Project MESA Approves First-Responder Broadband Communications Specifications

December 15, 2005

The international public safety mobile broadband data communications standardization partnership (Project MESA) approved a revised Statement of Requirements (SoR) document and a system architecture overview specification. Members also identified technical requirements from the SoR and coordinated technologies applicable to MESA work and the MayDayML initiative.

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) senior staff said Project MESA and related public safety-oriented activities are not as market-driven as other more commercial endeavors. As the communications industry continues to see an increase in demand for next-generation communications for public safety, emergency and disaster support professionals, the sector's need for more innovation and industry support becomes more evident.

"Over the past decade, the use of computer-based applications in the emergency arena has increased markedly. The deployed computer-aided dispatch systems are mainly of a proprietary nature. As a consequence of this, interactions between different systems usually involve specialized protocol conversions. The MESA MayDayML initiative seeks to remedy the data exchange situation in the emergency arena. The primary vehicle for this is the creation of an XML-based emergency data exchange standard," said Jens Behrens of the Copenhagen Fire Brigade.

For more information on MESA, see www.projectmesa.org.

Source: Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).