Public safety workers need to be able to rapidly respond to a crisis. Communication devices are critical for first responders in tribal nations. But, with connectivity being an obstacle among tribal communities, this can prove challenging.
With vast nations and lands to patrol, first responders serving tribal communities need to ensure that they are fully connected when responding to emergencies. In addition, satellite-based technologies can fill the gap that cell towers leave in a crisis in these remote areas.
These were the key themes in the third part of our “Critical Communications in Tribal Communities” podcast public safety, hosted on Government Technology Insider, where we were joined by Lynda Zambrano, Executive Director, National Tribal Emergency Management Council, and George Barela, Public Safety Manager, Verizon, to discuss this topic further.
“Satellite technologies can work really well with filling connectivity gaps,” said Zambrano. “We recently had an experience with our incident command center, and had zero reception for cell phones or radios. Bringing in a satellite unit to establish communications was a godsend for us to be able to not only communicate with each other, but also with other tribal nations. Finding ways of partnering with corporations and business partners to enhance connectivity is a high priority for us.”
Listen to the full podcast below: