Jed, Whether or not it CAN be done is not an issue. The issue is whether it SHOULD be done. The notion of a public safety agency operating an alerting system that is based at someone's home, using privately-contracted phone lines, is really frightening! What if the dispatcher is "indisposed" when an emergency call comes in? What if the teenager in the house is tying up the Internet connection with XBOX? Will any insurance company indemnify the at-home dispatcher if a call is unanswered and someone dies? Fire departments deserve and require professional dispatch personnel at a duty position.
I disagree with your conclusion that the Internet is more reliable than a Verizon phone line. I know of no peer-reviewed study that supports such a statement. Moreover, since a copper telephone connection is about as reliable as communication can be, I think the reverse is true. In fact, my Verizon phone line has never failed- in the 35-some years I have had it, but my Internet connection has failed many, many times. I do not mean to imply that Verizon is any more or less reliable than any other wireline provider- only that a copper CO connection from any provider is probably more reliable than any Internet connection. 73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jed Barton Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 1:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Repeater-Builder] dispatch centers run through the internet Hey guys, I am working on a project and am wondering if anyone has done this. Here's the proposal, to set up a dispatch center for an FD, where the dispatchers can sit at home and work the entire thing. This is not a very busy department, that's why they thought it would be good to do it. I've done a lot of research, and it can certainly be done. This obviously brings up a lot of debate for a number of reasons. In looking at it though, the reliability of the net is very good compared to a verizon phone line. Curious if anyone has done something like this before. For the phone system, we're using a virtual phone system that has proven reliability. Thanks, Jed
