ABSTRACT
This chapter explains about the wireless communications systems used by Emergency First Responders, such as firefighters, police, and other governmental agency personnel. It provides an overview of the unique requirements of first responder communications systems and the different scenarios that are envisioned when designing such systems. The chapter explains discussions on land mobile radio (LMR) Systems in the US and professional mobile radio Systems in Europe and elsewhere. It describes the planned expansions of emergency responder networks in the United States, particularly with respect to the broadband nationwide connectivity via digital cellular Long-Term Evolution. The chapter discusses how some standards bodies are attempting to address the needed capabilities. It outlines the shortcomings and the ongoing challenges in first responder communications. The chapter presents an overview of the operation of an LMR analog system from which systems are evolving. It shows that the input speech undergoes analog-to-digital conversion and is then passed to a speech coder.
