FirstNet Incident Support for COMLs

Communications, FirstNet and AT&T

Interoperable communications are an essential element of any emergency response activity; responders need to communicate with dispatch, members of their team, command or on-scene staff, and personnel from different disciplines, agencies, and jurisdictions. Jurisdictions generally make individual decisions about communications systems based upon factors such as mission scope, topography, population density, existing infrastructure, staff size, existing equipment/contracts, and in most cases budget as well. Deficiencies in interoperable communications have been highlighted in many after action reviews nationwide.

Historically, federal funding of organizations and development of communications interoperability standards were designed to address the challenges of communications interoperability. However, issues with communications interoperability remain a critical challenge to safe and effective emergency response.

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