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October 16, 2013All across the country, declining state and local revenues have caused budget cuts to numerous public safety agencies. Fire departments, with limited funds and the admonishment to do "more with less," are looking for two-way radio solutions with affordability as a major factor. Fortunately, there are options. In Los Angeles, the fire department's budget for the 2011-2012 year was $472 million, down from $561 million two years earlier. Last year, the city council voted to leave 318 firefighting positions unfilled. In Texas, lawmakers cut funds from $30 million to $7 million, forcing volunteer firefighters who were battling wildfires in 2011 to buy their own gear and even gas for the fire trucks. While the number of deadly fires has declined nationwide over the last 20 years, thanks to better construction and safety techniques, fire departments are increasingly called upon to answer medical emergencies, chemical spills, and more. Firefighters need reliable, versatile and sturdy wireless
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June 26, 2013Part Two When companies weigh the relative merits of cell phones and two-way radios, there's one group that has to stay top of mind: the users. These are the people actually using the equipment, after all. This series of articles has examined communications philosophy, urgency, coverage, reliability, and security. Now we turn our discussion of cell phones and two-way radios to users' concerns, which center on durability and ease of use. How many people you know have cracked the screen on their smartphone after it fell out of their pocket or purse? Some don't even bother to get their phones repaired because they know in a few months, a new model will be available with a bigger screen and a better camera. Two-way radios last for years because they're built to higher standards. Among them are
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May 22, 2013Nearly five months after the FCC's narrowbanding deadline, people are still talking about the mandate for users of two way radios to convert to 12.5 kHz technology. Among them is Al Ittner, Senior Manager of Spectrum Strategy for Motorola Solutions. Ittner was in Houston last week to speak at the Utilities Telecom Council's annual conference. His topic was "Narrowbanding: I Missed the Deadline. Now What?" The narrowbanding mandate from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is familiar to most everyone who works with two way radios. After all, the FCC began the narrowbanding initiative way back in 1992 in order to increase capacity and efficiency for the industrial/business and public safety radio pools in the private land mobile radio services category. In its simplest form, the mandate requires public agencies and companies that use two way radios to upgrade their technology. The FCC set the deadline of January 1, 2013,
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January 21, 2013Those of you who follow my adventures know that I can fly to wherever there's a communications emergency. Regular folks need a plane—but what do private pilots need? They need two-way radios, of course!
Don't Fly off without a Backup Radio
A recent story on TodaysWirelessWorld.com explained how many private pilots wouldn't consider taking to the air without a backup radio. "Imagine what happens if an airplane's primary radio fails in flight," the story says. "You're thousands of feet in the air, at the controls of an expensive aircraft with no ability to monitor weather and emergency channels or communicate with control towers, ground crews, and other pilots. Getting down safely suddenly becomes more theoretical than a sure thing." The story goes on to review some key considerations for a pilot using a handheld aircraft