OAKVILLE, Ont. — The PSBN Innovation Alliance — which counts the Halton Regional Police Service and Peel Regional Police among its members — announced today it has been named as an associate member of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC).
NPSTC is a North American federation of public safety organizations, which aims to improve public safety communications and interoperability through collaborative leadership. NPSTC monitors and studies public policy and submits comments to government organizations on behalf of public safety and works to make sure public safety has the spectrum needed to communicate in life-threatening situations without interference. NPSTC also explores technology, standards and interoperable communication solutions.
Formed in mid-2019, the PSBN Innovation Alliance (PIA) is a not-for-profit Ontario association which advocates for public safety agency oversight of the Public Safety Broadband Network (PSBN), through the leadership of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
“With a rapidly expanding membership of over 45 public and private partnership agencies, including first responders, critical infrastructure organizations, transit companies, and high-tech companies, the PIA is leading the way in shaping the Canadian governance framework required to successfully operationalize RF spectrum set aside for public safety, and continues to advocate for telecom policy that fosters the establishment of ‘always-available’ mobile communications for Emergency Responders in support of their lifesaving mission,” reads a press release from Halton Police.
The PIA is the sole Canadian associate member of NPSTC. As an associate member, the PIA will represent and contribute Canadian views to the NPSTC board to enhance disaster preparedness and cross-border interoperability for 911 emergencies and international disaster response, says the press release.
“The PSBN Innovation Alliance is dedicated to one of its fundamental core tenets of ensuring that public safety and critical infrastructure partners have access to resilient, reliable and interoperable data communications when it is needed the most. Today, data communication is as important as voice communication, and in working with our NPSTC counterparts, we have an opportunity to further enhance our collective vision, which includes the critical need for seamless interoperability, through a collaborative partnership,” said Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Anthony Odoardi, who is the managing director of the PSBN Innovation Alliance.
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