It's basically going to be an app on the "phone" system.....
FirstNet is setting up their own app store.
However, the PTT over LTE isn't going to be an app that's downloaded, it's going to be an integral part of the system/handset.
Bet thats gonna be a huge flop.
It's going to be for those that do not understand the limitations. Especially for those that do not understand the latency issues. It's what they call the "Don't shoot" test.
Do the following test with -any- radio system:
Have a user key up and say "Don't Shoot!"
What doe the other user hear?
-Do they hear the full "Don't Shoot!"?
-Do they just hear "..Shoot!"?
-Do they hear absolutely nothing?
Try that on a conventional radio system.
Try that on PTT cell phone type device.
Those apps have been available to consumer grade smart phones for quite a while now, I hope Southern Companies is much better.
The consumer grade apps are different than what FirstNet will be using, so that's not a good comparison.
I was at an APCO presentation last week and a rep from AT&T FirstNet group was there as was a State OES guy. Both echoed the same thing:
-FirstNet will be a valuable tool for first responders.
-FirstNet is not intended to replace traditional LMR radio systems.
-They both strongly recommended NOT relying on FirstNet as your only communications resource.
And this has been echoed all along. FirstNet is not intended to replace traditional radio systems. It will eventually (soon) have the capability to carry radio traffic, but it will require patching, interfaces, etc. and all that adds latency. No public safety agency will accept the amount of latency that will be involved for their daily operations.
The big issue FirstNet has is misinformation being propagated by those that don't know what it is and by agencies that are assuming much, but understanding little.
Any agency that thinks they are going to replace their radio system with FirstNet has zero clue what they are talking about. And this isn't surprising, as there hasn't been enough time to reach out to all the agencies. Most of what little these agencies know is coming from unreliable resources.
