OPTIMIZED SYSTEMS

Providing Reliable Wireless Communications for First Responders

J. Gerry Purdy | Date: 10-06-11 | Comments

If you�re in charge of a first-responder operation such as fire, police or utility emergency repair, the last thing you want to deal with is unreliable wireless communications. A young company named Utility Associates has an innovative wireless communication system that provides reliable WiFi connectivity to all approved mobile devices utilized in emergency, utilities and first-responder situations.

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Providing Reliable Wireless Communications for First Responders
If you�re in charge of a first-responder operation such as fire, police or utility emergency repair, the last thing you want to deal with is unreliable wireless communications. How do you handle a temporarily lost connection? How do you manage going from 3G to 4G areas and back again? How do you provide access to all the devices that are present in an emergency situation? What happens if you can�t get a GPS signal? You�d hate to be in an emergency situation and have the following message comes up on the laptop display, �Reboot your wireless modem.�

There�s a solution to this challenging problem. A young company in Tucker, Ga., named Utility Associates has an innovative and reliable wireless communication system for in-field vehicles that�s called the Rocket. It provides reliable WiFi connectivity to all approved mobile devices utilized in emergency, utilities and first-responder situations. The Rocket accepts a 3G or 3G/4G USB cellular modem (pictured) from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless or Sprint. The Rocket is typically housed in a sealed case in the vehicle�s trunk so that the Rocket can�t be tampered with or altered in the field.

The Rocket has an antenna that is extended to the outside of the vehicle to maintain the best wireless connection possible. All certified and approved mobile devices can then connect via WiFi to the Rocket and stay connected while in the field. This enables police, fire and other emergency vehicles to connect through the Rocket.

It�s Utility�s software that makes the Rocket provide ultra-reliable data communications in challenging field environments such as tornados, where some cell towers may be knocked out, or in natural disasters such as hurricanes.

The Rocket mobile communications appliance.

Utility has also figured out how to migrate a connection that starts in a 4G area but temporarily reverts back to 3G and then returns to 4G. Today, the cellular modem software from the wireless modem providers doesn�t enable connections to re-engage to 4G once it has stepped down to 3G. The user would normally have to reboot the modem to regain a 4G connection. The Rocket�s software automatically re-establishes a 4G connection.

Utility has found that HSPA+ from AT&T and T-Mobile works fine when driving around in a vehicle, but Verizon 4G LTE and Clearwire (Sprint) WiMax have challenges. All of this works fine on a stationary laptop in an office or conference room�but the problems crop up when the modem is moving at high speed and traveling in and out of 4G coverage areas.

A police officer, fireman or utility worker should not have to care or worry about whether he or she is currently driving in a 3G or a 4G service area. The modem needs to maintain a connection regardless of whether the vehicle migrates from one 3G area to another area that has 4G.

Fortunately, Utility�s engineers have figured out how to get the Rocket to tell the modem to automatically switch to 4G LTE when a vehicle drives back into a 4G service area. And Utility has patent applications pending for this 3G/4G switching process. Utility expects that the modem manufacturers will eventually figure this out and get seamless switching between 3G and 4G while in motion working, but it is not available today.

NetMotion provides session persistence as the Rocket switches between 3G and 4G cellular data, just like it does when the Rocket switches between cellular data and 802.11b/g/n yard access points. So, a customer running NetMotion on their vehicle laptops will not have to re-log onto their Windows apps every time the Rocket switches between 3G and 4G as the police car or utility truck is driving in and out of 3G and 4G service areas.

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