LTE network deployment for enhanced safety of competitors and spectators during NCAA Rowing Championship 2012

Park rangers, emergency medical services and event organizers at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rowing Championship will be using real-time visual information (streaming video, image transfer) to ensure the safety and security of competitors and spectators, thanks to a dedicated mobile broadband network from Alcatel-Lucent.

Alcatel-Lucent is providing a public safety 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband network using Band 14 along with its Striker 1 mobile command vehicle to centrally monitor video surveillance cameras placed strategically around Lake Mercer for the duration of the Championship. Thanks to LTE, surveillance video will also be shared with park rangers on boats to aid in their management of the event safety. The deployment provides cost-effective, real-time visibility over a large area from a central monitoring point, allowing public safety personnel to respond more quickly and precisely to incidents on the water and medical emergencies. It also enables better monitoring and management of the thousands of spectators expected at Lake Mercer.

This is the first use of a public safety LTE network at a large scale water event in the US. The deployment demonstrates the advantages that LTE mobile broadband brings in enhancing situational awareness and collaboration between different organizations. A video feed of the event for the media and public will also use the same LTE public safety network, highlighting that public safety LTE has the capacity and capability to ensure and prioritize mission critical operations while still supporting non-critical traffic.

LTE is considered the best technology to provide mobile broadband for the public safety sector, with bandwidth, reliability and cost of ownership in its favor. Alcatel-Lucent is drawing on its experience as a leading supplier of LTE solutions to telecommunication service providers to help public safety agencies around the world plan their transition to LTE.

In October 2011, the City of Charlotte selected Alcatel-Lucent to deploy a hosted core LTE public safety network in the dedicated 700 MHz frequency spectrum. In a recent LTE trial with Sao Paulo Military Police, live video has proven invaluable, improving situational awareness, aiding faster, more accurate decision making, and ultimately increasing the safety of first responders and their communities.