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Public safety organisations plan next generation services, says research by Motorola Solutions and IDC
Research highlights scope for use of advanced technologies by EMEA emergency services.
Motorola Solutions has announced the executive summary of its sponsored research conducted by leading technology analyst house IDC, which reveals that despite shrinking budgets EMEA public safety organisations are increasingly interested in making use of next generation mobile broadband and mission- critical TETRA networks during the next five years.
The study shows that 64% of emergency services plan to deploy or extend their use of TETRA/TETRA II in the next five years and 61% are interested in next generation mobile broadband services for public safety such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.
Furthermore, the IDC research, which includes 105 public safety organisations in EMEA, underlines the ongoing need for robust, highly secure and continuous voice communications. Advancing TETRA technology will allow agencies to deploy services such as instant messaging and more precise location tracking for field-based personnel. These services will mean public safety forces will be able to provide a faster and more effective response.
Key facts
IDC carried out a survey on behalf of Motorola among 105 EMEA public safety organisations in 2010. Organisations taking part in the research included emergency services, police, fire, ambulance and other public safety forces. Countries covered in the IDC research were UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, South Africa, Norway and Netherlands.
The study in 2010 found the most widely adopted solutions include computerised mapping technology/GPS (65 %), mobile broadband networks (61 %) and vehicle and personal location system (56%).
The study also showed emergency services plan to make greater use of advanced computer technology such as PDAs (54%), mobile WiFi (36 %) and rugged notebook computers (54 %) as part of their next generation services in that time.
The most desired applications amongst EMEA public safety organisations are instant messaging (45%) and location tracking (57%). Advancing TETRA technologies will allow these applications and enable public safety services to provide a faster, more effective response and service.
Supporting quotes
Tom Quirke, vice president and general manager, Global TETRA Organisation, Motorola Solutions:
“Like their public sector counterparts, emergency organizations are under pressure to enhance their service capabilities while dealing with tough budgetary constraints. They see that expanding access to TETRA and mobile broadband technologies in the future is essential to maintaining their high standards while ensuring the safety and capabilities of staff working in the field.”
Peter Hulleman, Consulting Manager, European Telecommunications and Networking team, IDC:
“It’s clear that there is strong interest in EMEA for faster, better communications access to enable the supply of next generation communications technologies. It is undeniable, however that in the next five years public safety organisations must learn to do more with less.”
