Mobile Data Terminal The mobile data terminal or (MDT) is a very important piece of equipment within the emergency fields and public safety. It is important to the fire service because it gives emergency dispatchers the ability to remain in direct contact with on-scene personnel and anticipate the threat or emergency. They can use it to respond quickly to emergencies, and predict incidents trends and patterns. There are several different types of MDT’s that all perform two way data communication ranging from computerized devices mounted inside emergency vehicles, to handheld units. Before the computer, one the only sufficient way to get information was from the boots on the ground. These men or women would transmit the information using notes or reports, and then later on storing these files in cabinets which still used today. MDT’s are now used within law enforcement agencies, fire, and ems. Earlier when computerization was becoming more of a thing in the 1980’s, some large agencies started to install specialized MDT’s in their vehicles. At that point and time with mobile data these devices were very small and had agency owned radio systems. These systems did the job but were expensive, time consuming or slow to use, and generally unreliable.
Now in the 21st century almost everyone and anything are capable of transmitting data wirelessly, from cell phones, personal digital assistants, and laptops. The equipment is still pretty pricy as of today with limited budgets within departments. A mobile data terminal price usually ranges between $1,000 to 5,000 with instillation fees between $500 to a grand. Yes of course there is always the possibility of equipment malfunctioning or moving slowly but as technology progresses these devices are getting more and more efficient every day. These devices consist of a screen, (sometimes a touch screen) which displays information and data that was sent to the terminal, and a keyboard for entering information to send out to the dispatcher. MDT’s may also have GPS (Global Positioning System) and GIS (Geographical Information System) integrated within them to provide the dispatcher with the location of the fire apparatus and information about streets, addresses, phone numbers and building information to the firefighters on scene. For now, most public safety agencies including the fire service uses slower speed networks which were built by the agency, higher speed cellular data networks, or self-built Wi-Fi networks for computer to computer or computer to base networks. For cellular data networks some of the major vendors for these devices are Sprint/Nextel, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The NFPA standard that goes along with the mobile data terminal would be NFPA 1221: Standard for the installation, maintenance, and use of emergency services communications systems. Without any source of a mobile data terminal it would make the job of a firefighter or any public safety official very difficult. Of course it has been done before in the past before all the technology but these MDT’s are very critical in the fire service. If you think about it and want to get technical someone’s life can depend upon this device.

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