Friday fragments - comms news from around the web for 22 August 2014

A round-up of the week's critical communications and public safety radio news for Friday, 22 August 2014.

FirstNet wants to use off-the-shelf tech. In a blog post, Rich Reed, FirstNet director of state plans, gives an update of recent developments and says, “FirstNet would look to leverage off-the-shelf technologies and existing industry standards to create efficiencies for the nationwide public safety broadband network and to make sure the network supports security, priority and pre-emption."

Hoax spurs police beacon chase. Idiotic troublemakers stashed an EPIRB in a drain at a cricket club oval in Ballarat, Victoria, forcing authorities to call in a police helicopter to track it down and inactivate it. Leading Senior Constable Simmons was quoted by The Courier as saying that such idiotic pranks happen about once per month and are done by people who “look out for our response". An air ambulance had been tasked to find the beacon earlier in the week, but failed to find it. (Let's hope they find the culprits. Ed.)

Adelaide Uni to research SDN. Researchers at the University of Adelaide are undertaking a three-year study of software defined networking with the aim of improving emergency operations through integrated communications systems for police and the emergency services. “SDN allows us to separate the communications equipment from the software that controls it," says Dr Hung Nguyen. “With SDN, the hardware supports an open and standardised protocol which makes integrating multiple networks easier."

Students develop radio software bridge. Summer students in New York have developed a prototype software bridge to connect dissimilar radio systems. “Because the technology the students demonstrated is based on open-source software, it could provide a low-cost and very adaptable solution to interoperability problems across New York state," the Rome Sentinal quoted New York State Technology Enterprise Corp. CEO and president Mike Walsh said, “The software is free, it runs over standard hardware, and the solution is very adaptable. Down the road we would like to boost the bridge so it could eventually accommodate the transmission of video and data as well as voice communications."

Got them over a barrel? Residents on a county near Niagara Falls are protesting about the erection of an emergency fire tower which they say is too close to their town. The tower will host emergency comms equipment.

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