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Issue 8 2015
Sheridan Nye,
Senior Research
Analyst,
Information &
Communication
Technologies,
Frost & Sullivan
Sheridan Nye is a Senior
Analyst at Frost & Sullivan
and has more than 15
years experience as
a market analyst and journalist in the field of global
telecommunications, based in London and the
US. Sheridan produces reports, in-depth analysis
and presentations for high-level clients at telecom
service providers and technology vendors. Sheridan’s
specialities include communications industry market
analysis, forecasting, bespoke research and consulting
as well as ICT in vertical industries.
C
ritical communications
users are long overdue
the benefits of mobile
broadband data. Consumers
enjoy streaming video ‘anytime,
anywhere’ on their smartphones,
but public safety, utilities and
transportation have missed out
on many of the latest technology
advances.
Employees in non-mission-critical
roles can turn to their personal
phones for convenient access
to email, maps and other basic
services. Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) is encouraged in many
companies. But it’s far from ideal
in hostile environments, given the
flimsy construction and security
vulnerabilities of products designed
for consumers.
This frustrating situation is now
beginning to change. The gradual
roll out of long term evolution (LTE)
networks around the world is one
reason, though insufficient on its
own. Equally important is the diverse
range of market participants who
are committed to bring the benefits
of data to the sector. Network
operators, vendors and applications
developers are devising profitable
business models, while regulators
and standards-makers need to play
their part to remove barriers and
stimulate the market.
No one says the road to truly
mission critical, mobile data is easy.
End users around the world face
many complex decisions, depending
on their sunk investments in
narrowband voice and the availability,
or not, of suitable spectrum. Another
challenge is to budget for parallel
voice and data infrastructure.
Communications technologies tend
to live on for several years beyond
original expectations – witness iDen
in the US, which Sprint kept ticking
over until just last year. With TETRA
deployments still under way, including
nationwide rollouts in Europe, it’s
difficult to anticipate the rate of asset
depreciation or future vendor support.
Europe’s commercial mobile
network operators (MNOs) are
certainly more involved than they
ever have been before – as host
networks for specialist data mobile
virtual network operators (MVNOs)
such as Airwave Smart Mobile or
Belgium’s Blue Light Mobile, or even
potentially as direct providers, as
proposed in the UK. Unfortunately,
the pioneering commitment of the
US to a dedicated, national LTE
network for public safety has so
far veered from one pothole to
another. The $7 billion (£4.16 billion)
project seems stalled by political
in-fighting and MNOs have not
fallen over themselves to make
deals with the FirstNet organisation,
which oversees the project. Though
dedicated 700MHz spectrum is still
in play in Europe, legislators may
take a view that diverse market
solutions can better address each
country’s needs.
Beyond cost benefits
Whichever route individual countries
take, mobile data will have far-
reaching impact across the varied
domain of critical communications.
But end users must be convinced
that the investment in new services
and devices will deliver real benefits.
This means, firstly, the ability to get
the job done more quickly and safely,
and at lower cost. Beyond that, a
host of data-enabled use cases is
set to transform the way that critical
services are delivered.
So what should critical
communications customers expect
from mobile data?
A service doesn’t need tremendous
bandwidth to deliver value quickly. The
ability to file reports and issue citations
from a mobile device reduces the
admin burden and lets a police officer
remain in the field for longer. Similarly,
ambulances can sit at locations where
a combination of data analytics and
local knowledge suggests a medical
emergency could occur – such as
stadiums or major rail stations.
Sharing of GPS location data
across different agencies enables
co-operation and re-use of resources.
Asset tracking is another low-
throughput service that quickly justifies
itself in less lost equipment. Other
services can be targeted at particular
cost concerns – for example, replacing
satellite links to surveillance vans with
3G/ 4G alternatives.
But the biggest impact comes
from adding a ‘digital dimension’ to
situational awareness. Intelligence
gathering from body-worn cameras,
automated tracking of vehicle number
plates, and navigation tools with
augmented reality overlays are just
Mobile broadband: addi
Dimension to Situationa
