Among the many states across the united states have concerns about the preparedness of emergency communication equipment Pennsylvania ranks high. With major cities like Philadelphia the state needs to be especially concerned about how ready they are to deal with emergencies. A major component of this readiness is ensuring that their equipment is in proper functioning order.

There are different factors to be considered when thinking about emergencies and the process that it takes to be prepared. Equipment has two primary systems. Both the systems need to be considered to ensure that a state is prepared

The first of the systems is the notification system. This system refers to the collection of processes that facilitate the broadcast of information to people about an event that is either occurring currently or going to happen soon. Notification system may be composed of such avenues as twitter or e-mail or text messages. Some of the events that systems are used for include tornadoes tsunamis etc. The primary characteristic of these communications is that they are one-way communications.

Emergency communication systems on the other hand are two-way communications. They often utilize the same tools and they are usually between the authorities staff and the people who are affected by the events. Communication systems are also distinguishable by the fact that they have the ability to provide detail about the event whereas notification systems will usually be focused on just notification.

When states are considering how prepared they are for the event emergencies there are many factors that come into play. Past experience with emergencies by other cities is usually an important learning tool. There are many events that have occurred in the recent past that serve as learning tools to ensure that a preparedness.

One such case that the New York City world trade center attacks. During this event telecommunications systems was severely overloaded. This resulted in the phone networks been severely congested all over the east coast. Departments had not trained in interoperability best practices prior to the attack. As a result communication between first respondents was severely impacted. Firefighters died because they were unable to receive communications from emergency control stations

Another such case where there was a mass failure of communication systems is that of London subway bombings. On the day of the bombing phone networks were at complete capacity by 10 o'clock in the morning. The radio system that would have been used by trains that had been damaged to communicate with control centers and emergency personnel were antiquated and useless. Measures were taken to remedy this situation after the bombing. One such measure was a requirement that digital radio be used in communications systems. Additionally it was require that these radio systems operate underground.

When evaluating their emergency communication equipment Pennsylvania can learn from such case studies in order to ensure better preparedness. It is a significant responsibility and many factors need to be taken into account when determining the best equipment for the systems. It is also one that should never be taken lightly and only be undertaken by the most qualified professionals