Firefighters in Slovenia. (Photo: tomazl/E+/Getty Images)
Public Safety Communication Europe (PSCE) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to support the use of satellite applications for public safety.
ESA and PSCE will work together under the new MoI towards establishing interoperable public safety communications systems.
The MoI will support the emergence of space-based applications in the public-safety domain such as public safety services relying on secure mobile broadband communication solutions. These include applications within disaster preparedness, response and resilience, situational awareness, assessments of damages, navigation-based services for tracking and coordinating rescue forces on-site and for emergency vehicles.
“ESA Space Solutions and the 4S Strategic Programme Line will support through this agreement the emergence of solutions making use of secure satellite communications for institutional public safety user communities,” said Rita Rinaldo, ESA. “This can be achieved as of today through existing satellite telecommunications infrastructures. In the future it will be possible to make use of new and innovative infrastructures with enhanced capabilities. Early pilots and demonstrations will showcase the unique benefits granted by satellites to the user communities and early adopters.”
“The cooperation with ESA will help to explore complementary solutions that will contribute to cover capability gaps and needs for public safety. It is of extreme importance to improve public safety communication systems with cutting-edge and rapidly deployable solutions that will facilitate PPDR missions,” explained Marie-Christine Bonnamour, PSCE.
The first step for ESA and PSCE cooperation will be PSCE participation in ongoing user studies on “Satellite Applications for Public Safety.” PSCE will help identify the needs of public safety stakeholders such as emergency services, fire brigades and law enforcement.