Nokia has expanded its range of LTE-based public safety solutions with the introduction of instant video connectivity.
The Finnish company has also grouped its public safety solutions in a new ‘Nokia Group Communications’ portfolio, and integrated its traditional push-to-talk and new push-to-video applications, already aligned with 3GPP standards and compatible with future standards releases, onto a range of certified LTE devices for public safety agencies.
It said its portfolio covers a high-capacity platform that supports real-time push-to-video for up to 1,000 active users, and push-to-talk for up to 20,000 active users, per server. Encryption is offered in the application layer, and software licenses are available on a pay-as-you-grow basis, it said.
Fast call set-up times, with latency below 300 milliseconds, will allow groups of field workers and command controllers to share live video feeds with each other to enhance knowledge and communications, Nokia said.
Its LTE public safety applications also work with 3G and Wi-Fi to ensure coverage does not drop when out of range of an LTE signal. Its expanded portfolio works with the Nokia Compact Network base station, which allows public safety workers to quickly deploy a private network in emergency situations.
Henri Tallon, Head of Public Sector at Nokia, said: “Nokia Group Communications further bolsters our comprehensive public safety offer with capabilities that will help first responders react more effectively in a crisis. With new applications like push-to-video, fully standards-ready, we can ensure public safety teams are better informed of a situation and therefore enhance safety and security for all concerned.”
Thomas Lynch, Director for Security and Critical Communications Research at research house IHS Markit, said: “Nokia is moving to another level, adding an end-to-end encryption layer to deliver the high-level security demanded by public safety markets around the world. By being fully aligned with 3GPP standards the portfolio allows a smooth evolution to MC-PTT standards and can operate with any vendor’s LTE network.”