Broadband First: Field Test Reshapes How Public Safety Should Invest in Communications

A MACC911-led exercise with 60+ public safety professionals linked four radio systems across three states over broadband, demonstrating how agencies can gain greater capabilities at lower cost by treating resilient connectivity as the center of their network.

A paper released today shows that public safety leaders can best serve their responders and communities by organizing communications around resilient broadband networks rather than around a single technology — their radio system — as many agencies do today. In this reframed approach, the radio system is no longer treated as the public safety communications network. It is part of the network. That shift improves investment decisions and can deliver greater capabilities at lower cost. 

The paper, Broadband First: A Strategic Investment Framework for Public Safety Communications, is based on an August 2026 interoperability field test, hosted by Multi Agency Communications Center (MACC911). More than 60 public safety professionals took part. The test linked four unconnected radio systems across three states – Washington, California, and New Mexico – over a blended broadband architecture, keeping a shared talkgroup active as cellular and satellite paths were disconnected one at a time. The field test used vehicle-based gateways to both carry a portable radio’s traffic up to 4.7 miles and to maintain radio service communications inside a jail where cellular and trunked radio service had dropped. 

The paper argues that agencies should not invest the next generation of capital into their land mobile radio (LMR) systems by default but should instead evaluate the option that best serves their requirements, with LMR competing against broadband alternatives. The economics often favor that reconsideration: a single new tower site costs $2 million to $3 million while $1 million can equip roughly 100 public safety vehicles with a resilient broadband package supporting voice, computer-aided dispatch (CAD), video, location, and messaging. In many settings, a broadband-equipped vehicle fleet can be a direct substitute for a tower while adding data capabilities a tower cannot provide.

The paper stresses that this is not a call to remove radios from firefighters or police officers. LMR remains excellent for immediate, shared tactical voice communications and should stay funded for that purpose. Agencies can test the paper’s claims for themselves for under $5,000 by using a radio they already own, a gateway device, and a commercial push-to-talk application. For those ready to move forward to a broadband-centric network, the paper lays out a phased, five-year investment plan, 

which totals roughly $1.3 million to $2 million for a mid-sized regional agency. Agencies should typically begin by bridging radio traffic onto the internet.

The paper was written by Brent VanKeulen, Deputy Chief (Ret.); Western Fire Chiefs Association; D.T. Donaldson, Director, MACC911; and Gerrit A. Klein, Technical Services Manager, MACC911. 

“We wrote this paper to start a conversation. We’re asking agencies to read it, and put the thesis to the test. The best way to know whether a broadband-first approach fits your community is to try it, see if it can help your teams carry out their critical missions and ultimately save lives,” the paper’s authors said.

Read the white paper, executive summary, and at-a-glance explainer hosted on the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA) website. 

About PSBTA 

The Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA) is an organization focused exclusively on ensuring the success of the entire FirstNet ecosystem that includes the legal entity created by Congress, the network infrastructure, hardware and software, and the single most important component—the end users. 

Media contact: Richard Carrizzo, carrizzor@gmail.com