What Is a Public Safety Radio?

FEMA estimated that in 2020, there were about 6.9 billion mobile device subscribers, and all of us with cellphones are coming to rely increasingly on our cellphones for information. 

In other words, the vast majority of the population expect to access news, weather reports, and emergency updates through our phones, particularly our smartphones with internet capabilities. 

The problem is that these devices don’t always work–whether the battery dies during a power outage or the cellphone towers go down during a natural disaster, we can’t always expect our phones to be there for us in an emergency.

Public safety radio is designed to broadcast important safety information regardless of location and other related conditions. Read on to learn more about what public safety radio does and why it’s important.

What Does a Public Safety Radio Broadcast?

A public safety radio is a wireless communication system that allows first responders and other personnel in emergency services to communicate instantly and without interruption. Public safety radio systems are often employed by the police, firefighters, EMTs, homeland security, and agencies who are tasked with emergency response duties. If your job is to protect the public from threats, both natural and manmade, then a public safety radio is something you should have on hand. 

There are codes in most states that determine the specifications of a public safety radio system. These include:

• A minimum signal strength
• A specified degree of reliability via battery life, backup power, protection from water, and more
• A specific frequency band (or multiple bands) that allow for the coverage of public safety

By ensuring that a public safety radio meets these requirements, first responders and emergency personnel can reliably broadcast a wide range of threats. These include fires, terrorist attacks, shootings, medical emergencies, and more. 

How Do Public Safety Radios Work?

Different types of public safety radios require different devices and frequencies to ensure maximum functioning levels. For example, an in-building public safety radio system must be able to penetrate all areas of the building it serves. This includes stairwells, elevators, and basements, which means that signal boosters must be placed strategically throughout the building.

In addition, the FCC allocates bands of frequencies (particularly in the UHF and VHF parts of the frequency spectrum) for public safety usage. This ensures that any broadcasting done through a public safety radio is not interfered with by other systems or stations. 

First responders require a system that works, and that means finding a quality public safety radio provider. Find out more about what options are available for the first responders in your community.

Your Community Should Invest In Public Safety Radios Today

Most of us have adjusted to the seemingly unlimited reliability of our cellphones. The problem is that in an emergency, our cellphones can lose battery power or lose the signal we need to communicate and find out important news. It’s crucial for communities to invest in a public safety radio for all of their first responders and emergency response personnel in order to ensure public safety.

Looking for more information about the gadgets and technology we use to connect and increase safety today? Take a look around to find out what’s going on in the world of tech.