White Paper
The “FirstNet-Ready” Mobile Office:
Top Considerations for Connecting
First Responders
A SIERRA WIRELESS WHITE PAPER
First-response mobile workforces face the
most demanding and often dangerous work
environments, performing jobs that are critical
to our infrastructure—protecting public safety,
delivering patients to hospitals, fighting fires,
operating mass transit vehicles and maintaining the
power grid.
These mission critical workers cannot afford to be disconnected from dispatchers and
operations—even for a few minutes.
For many years, connecting these workforces involved chunky voice radios and a
laptop with a radio. When all the applications and security software that workers relied
on were on the laptop, this approach worked well—but at a significant cost.
In recent years, everything has changed. First responders are more mobile than
ever, and require multiple devices and systems that need to be connected in order to
perform their jobs effectively. First response vehicles are now commonly referred to as
“mobile offices,” and laptops no longer “cut it” as wireless routers.
White Paper
Wireless networks continue to evolve at a rapid pace. In just a few short years, 2G,
3G and 4G technologies have emerged and, in 2012, the United States Government
passed legislation reallocating the Band 14 LTE network solely to public safety
organizations, creating the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to ensure
continuous connectivity for highly mobile mission critical workforces. Since the
reallocation, FirstNet has continued to evolve, and in the past three years, FirstNet has
expanded its scope, growing from a “public safety only” network to include additional
first response “qualified user organizations,” such as utilities and public transit.
As a result, first responders are faced with a fast pace of change—technological,
political and environmental—and are grappling with which solutions to choose, and
how they will operate on existing and emerging networks. In an era of tight budgets,
it’s a high stakes bet. If they bet wrong, their investment today may be obsolete in just
a year or two—or sooner. To mitigate risk and protect their investment, organizations
need to consider the latest wireless networking technologies that provide
sophisticated, fast and responsive critical communications solutions for their vehicles,
and also have the capacity to operate on today’s networks, and migrate to FirstNet
Band 14 LTE when it arrives.
Deploying a Future Proof Mobile Office: Critical
Considerations
Many organizations are currently deploying Vehicle Area Networks (VAN), to connect
systems and devices in and around their vehicles, creating a secure, manageable
“mobile office”. These mobile offices enable real-time and bulk data transfers for
video, voice, vehicle location and vehicle health monitoring. They provide multiple
device connectivity, system-wide security and mobility management.
Vehicle Area Network
Wide Area Networks
FirstNet
Band 14 LTE
Wireless & Wired
Connections
Private
Wi-Fi
Public
Cellular
Private
Cellular
Multiple Devices and Applications
Multiple Networks
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LAW ENFORCEMENT APPLICATIONS
ŸŸ Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic
Vehicle Locations
ŸŸ Records Management Systems
ŸŸ Video Surveillance
ŸŸ Body-Worn Cameras
ŸŸ Electronic Ticketing
ŸŸ Finger Print Scanners
ŸŸ Voice Communications
FIRE AND EMS AGENCIES
APPLICATIONS
ŸŸ Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic
Vehicle Location
ŸŸ ECG/EKG
ŸŸ Electronic Patient Care Records (EPCR)
ŸŸ Mobile Telemedicine
ŸŸ Voice Communications
TRANSIT APPLICATIONS
ŸŸ Route and schedule management
ŸŸ Fare Payment Systems
ŸŸ Video surveillance
ŸŸ Passenger Information Systems
UTILITY APPLICATIONS
ŸŸ Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic
Vehicle Location
ŸŸ Vehicle telemetry
ŸŸ Asset tracking and management
Mobile offices have, for the most part, provided satisfactory service to first responders
for the past decade, but the challenge organizations now face is how to future proof
their systems to ensure that they operate on new networks and do not become
obsolete. When FirstNet Band 14 LTE arrives, many agencies will be left with a large
portfolio of devices and systems that are incompatible with the network—they need
to consider a “FirstNet ready” solution that provides integrated functionality for all of
their equipment.
Two critical elements that first responders must consider when deploying a “FirstNet
ready” solution are:
1.Compatibility and seamless roaming between multiple networks
The “best available” network changes every minute for first responders depending
on their location and network congestion. Commercial LTE networks provide
better connectivity in a rural area, while FirstNet Band 14 LTE could provide better
reception in urban centers. Commercial LTE networks may also be heavily congested
during a large public event, preventing first responders from using it to communicate
or access critical incident data. Therefore, the very best option for highly mobile
first responders is to have a solution that provides seamless connectivity with both
FirstNet Band 14 LTE and commercial networks, and automatically selects the best
available network. This functionality will be imperative during the deployment of
FirstNet Band 14 LTE, as network coverage continues to grow.
2.Connectivity for multiple devices and systems
Organizations must consider how all devices and systems in their mobile office can
be connected in order to operate on multiple networks. Connecting devices such as
video cameras, tablets or MDTs, that wouldn’t typically connect to a cellular network,
should be considered when selecting a FirstNet ready solution that is compatible
with multiple networks. This will enable organizations to use existing equipment
without any modification, saving extra costs and investment after FirstNet Band 14
LTE is deployed.
FirstNet-Ready Gateways: The Next Generation
Mobile Office
To support reliable and future proof mobile offices, many first responders are looking
to FirstNet-ready mobile gateways that are certified to operate both on today’s
commercial networks, and the FirstNet Band 14 LTE network when it arrives.
FirstNet-ready gateways provide secure connectivity for a complete portfolio of
devices—including laptops, tablets, MDTs, video cameras, LPR, electronic ticketing
systems—in addition to providing secure VAN and Wi-Fi backhaul, with management
oversight and security for all applications on multiple operating networks.
This said, the truly unique benefits of deploying FirstNet-ready gateways are that they:
ŸŸ Enable all devices in the mobile office to be compatible with multiple networks
ŸŸ Provide enhanced network coverage by supporting both commercial LTE networks
and FirstNet Band 14 LTE
ŸŸ Provide “best available” connectivity using automatic network switching based on
network availability and signal strength
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LEARN MORE: CONNECT TODAY,
PREPARE FOR TOMORROW WITH
FIRSTNET-READY GATEWAYS
First responders can mitigate risk
and protect their investment by using
FirstNet-ready gateways that ensure
their mobile offices will be able to
operate on FirstNet Band 14 LTE when
it arrives, while still performing mission
critical functions using today’s 4G LTE
networks.
ŸŸ Provide fast, seamless roaming between commercial and FirstNet Band 14 LTE
networks
ŸŸ Protect the investment organizations have made in existing devices and systems
Top Features to look for in a FirstNet-Ready
Gateway
When connecting their mobile office with FirstNet-ready gateways, organizations
should ensure their gateways support the following features:
BASIC FUNCTIONALITY
ŸŸ Multiple wide-area network (WAN) support, including existing commercial 4G LTE
networks and FirstNet Band 14
ŸŸ Multiple Wi-Fi network support – for in-vehicle hotspot and depot/station backhaul
ŸŸ GPS
ŸŸ Ethernet and Serial connectivity
ŸŸ Remote device management
ENHANCED FUNCTIONALITY
ŸŸ Secure, Seamless Roaming across Multiple Networks:
◦◦ Mobile-Optimized VPN: Secure, fast sub-second switching between commercial
and FirstNet Band 14 networks to allow seamless operation of all applications
ŸŸ Enhance Device Management including:
◦◦ Configuration Management: Perform configuration in real-time or schedule to
minimize field impact
◦◦ Software Upgrades: Monitor status and success of over-the air upgrades
ŸŸ Advanced Reporting including:
◦◦ Coverage Maps: Multiple gateways gathering data over multiple days can provide
a high-level view of wide-area network (WAN) coverage for the fleet, including a
‘heat map’ to highlight weaker connectivity areas
◦◦ Coverage Trails: Show the exact path the gateways have taken using colored
paths to represent dropped connections and icons for dropped GPS or stationary
times
◦◦ Bandwidth Consumption: Graphical views of data received and transmitted for
each gateway on each network with a list view highlighting heavy users
About Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless is building the Internet of Things with intelligent wireless solutions that empower organizations to innovate in the
connected world. We offer the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of 2G, 3G, and 4G embedded modules and gateways,
seamlessly integrated with our secure cloud and connectivity services. OEMs and enterprises worldwide trust our innovative
solutions to get their connected products and services to market faster. Sierra Wireless has more than 950 employees globally and
operates R&D centers in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Sierra Wireless, the Sierra Wireless logo, AirPrime, AirLink, AirVantage and the red wave design are trademarks of Sierra Wireless. Other registered trademarks
that appear on this brochure are the property of the respective owners. © 2015 Sierra Wireless, Inc. 2015.12.21