moving tone voice paging to cell text msg

[E5911]

Is anyone familiar with how this is done. I realize it changes tone/voice to test msg but the question I have is the complaint that I have herd in the past that the text message, or dispatch, could be delayed due to the fact the group text is placed in the same que as all other text msgs. Someone told me after it was done here the agency that did it negociated a Priority placement with the cell provider for thier texts to go the front of the line. Any truth to this? and does everyone have the same cell provider to make this happen?

 

[N0YFE]

You are correct that once you enter your message into a paging network or SMS system it get placed into the que and processed.

You are also correct that there can be a delay depending on the load of the system at the time. I've seen delays upto 5 minutes for pages and SMS messages can be delayed as well since each SMS message much travel though the network, to the carrier, and finally to the handset.

SMS and Pagers are nice backups, but should never replace a primary communications source.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Moving critical public safety comms to cell should not ever happen. Those communications need to be on a secure, reliable, agency- or government-controlled system.

 

[scanpprcn]

In the Jan 2012 edition of the periodical Urgent Communications is an article that address this specific topic, 'Why pagers still matter'.

I agree with Dave. Unless you're on vacation and can't break away from the activity at home or you're the dept's admin person and want to know what calls the station is on, txt msg and/or e-mail translation from the public safety paging system is not an effective or safe solution.

Mike B.

 

[SteveC0625]

One of the very first lessons learned from 9-11-2001 is that cell phones are useless in a crisis. The general public jams them up calling each other.

So, by that lesson alone, depending on SMS texting in any form for any dispatch purposes is just plain WRONG.

On a day-to-day basis, it is a nice "extra" alongside your regular dispatch system, but it can not be depended upon because of the "one at a time" nature of the delivery of SMS.

Even many (if not all) of the most sophisticated public safety systems have maintained a single VHF or UHF conventional analog radio frequency exclusively for the tone and voice alerting of fire, EMS, and other responders because it is reliable and proven technology.

Moving critical public safety comms to cell should not ever happen. Those communications need to be on a secure, reliable, agency- or government-controlled system.

Dave's words here are gospel, pure and simple. (I should know, he was my student once upon a time and far, far away.)