FirstNet is part of an international movement

As America’s federal government moves forward with the implementation of a national wireless first response system, other countries around the world have already gotten a head start on their first response systems. From South Korea to Great Britain, some of the world’s most technologically advanced nations are creating LTE networks to support their first responders. Each system has its own unique purpose, but the U.S. can certainly learn from the international systems already in place.

A pilot version of SafeNet, South Korea’s LTE first response network is set to launch this month, with the final version expected to be deployed by December of 2017. The network’s main function will provide Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) service to first responders to more easily facilitate communication between paramedics, police, fire departments and other first responders. The urgency of implementing South Korea’s MCPTT system was underscored in May of 2014, when the MV Sewol ferry sunk, resulting in 304 deaths out of the 476 passengers. Many of the passengers were students, who were able to communicate with their families and friends over their LTE broadband network better than emergency responders using traditional land-mobile radio networks.

The United Kingdom is now moving from its TETRA-based first response system to a national LTE-based emergency services network (ESN). Previous moves to change emergency communications systems have been met with criticism from the British public safety community, however this transition has been widely lauded. The British government has already signed contracts with British mobile communications company EE for network services and with Motorola Solutions for mission-critical systems integration and functionality. The system is expected to be fully functional within the next year and a half.

While the U.K. and South Korea have far less ground to cover with their emergency LTE networks, it is important that we recognize the drive and determination it took to implement these systems on such a short timeline. When FirstNet comes to fruition in the U.S., it will have a more extensive functionality than any other emergency LTE networks in the world, but it will only be useful once it is fully functional – which cannot happen soon enough.