Originally posted to NEDAS

As the telecommunications industry looks to the future, it is becoming clearer that wireless will play a key role, especially when it comes to safety. Last year, in their Boston Symposium, NEDAS, a grassroots organization facilitating collaboration and education at the intersection of wireline and wireless, invited commercial real estate experts to a panel discussion that explored the overlap between wireless innovation, safety, and emerging technologies like 5G and IoT. Dennis Burns, Sales Manager of the Northeast and Mid Atlantic for AADRF, was one of the industry insiders that participated. He notes, “we’re looking forward to that relationship continuing, and we hope that as we talk about where carriers are going with new technologies and the convergence here of IOT, the convergence of 5G, and different public safety technologies, that we can bring some value to the community.” NEDAS’ goal is to educate the public on codes and technologies that are fostering the creation of safer buildings and distributed antennae systems. Right now, as the wireless convergence is going on, the industry is also experiencing the convergence of public safety and commercial cellular with things like FirstNet.

FirstNet is a first responder network deployed across the 700 megahertz of spectrum. It’s a public/private sector collaboration on the AT&T macro network. “It’s all about using that 700 megahertz band,” Burns explains. “Whether it’s being used for commercial cellular traffic, or when there is an emergency priority and preemption is required, it enables first responders to take control over that 700 megahertz spectrum. This capability ensures that messages are getting through to boots-on-the-ground during times of emergency when folks like EMS, fire, and police need to communicate.”

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