ABSTRACT
While mobile communications have become ubiquitous throughout the World due to the widespread availability of cellular networks, wireless access points, and satellite links, there is another set of wireless communications systems that is critical to our well-being, particularly in the event of natural and man-made disasters. This chapter is about the wireless communications systems used by Emergency First Responders, such as firefighters, police, and other governmental agency personnel. Perhaps surprisingly, these systems are based on much more rudimentary communications technologies than are the commercial systems that we use in our everyday lives. Similar to military communications systems, communications systems for emergency first responders have some very specific special requirements that are not available in most commercial systems and we develop these special requirements here. These emergency communications systems also have a unique evolutionary path that is far from what many consider as the quite revolutionary path blazed by digital cellular and other commercial wireless technologies in the past 25 years [1–3].
