Communication security

PERSPECTIVE: Communications Advancement Marches Forward

The hot topic at the water cooler lately among homeland security communications personnel has been FirstNet ™. This network is poised to set the course for the future of critical communications. Traditionally, national security agencies are loyal LMR users; however, the transition to LTE cellular is on the horizon. A communications app developer recently described smartphones as a “shadow IP” that almost every employee in the U.S. has access to, yet not all businesses take advantage of. Luckily for federal government practices, FirstNet’s nationwide broadband network provides a serious leg-up in advancement. Still, I believe devices that do more than just talk will be the primary driver of its evolution.

Of course, agencies will require more robust PTT cellular devices than standard smartphones. An over-the-counter iPhone simply won’t suffice. In the next few years, I’m sure there will be a major bump in FirstNet-geared hardware development for homeland security users.

But the growing desire to combine every task into one device is creating an even bigger window for software in Homeland Security and other public sectors. Consequently, I foresee IoT/LTE business will accelerate more due to application development than to hardware.