Police Antenna Solutions

Data, like streaming video, has become an integral part of emergency responders’ daily communications. Although communications methods are rapidly evolving, staying current with these frequent developments is integral to employing an advanced, reliable police antenna solution.  Optimal communications, in crucial emergency response situations, can be ensured by understanding how today’s advanced antenna solutions resolve issues present in the public safety industry.  One particular facet that demands significant attention when choosing the right antenna is multi-frequency support capability.

In three parts, Mobile Mark discusses the major trends and challenges facing the public safety industry and provides solutions to emergency responders’ communications obstacles:

Part One of Selecting the Optimal 700MHz LTE Antenna for Public Safety Communications discusses, in detail, the key challenges facing the public safety industry.

Part Two of Selecting the Optimal 700MHz LTE Antenna for Public Safety Communications delineates how an antenna which accommodates several frequencies can enable emergency responders to seamlessly transition between communication systems.

The third and final part of Selecting the Optimal 700MHz LTE Antenna for Public Safety Communications highlights the importance of using an antenna with low V.S.W.R., ensuring the mechanical quality of the antenna is robust and, concurrently, sleek in design.

Multi-Frequency Support

The best solution for public safety communications is to use a cost-effective police antenna that supports the entire 700 MHz LTE band while accommodating MIMO protocols and a variety of other features such as GPS and Wi-Fi.  An antenna that can accommodate several frequencies enables emergency responders to seamlessly transition between communication systems.  It is important to also be aware of next-generation frequency allocations such as the upcoming Sprint LTE allocation at 2600 MHz when choosing an antenna to ensure that the device covers more than just one frequency and is essentially future-proof in the face of new emerging technologies.

MIMO antennas use multiple antennas at the transmitter and receiver to improve communications performance. By using multiple data streams fed to separate antenna elements, MIMO antennas can achieve a significant increase in data throughput and link range without consuming additional bandwidth or increasing transmit power.  As a result, the link reliability is improved and the quality of the overall communications increases. Because communications reliability is essential for public safety communications, MIMO antennas are increasingly used today.

Police vehicles equipped with a multi-frequency police antenna can support GPS for satellite positioning and use 700 MHz LTE to provide real-time high-speed data transmissions over 4G cellular networks to onboard computers in squad cars, voice-over LTE and push-to-talk over LTE.

These antennas also enable access to Wi-Fi for mobile hotspots. Wi-Fi has become a Swiss Army knife of communications.  While the primary use of Wi-Fi is to tap into public or private hotspots for Internet connectivity, the wireless standard can be used for localized communications to address security issues.  The IEEE 802.11i wireless security standard, by ensuring a secure Wi-Fi link for public safety communications, guarantees that a localize Wi-Fi network cannot be accessed by the public.

With an advanced Wi-Fi modem, a police antenna can dedicate a secure Wi-Fi hotspot around a police vehicle. With this capability, a police officer wearing a uniform-mounted video device or accessing a tablet can use Wi-Fi to securely transmit data, such as a license plate check, back to the vehicle.  The data can then be transmitted via high-speed LTE to the central dispatching desk.  Thus, in a single incident, a public safety officer can securely use both Wi-Fi and LTE for rapid transmission of high bandwidth video information.

When shopping for a police antenna, look for a high efficiency antenna that can support multiple elements such as two LTE, two WiFi and one GPS capability from a single compact, surface-mount radome.  This type of antenna takes far less space than multiple antennas and significantly reduces installation time and costs.  Mobile Mark is a leading supplier of antennas worldwide and we are prepared to assist with advanced antenna solutions for those in the public safety industry.  Contact Mobile Mark experts at info@mobilemark.com, 1-800-648-2400 or 847-671-6690.