How will Obama’s victory affect wireless video surveillance projects?
There’s a lot of speculation among analysts that Obama’s election signifies the bursting of the security bubble. In the past eight years, billions of dollars have been poured (some say wasted) into IP video security applications in airports, sea ports, border areas, etc. Some analysts are predicting fewer government grants for homeland security and municipal projects. In surveys we’ve done here at Muniwireless, the number one application that municipalities want to use on their muni wireless networks is wireless video surveillance. In some instances, the only way a city can get a wireless network up and running is via a grant for some kind of public safety application, usually video surveillance. Privacy advocates are suspicious of these projects, but police departments and in some cases, residents, believe that IP video surveillance reduces crime in those neighborhoods.
How do you think an Obama administration will affect muni wireless video surveillance projects? Will the future spending on infrastructure, which would probably include broadband, allow cities to beef up wireless public safety applications? Is this desirable at all?
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I think Obama is extremely clued in with technology - it will be a fun ride.
I’m biased of course, but I believe wireless surveillance esp. when combined with hi-res IP video, caching, and analytics at the edge of the network, has a very bright future even now. Obama seems to be a pragmatist aftger all, and while we probably won’t see a continuation of some of the ill-conceived and extravagant projects of the past few years, there will always be a place for cost-effective solutions that just work.