On 17 October, PSCE participated to a meeting bringing together the US First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and operators from 14 European countries in Berlin to discuss current trends and challenges in critical communications. Participants agreed on a set of objectives that included promoting broadband standards and continued use of digital radio.
“As operators of national networks, we invite critical communications industry, manufacturers and commercial providers to partner with us and support us in delivering advanced open standards-based solutions to our users in critical communications,” the declaration states.
The groups said they will continue to promote professional digital radio as a fundamental element in safeguarding public-safety, security and critical infrastructures as they work toward the deployment of mission-critical broadband.
“Our common goal is to support public-safety forces and other professional users with all the necessary tools and functions for critical communications,” the declaration said. “We aim to provide them with the best possible communication services, which are crucial for the successful delivery and completion of their missions.”
The document said the signatories explore, analyze and bring together the expectations and demands of users to convert them into specifications for standardization and technological developments. The document also welcomed “new organizations and institutions with additional forces and agencies to utilize our networks.” The document specifically mentioned energy and water supply, transportation, smart cities, automotive and remote health care.
The declaration is “a signal to the international critical communications community” including commercial network operators, industries and manufacturers, the players who drive standardization, researchers and users that rely on critical communications for their work.
The declaration is available here.