MAY 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 5

trial to let first

trial to let first responders try out the system for themselves without commitment. “Common use cases are police departments where they may not have the best radio coverage, and they want to be able to stay in touch with their team 24/7,” said Tango Tango’s Adam DePasqua. “Tango Tango allows agencies to provide reliable radio-like coverage and connectivity to every officer in their jurisdiction, without actually having to issue a two-way radio to each officer. It’s a great solution for any team – big, small, rural or metropolitan.” INCREASED CONNECTIVITY, INTEROPERABILITY Tango Tango-enabled first responders can talk over their radio networks via their smartphones and vice versa. This FirstNet-approved service also supports encrypted push-totalk voice, GPS location services, emergency alerting, audio recording and text/multimedia messaging. Using Tango Tango can also expand an agency’s reach far beyond the limits of their radio networks to anywhere that the internet and wireless telephone networks exist. This not only eliminates radio cover gaps within an agency’s own jurisdiction but enhances interoperability with other agencies during large-scale mass response situations. Tango Tango can also access FirstNet wireless channels for added redundancy. For example, when Hurricane Michael devastated Florida in 2018, the state radio repeater went offline, eliminating interoperability and rendering many agencies’ radios useless. But Tango Tango users were able to connect. “Our radio system was not compatible with the host agency,” said Captain Mark Pergola of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, which sent officers to the state’s panhandle to support recovery efforts. “We were able to utilize Tango Tango to conduct our emergency communications via cellphones. Even with limited cellular coverage, out deputies were able to communicate on the Tango Tango application. It provided us with emergency communications when radio towers were inoperable.” Radio reliability and interoperability are important for any response, not just disasters, and Tango Tango helps connect neighboring agencies that might provide mutual aid but don’t use the same radio frequencies. Prior to having Tango Tango, officers with the Arab Police Department in Alabama were unable to communicate via radio with responders from neighboring jurisdictions. Tango Tango has eliminated that communications barrier, says Chief Ed Ralston. “What brings us together with the Tango Tango app is being able to talk to the surrounding agencies that we work with and be on a common frequency,” he said. SATISFIED CUSTOMERS The best measure of any company is their customers’ opinions. When it comes to Tango Tango, the company’s testimonials page shares comments from police and other first responders pleased with the service. Many of these comments and videos share the cost savings and ease of use afforded by the service, but there are also anecdotes sharing use cases and successes. In particular, one officer shares how the radio/ smartphone integration helps reduce the equipment burden on officers, as well as help them respond faster: “One of my favorite benefits of Tango Tango is that it keeps our officers from having to carry another device around. In an emergency, the more radios, pagers and other items we have on us, the more we’re slowed down,” said Arel Valdez, a major with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia. “However, regardless of where we are or what we are doing, we all have our cellphones on us 24/7, so it makes sense for our mobile devices to connect with each other in emergency situations, too. Tango Tango allows us to do that, and we’ve already seen its impact.” In short, the radio/smartphone integration offered by Tango Tango is easy to deploy and can help make communications issues caused by radio network problems a thing of the past. Today, Tango Tango has over 16,000 daily users in 47 states and is currently in use by over 600 agencies and customers across the nation. For more information email Brian Martin at: brian@tangotango.net or visit their website: www. Tangotango.net. 34 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 35