4 ms·

This is probably a dumb question, but if they usually share the same network, isn't there some way to give emergency responders priority? I hope I'm not fear m

This is probably a dumb question, but if they usually share the same network, isn't there some way to give emergency responders priority? I hope I'm not fear mongering, but I can't say I'm looking forward to the potential influx of IoT devices. As I understand it, many IoT devices appear to be highly vulnerable to hacking. Vendor lock-in and flimsy security requirements don't sound like a good mix.

SigmundA 10y ago
Yes they can prioritize on the public bands as shown with the new unlimited plans that deprioritize users with over 22 gigs in a month if on a busy tower. However still nothing better than a dedcated radio band that standard public modems can't even see, but being in the 700 mhz range will limits its speed. LTE-A equipment does carrier aggregation too using multiple bands at once for faster speed, not sure how FirstNet modems will work with that, if at all since its a single band.
azernik 10y ago
There is, but the effect isn't as good; you'll still get channel congestion from non-prioritized control traffic, and hidden-terminal issues where devices don't know there's a public-safety communication on the band. Plus this makes it less likely for accidentally or deliberately non-compliant devices to jam communications.
deftnerd 10y ago
Yes! the little-known 710-NCS-GETS phone number. It's the only phone number in the 710 area code. If you dial that number and then enter in your special 12 digit security code, you can make an outbound call to any other number. All the telephone switches in the US are required to treat calls to the 710 area code as priority, at the expense of dropping any existing traffic that it needs to drop. The end result is even overloaded exchanges can be used by first responders with the proper security codes. "GETS is designed to provide a 90% call completion rate when call volume is eight times normal capacity." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Emergency_Telecommunications_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Emergency_Telecommu...
- chiph 10y ago
  That's a different implementation from DoD's classic AUTOVON system, which used phones with the "missing" four DTMF tones to assign priority. "Flash Override" was pretty much restricted to National Command Authority (the President and Joint Chiefs) and would allegedly clear entire trunk lines to ensure call completion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autovon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autovon
lathiat 10y ago
Telstra is apparently doing this in Australia but the full technical details I did not find. But it's basically an add-on within their existing network: http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/telstra-launches-dedicated-emergency-services-mobile-network-20160922-grmc9o.html http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/telstra-l...

SigmundA 10y ago

Yes they can prioritize on the public bands as shown with the new unlimited plans that deprioritize users with over 22 gigs in a month if on a busy tower. However still nothing better than a dedcated radio band that standard public modems can't even see, but being in the 700 mhz range will limits its speed. LTE-A equipment does carrier aggregation too using multiple bands at once for faster speed, not sure how FirstNet modems will work with that, if at all since its a single band.

azernik 10y ago

There is, but the effect isn't as good; you'll still get channel congestion from non-prioritized control traffic, and hidden-terminal issues where devices don't know there's a public-safety communication on the band. Plus this makes it less likely for accidentally or deliberately non-compliant devices to jam communications.

deftnerd 10y ago

Yes! the little-known 710-NCS-GETS phone number. It's the only phone number in the 710 area code. If you dial that number and then enter in your special 12 digit security code, you can make an outbound call to any other number. All the telephone switches in the US are required to treat calls to the 710 area code as priority, at the expense of dropping any existing traffic that it needs to drop. The end result is even overloaded exchanges can be used by first responders with the proper security codes. "GETS is designed to provide a 90% call completion rate when call volume is eight times normal capacity." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Emergency_Telecommunications_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Emergency_Telecommu...

chiph 10y ago
That's a different implementation from DoD's classic AUTOVON system, which used phones with the "missing" four DTMF tones to assign priority. "Flash Override" was pretty much restricted to National Command Authority (the President and Joint Chiefs) and would allegedly clear entire trunk lines to ensure call completion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autovon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autovon

lathiat 10y ago

Telstra is apparently doing this in Australia but the full technical details I did not find. But it's basically an add-on within their existing network: http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/telstra-launches-dedicated-emergency-services-mobile-network-20160922-grmc9o.html http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/telstra-l...