The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International expressed its support for the use of satellite services for publicsafetycommunications. Specifically, they called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate requiring that equipment designed to operate on the 700 MHz public safety broadband network be capable of communicating directly and seamlessly with communications satellites.
“APCO International believes that satellite services are critical for redundancy of public safety communications networks and for providing gap coverage in severe emergencies or in scenarios where terrestrial coverage is not available or possible,” APCO International President Richard Mirgon said. “APCO International believes that access to satellite services may greatly improve public safety’s capability, interoperability and redundancy at a comparable cost to terrestrial-only devices, and will be a great step in our nation’s efforts to improve public safety communications in rural areas.”
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO International serves the professional needs of its 15,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain and supply the communications systems used by police, fire and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world. For more information, visitwww.apcointl.org.
