An often glossed-over but critical feature of any physical security solution is the connectivity that enables it. As schools, municipalities, and commercial businesses try to navigate the myriad of technologies available to protect their people and assets, the discussion of connectivity has become an afterthought not raised until the system features have been selected.
A better approach is to consider your connectivity needs before selecting the features and components. Without reliable and secure connectivity, your security solution may not function when needed.
Fortunately, innovative connectivity solutions such as Private LTE/5G, Datacasting with ATSC 3.0, fixed wireless access, and the more commonplace Wi-Fi and Wired connectivity offer a powerful combination of enhanced security and operational efficiency. These ensure budgetary considerations are met and the daily lives of students, residents, and employees remain unhindered.
- Provides a dedicated and secure communication channel, ensuring real-time monitoring and control of security devices, significantly improving response times during critical incidents.
- Quickly identifies and monitors connected devices by maintaining a list of authorized SIM cards, reducing potential vulnerabilities from unauthorized access.
- Eliminates the need for costly fiber optic installations in remote locations while providing scalability and reliability
- Simultaneously updates multiple devices within the broadcast area with a single transmission.
- Allows you to rapidly disseminate information, enhancing your security awareness and response times while maintaining budgetary control.
- Enables you to segment your communications to send specific messages to different groups with the depth of information dependent on the recipient list.
Wired
- Leverages fast, reliable, and stable connections that are more difficult to compromise for a robust security solution.
- Strengthens your system security by limiting access to physical connections to the network.
- Scales your network effectively without compromising performance by providing lower latency and increased data loads.
Wi-Fi
- Expands your network quickly while adapting new devices and technologies for a flexible solution that provides more effective coverage.
- Protects your costs and eliminates the need for extensive cabling and associated infrastructure.
- Deploys critical networks quickly in dynamic situations where you need a reliable network immediately.
Each type of connectivity has a place in an effective security solution and more than one technology may be required for a comprehensive security package to work efficiently. Remembering these characteristics is essential when determining the best technology to deploy. Your site’s unique structure and topography also play an essential role in deploying the right technology and the connectivity that powers it.
Challenges to Deploying an Effective Security Solution
By assuming traditional connectivity will always work in all scenarios, organizations risk failing to fully consider the complex security requirements you need to deploy an effective security solution.
- Location – Is your site in an urban or rural setting? Is it set back deep in your property or just off a busy public street? Do you have good carrier cell coverage or is it spotty and limited? These variations affect your security solutions needs as well as the type of connectivity required to operate them.
- Facility Type – Connectivity in a single building doesn’t require the same solution or infrastructure as campuses with multiple buildings. In addition, different materials used in a facility’s construction, such as steel, cinder block, or lumber, can significantly impact your connectivity requirements.
- Budgetary Constraints – Building a complete physical infrastructure to support every component of your security solution is expensive. Cost-effective, modular solutions help you build your security network as you need it while aligning with your financial limitations.
- Speed – Saving lives is always the top priority, so the ability to assess threats in real-time and respond immediately is critical. Remote, unmanned facilities require less connectivity speed than high-populated schools and facilities, so understanding the human factor will help you determine your speed requirements.
- Reliability – Maintaining remote sensing capabilities at your site perimeter is essential to maintain an effective security solution. However, costs can run high, particularly if you need to run fiber optic cables to remote locations.
- Emerging Threats – While technology is improving and providing better methods to monitor sites, so are the tactics and tools of bad actors. Every site is unique, with its own vulnerabilities. Maintaining vigilance means you need a flexible security solution that can be updated over time and the connectivity to support it.
Security Technology Powered by Connectivity
Whether you need access control, video surveillance or a mass communication system, these solutions provide secure, fast, and flexible connectivity with faster response times while ensuring adaptability as security solutions evolve.
- Automated Doors – Providing real-time access control, automated doors allow security personnel to grant access as needed or create access privileges remotely so you can ensure only authorized personnel are on-site.
- Surveillance Cameras – Monitoring and recording every corner of your facility, surveillance cameras deter potential threats and criminal activity while allowing you to always know who’s in your facility and what they’re doing.
- Automated Lighting – Automated or motion-sensitive lighting provides safety while conserving energy. Integrated into your overall security system, lights can be turned on during critical moments or emergencies, ensuring visibility when needed.
- Environmental Sensors – Security isn’t always about human threats. Environmental sensors play a vital role in detecting hazardous situations by monitoring temperature, humidity, gas levels or water leakage.
- Security Robots – While the technology is still emerging, robots are becoming more involved in facility security. Autonomous or remote-controlled robots can patrol large areas, providing an extra level of security. And with live feedback from the robot’s cameras, your security personnel can access more accurate information in real-time.
To ensure your security system and its various components are reliable and cost-effective, you need secure, fast and flexible connectivity that meets your needs.
Deploy a More Effective Security Solution with Trilogy NextGen
Every facility is a unique environment, and yours is no different. Connectivity solutions from Trilogy NextGen offer diverse, flexible, and cost-effective means to enhance security and operational efficiency for your school, city, or business.
Implementing security solutions requires careful consideration of what is needed versus what you can afford. Trilogy NextGen can help you adopt a modular approach to implement essential security measures as needed, gradually expanding your infrastructure as budgets permit. By prioritizing access control and video surveillance, organizations can build their security solutions incrementally, ensuring that crucial components are in place while managing financial limitations effectively.
And to ensure your operations during potential vulnerabilities or cyber threats, Trilogy NextGen’s connectivity solutions empower you to protect your network through redundancy and fail-safe measures like power backups and prioritizing security-related operations over regular internet usage to help maintain continuous operation and minimal downtime for security systems.
By embracing innovative connectivity solutions like Private LTE/5G, Datacasting with ATSC 3.0, and fixed wireless access, you can navigate security implementation challenges while safeguarding your daily activities, ensuring a safer and more efficient environment for all.
To learn more about improving your security solutions with the right connectivity technology, click here and simplify your connectivity with Trilogy NextGen.