the nationwide communications platform dedicated to America’s public safety, will help first responders connect to the critical information they need every day and in every emergency. Built with AT&T, in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority, FirstNet is bringing public safety a long-overdue and much-needed technology upgrade. It helps improve first responders’ efficiency, safety, and response times by enabling better field and interagency coordination using new connected devices and applications.
Cradlepoint is FirstNet ReadyTM
Cradlepoint has developed the MC400 Modem Module, which has received FirstNet Ready™ status and approval – joining FirstNet’s nationwide wireless ecosystem for first responder solutions.
The device certification is for a new version of Cradlepoint’s field-upgradeable MC400 Modem Module, a plug-in LTE modem for compatible IBR and AER series router solutions. This modular approach enables Cradlepoint to deliver FirstNet Ready™ solutions – both to new as well as existing customers – that address a broad set of first responder connectivity challenges, including distributed sites, vehicles, mobile command centers, and an array of in-vehicle and in-the-field IoT devices such as sensors, cameras, drones, and robots.
Digital tools and an always-available network connection are revolutionizing the way first responders do their jobs and providing citizens with improved safety and peace of mind.