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Police Officers Say Infrastructure-Free Wireless Communications Are Critical; Survey Also Reveals That Police Officers Value Interoperable Communications Systems

Posted on: Monday, 14 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Six weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, destroying infrastructure-based communications systems that police officers, fire fighters and other first responders relied on to communicate and share information, 100 percent of respondents in a survey of police officers said first responders would benefit from the use of infrastructure-less wireless communications systems.

This finding, among others, is the result of a survey conducted at COPSWest 2005 from October 11-13 in Ontario, Calif., by PacketHop(TM), Inc., the leader in next generation mobile mesh software that enables real-time multimedia communication without requiring infrastructure. The PacketHop Communication System uniquely enables the formation of autonomous mobile mesh communications using standards-based, Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices like laptops, tablet PCs and PDAs. Its Aware for Public Safety multimedia applications provide first responders with completely distributed broadband capabilities -- including real-time multicast video, GPS-enabled resource location tracking, whiteboarding and multimedia instant messaging -- without requiring a network server. PacketHop is the only company that can create wireless broadband communications on the fly supported by server-less multimedia applications purpose-built to operate in this unique, infrastructure-optional environment.

Eighty-seven percent of police officers surveyed said that their departments plan to purchase a mission-critical communications system that can operate without infrastructure. As painfully demonstrated by recent events, communications systems dependent on infrastructure are vulnerable to failure. They can be destroyed by natural disasters, overwhelmed by voice traffic during a terrorist attack, or unavailable at emergency situations occurring where infrastructure is not present.

Communications systems that operate without infrastructure enable first responders to communicate and share information wirelessly anytime, anywhere using their mobile devices. Each mobile device acts as its own node and router to initiate, receive and pass information between devices -- creating a highly mobile, adaptable and reliable wireless network on the fly. As new users join the network, it grows and becomes more resilient. If infrastructure is present, it becomes part of the network and is leveraged, proving backhaul to the Internet, centralized servers and other resources.

When asked to rank how critical it is that communications equipment from different public safety agencies interoperate at the scene of an incident, the average response was 9.4, out of a possible 10. In addition, 80 percent of police officers said that their departments are currently working with other agencies on specific plans for interoperable communications.

"No matter how hard first responders train for an emergency situation, they're at a real disadvantage when their communications systems fail or don't interoperate," said Hubert Williams, president of the Police Foundation. "The ability to provide reliable, survivable multimedia communications anytime, anywhere is a mission-critical requirement for first responders."

Mobile mesh software solutions like the PacketHop Communication System reduce voice traffic and provide first responders with more effective means to share mission-critical information. With its standards-based approach, the PacketHop Communication System enables agencies to purchase best-of-breed products while providing interoperability among different agencies.

"Deploying fixed infrastructure can be expensive, time intensive and does not solve the problem. The PacketHop Communication System provides first responders with the ability to instantly create a high throughput and survivable communication network anywhere that it is needed, and to immediately share mission-critical video, images and data," said David Thompson, vice president of marketing of PacketHop. "The survey results clearly indicate the need for infrastructure-independent, interoperable communications systems among first responders. Having this information in real time wherever the incident occurs can be the difference between lives lost and lives saved."

About PacketHop

PacketHop, Inc. develops mobile mesh software that creates an entirely new category of instant wireless group communications for commercial enterprises, government organizations and consumer markets. PacketHop Communication System software uniquely enables 802.11 standards-based devices like laptops, tablets and PDAs to create extended Wi-Fi hot-zones on the fly that can securely operate with or without access points. By making infrastructure completely optional, PacketHop delivers coverage wherever and whenever instant wireless broadband communications are needed -- with unequaled resiliency, reliability and robustness. Along with enabling rapid and cost-effective wireless deployments, PacketHop's suite of completely distributed applications offer real-time multicast video, resource tracking, multimedia instant messaging and whiteboarding without requiring a network server. Founded in 2003 and based in Silicon Valley, Calif., PacketHop is funded by venture firms U.S. Venture Partners, Mayfield, ComVentures and GF Equity Partners, as well as SRI International. For more information on PacketHop, please visit www.packethop.com.

PacketHop is the trademark of PacketHop, Inc. The names of other companies and their products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Source: Business Wire

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