Body-worn cameras are sending live video to control rooms, satellites are extending connectivity beyond terrestrial coverage, and AI systems are beginning to log decisions made in emergency centres. Critical communications is expanding beyond voice radio. The challenge is to keep information available, secure and traceable from the point of action through to later review.

A critical incident does not become manageable simply because a radio connection is available. Control rooms may also need to understand what an officer or other frontline worker is seeing, what information has entered the incident management system and whether recordings will remain accessible as evidence. The operational chain is widening: from radio traffic to mobile video, network infrastructure and decision records.

Developments in Austria and Germany illustrate how this is changing frontline operations. Projects elsewhere in Europe address network maintenance, coverage and cryptographic security. Initiatives in the United States and New Zealand focus on testing communications technology under controlled or contested conditions.

Austria and Germany: Adding video to the operational picture

Austria’s Ministry of Justice is equipping 29 prisons with Motorola Solutions V500 body-worn cameras. The LTE-enabled devices are intended for judicial officers and correctional staff. They can livestream footage to control rooms, while the associated VideoManager software is designed to manage recordings and store them securely for evidentiary purposes. The rollout to frontline staff is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

The deployment adds a visual source of information to the control room’s operational picture. That places several requirements on the communications chain: live footage must be available during an incident, recordings must be securely retained afterwards, and access to them must be governed. Body-worn video does not replace mission-critical radio. It adds a visual layer whose value depends on the reliability of the connection, the management software and the evidence-handling process.

At Klinikum Dortmund, a hospital in western Germany, Motorola Solutions V200 cameras and VideoManager software are being piloted in emergency department reception areas and the emergency units of the children’s hospital and paediatric surgery department. The information available describes visible camera use, rather than live streaming to a control room. Motorola says the pilot recorded more than 200 instances in which visible cameras and verbal warnings helped defuse aggressive behaviour before security staff had to intervene. More than 90 per cent of emergency reception staff reportedly wore the cameras voluntarily.

The hospital combines the technology with round-the-clock security personnel, access control and de-escalation training. Motorola cites a German Hospital Institute survey in which nearly three-quarters of respondents said verbal or physical assaults on staff had increased over the previous five years. The Dortmund figures suggest a possible deterrent effect, but the pilot’s longer-term impact remains to be assessed.

These deployments show why body-worn video is becoming relevant to critical communications, even though it is not itself a radio network. It can provide additional visual context during an incident and create a record for later review. Its introduction brings questions of transmission, access, retention and evidence management into the communications environment.

Europe: Maintaining networks and extending coverage

In Spain’s Basque Country, Amper has won a maintenance contract worth approximately €1.7 million for the regional government’s Security Department. The work covers TETRA and LTE systems, radio and fibre-optic transport networks, the network core, video solutions and other security technologies. Maintenance is to be provided 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The contract highlights a less visible part of critical communications: keeping a heterogeneous network operational over time. Different technologies must continue to work together, faults need to be resolved quickly, and operators need a detailed understanding of the network architecture. Availability depends as much on maintenance and incident response as on the original equipment.

Satellite connectivity could help address another challenge: areas beyond terrestrial mobile coverage. Spanish company Sateliot has launched five additional satellites for its 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) for IoT devices, bringing its constellation to 11. Orbiting at around 510 kilometres, the satellites have a planned operational life of five years. Sateliot says they will double the average number of daily passes and halve the time between connection opportunities.

The company is using the 3GPP standard and positions satellite links as an extension of mobile operators’ networks. The new satellites include updated payload, storage, computing and attitude-control systems, according to Sateliot. For time-sensitive security communications, the practical value will depend on availability, latency and how satellite connectivity is integrated with existing networks.

Cryptographic security is another part of the European picture. ETSI has published technical report TR 104 171, setting out implementation guidance for quantum random number generators (QRNGs). These devices use quantum processes to produce random values for cryptographic keys and other security parameters. But quantum physics alone does not guarantee secure output: additional information, implementation weaknesses or interference can reduce unpredictability.

The ETSI guidance covers the QRNG lifecycle, from validating the entropy source and processing random values to monitoring their quality and protecting against tampering and side-channel attacks. It also addresses the secure delivery of entropy to applications. ETSI calls this approach “Entropy Zero Trust”: every stage of the process should be treated as potentially vulnerable and made verifiable. For critical network operators, the principle is clear: encryption depends not only on algorithms, but also on the integrity of the keys and random values they use.

Beyond Europe: Testing communications under interference

The US Army is opening selected test ranges to private developers working on drones, counter-drone systems and low-cost interceptors. Its Threat Systems Management Office is deploying Viavi’s software-defined T/Rx transceiver system to create complex electromagnetic environments in which systems can be tested under conditions closer to those found on modern battlefields.

Camp Grayling hosted a recurring electromagnetic unreliability test in September. The system was used to reproduce electronic warfare conditions observed in Ukraine, according to the organisations involved. The aim is to help developers harden drones and counter-drone systems against interference. The Test Range Private Industry Initiative is also intended to give companies without existing government contracts access to the facilities and accelerate development.

In New Zealand, Tait Communications has invested in a semi-anechoic chamber at a test laboratory near its Christchurch headquarters. The six-metre-high, nine-metre-long and six-metre-wide chamber is designed to support testing for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certifications, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) authorisations and relevant ETSI standards. The laboratory also houses equipment for electromagnetic compatibility, radio-frequency testing and the P25 Compliance Assessment Programme.

Tait says the chamber has been recertified by the FCC and ISED, with accreditation valid through May 2028. The company plans to extend testing to emissions in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Controlled indoor testing is intended to shield devices from external interference and produce reliable results.

Control rooms need a record of decisions

As artificial intelligence enters emergency communications, organisations will need to document not only calls and radio traffic, but also how people and systems contribute to decisions. NiCE has launched Witness, a platform designed to synchronise emergency-call audio, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) activity and radio communications. Automated evaluation is intended to help determine whether an incident was handled in line with policy.

NiCE describes Witness as a “flight recorder” for AI-assisted public safety operations. It is designed to record what information came in, how AI was used, how personnel responded and what decisions followed. This may become increasingly relevant as AI is used for call triage, translation, dispatch, threat assessment and report generation. A synchronised record can support later review, but it does not replace professional judgement or clear accountability for decisions.

The connection to critical communications lies in the operational record: control rooms need not only working channels, but also a reliable account of how information moved through an incident. Body-worn video can add context from the field; synchronised call, CAD and radio data can document activity in the control room. Both create data that must be protected, available and traceable.

Resilience depends on the whole chain

The projects differ, but they point to a broader definition of critical communications. Network maintenance supports TETRA, LTE and fibre infrastructure. Satellites may extend coverage beyond terrestrial networks. Test facilities assess equipment under controlled or disrupted conditions. Body-worn cameras provide visual information from the field, while control-room platforms bring voice, radio and operational data together. Cryptographic safeguards protect the confidentiality and integrity of the communications themselves.

Critical communications can no longer be measured by network availability alone. It also depends on secure keys, reliable transmission, governed access, robust storage and reviewable decisions. As more systems are connected, each interface must be protected and tested as carefully as the network it relies on.