High-definition surveillance security cameras are popping up all over the country and the world! Whether they’re in private homes, businesses, or in public areas, these surveillance video cameras and their recordings, although seen as an invasion of privacy to some, can be exceptionally helpful and instrumental to law enforcement agencies and citizens alike, especially when it comes time to use these recordings in court.
YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, MLB.com, HBO — all these video services are very popular, and they are eating up all the bandwidth.
In order to give police better access to their own data and to help them solve and prevent crimes, law enforcement have begun to form their own digital networks and attached customized surveillance and data systems. The main challenge these networks face is the ever decreasing supply of bandwidth, which can greatly deter the effectiveness of surveillance systems.
What is bandwidth exactly?
Well, in the same way that our computers slow down when too many programs are running at once, video signals can slow down when too many of them are transmitting at the same time, causing delayed and low-quality video playback. Add that to the daily, constant telecommunication of the general public, and there is a lot of potential for lagging video signals.
In response to this issue, the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) wants to develop a whole broadband network unique only to police, fire agencies, and first-time responders. The system would be independent from the networks we all use for phone calls, watching TV, and internet use. This is what London has, and is the reason they are able to support over 400,000 surveillance cameras at once.
