[SecurityHive Editor’s Note: This article is from a Russian based news outlet and seems to have a particular bias. Please read accordingly.] FirstNet: America’s new surveillance network has already been tested in a handful of states and 2014 will likely see it rolled out further. According to a series of presentation slides from December last year, FirstNet will be the “Most secure wireless network ever built,” sitting entirely separate from the commercially run networks that everyone, including first responders, uses today.

This will give FirstNet greater reliability in situations where networks come under extreme pressure, such as when tens of thousands of people contact loved ones during a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

It makes sense to have a dedicated network just for first responders during these sorts of events. Thanks to the network being based on the super-fast 4G protocol, it will also allow for a new wave of novel technology. One application is that after ‘tagging’ a disaster victim with a small device, patients’ vital signs can be monitored from a control centre, allowing medical staff to keep an eye on who needs treatment the most at any one time.

But FirstNet will also give local law enforcement the ability to take digital “fingerprints from the field,” record and share high quality video, and instantaneously marry these freshly sourced data with others over the network.

A demonstrator uses facial recognition software on a tablet; finds out if the target is in a linked database, and is immediately provided with a wealth of information on him. […]