Keeping First Responders Connected

Staying connected is the most critical factor in any emergency. Whether you are receiving mobile alerts to shelter in place or you are picking up your phone to call 911, disruptions in communication can be a matter of life and death. There are many situations where first responders enter a building and their lines of communication do not work. Keeping the public and first responders safe and in constant contact is paramount to a safer community. 

Recently AFL partnered with PCTEL®, a global provider of test and measurement solutions, to perform a series of demonstrations for the Safer Buildings Coalition™ (SBC), a not-for-profit organization that promotes legislation and education on the importance of in-building public safety systems. PCTEL offers software that supports many of AFL’s Public Safety Distributed Antenna System (DAS) installations. Specifically designed for first responders, a Public Safety DAS optimizes communication and enables a constant connection among first responders and those outside in times of crisis. In these installations, AFL uses one of PCTEL’s software suites that tests and studies the signal strength within a building. 

This series of field tests, performed in the Charlotte, NC area, was to evaluate the different communication channels that impact the lines of communication for our first responders and the public. Keeping the community, our law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics connected no matter the situation is our unified goal. Help us keep them connected.