San Diego Police use security tech to monitor U.S. Open

Image courtesy of Dejero

July 5, 2021

San Diego Police Department (SDPD) enhanced its situational awareness during the 121st U.S. Open golf tournament, enabling police officers and incident commanders to monitor live video and access mission critical apps from the Joint Operations Center command post and the SDPD headquarters.

Using Dejero, a technology which provides connectivity for critical communications, allowed the SDPD to eliminate the vulnerability of network congestion that is synonymous with this type of high profile sports event. By combining all available cellular networks into a single service during the event, Dejero was able to provide uninterrupted internet connectivity that enabled officers to monitor every aspect of the Torrey Pines South Course in real-time and ensure the safety of the golf players, spectators and organizers.

Supplied by local network engineering experts AggreGateway as part of a wider network provision contract for the event, the solution included an EnGo 260 mobile transmitter connected to a drone base station. The EnGo fed real-time video back to the SDPD command post and HQ over cellular. Prior to using Dejero, a drone pilot’s movements would be restricted as connection was dependent on the base station’s line-of-site to a receiving antenna. With the EnGo mobile transmitter, which leverages multiple networks simultaneously to send high-definition tactical video in real-time, the drone pilot could move beyond visual line-of-sight with uninterrupted connectivity.

“The SDPD drone division wanted to be able to fly anywhere along the entire golf course and transmit real-time video back into the command post and as well as to San Diego Police HQ without having to worry about antenna line of sight,” said Octavio Navarro, network engineer and founder of AggreGateway. "Dejero provided true mobility by allowing the drone pilot to roam throughout the course during the event while continuously transmitting video with low latency, which is crucial for real-time situational awareness. The performance was flawless, despite the congestion of the cellular networks that was caused by thousands of people in the crowd using smartphones for communications and to upload content to social media.”

At the Joint Operations Center command post, a Dejero GateWay network aggregation device, equipped with SIM cards from three network carriers, also provided resilient internet connectivity, allowing officers to monitor all incoming feeds and access mission-critical public safety applications.

With the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the cyber security practices are increasingly getting integrated with the physical security practices.

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