Wide open data band would help responders

WASILLA — Money may not be the solution to every problem, but more than $4.5 million proposed for local emergency service providers would help bring Wasilla police and other emergency services into the 21st century.

Wasilla City Council will swear in two new council members Monday, then discuss a resolution that would make way for the city to accept a $4,586,918 Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities grant to implement the Wasilla Wideband Multimedia Mobile Emergency Communications Pilot.

The project aims to increase the efficiency of public safety communication systems by adding a secure wideband data network, said Wasilla Police Chief Angella Long. Local public safety entities already have a means of communication; however, the new and upgraded system would provide additional services for law enforcement and other emergency providers.

“It’s a different frequency than our conventional radio systems that can transmit data,” Long said.

The 4.9 GHz band, which is also called simply 4.9, allows users to transmit data through a high-speed broadband connection, Long said. Similar to a normal Internet connection, the band can transmit pictures, video, voice and text. Although there are many similarities between the Internet and 4.9, the main differences is that it is a secure frequency and it’s mobile, meaning emergency responders would have access to 4.9 from their vehicles.

“It is a public safety only band that is provided by the FCC,” said Dan Stearns, manager of records and communications for Matcom.

Stearns explained that the system, if approved, would provide a wide range of information to organizations using the frequency. Local police could transfer documents like maps or floor plans to on-site investigations, photographs of suspects or people being sought, or other information that normally not be accessible from the field. Not only would police benefit from the technology, emergency medical services could also find it helpful. With limited hospitals in the Mat-Su Valley and great distances between some communities, streaming video provided over the 4.9 connection could give doctors a preview of a patient’s medical condition while he or she is in transit by ambulance.

The technology would be useful for emergency responders, but Jack Stickel, a data base manager for the DOT, said the system could also be used to benefit local motorists. Similar to the technology used in road cameras already in place in some areas, streaming video could provide up-to-date visual information for motorists to review before they hit the road.

The 4.9 frequency would provide new ways for emergency responders and DOT to transmit information, and it also could be used as another means of communication should the current dispatch system falter for some reason, Long said. She compared the use of multiple communication systems to having a generator as a backup source of power.

“The whole goal is to keep that redundancy so we can stay up and running,” Long said.