Data Communication

Most people today are familiar with data plans on cell phone systems. It allows them to access their email and the internet from their cell phones. However, most people are not familiar with mobile data communications. This is something that, while similar to the aforementioned cellular plans, is actually used to transmit user to user information.

Commonly used by emergency personnel, mobile data communications allow police, fire, and EMTs to transmit and receive critical information in the form of data. Some might wonder why this method is preferred to traditional radio communications, and the question is well asked and answered.

In the military, radio personnel are trained in communications techniques to keep confusion to a minimum. Because certain letters have a similar sounds when spoken and can be easily confused with another, a system was needed to help reduce this problem to a minimum. Letters like T and P have a similar sound, so instead of simply saying T or P, they would say a word that began with the appropriate letter. T was now Tango and P was now Papa.

This ability to keep confusion to a minimum was further reinforced by standardized training and consistent use of these words representing letters. However, while this greatly reduced misunderstanding, it did not eliminate communication errors. Today, it is necessary to be able to communicate much more specific and lengthy information in certain emergency situations; therefore, a new system was needed.

The easiest solution would be to transmit the raw data from one point to another. This would allow the end user or recipient the ability to receive accurate information without the possibility of transmission error. The other benefit of this type of mobile data communication is that it helped keep information more secure than it would be if transmitted over open airwaves where anyone could be listening.

The secure aspects of this kind of site to site com appealed to the military, the police, and other public servants engaged in emergency response. In the case of medical information and the requisite security concerns, raw data transmission seems the best option available.

Until recent years, this type of transmission required high specialized equipment and was very cost prohibitive. The other draw back was the speed of the transmission. In the early days, it might take just as long to transfer the data to the end user who needed it, as it would be to relay it via voice transmission. Today, with the technological advancements that have been made, mobile data transmission has never been more secure and quick.

There are specific companies that specialize in mobile data transmission. While one would think that cellular companies would be leading the pack, the security requirements and technology while similar are very different. This means that specialized equipment is still a necessity although not quite as cost prohibitive as years past.

The sheer numbers of emergency responders has increased as the population has increased. This means that proprietary systems are necessary to keep information from becoming confused with multiple transmissions.